澳门天天好彩

Recognizing that uniqueness and providing learners with the opportunity to know their own strengths and opportunities for growth is essential to the Minnesota district鈥檚 push toward personalized, competency-based learning. One of the ways they鈥檙e doing that this school year is through personal learner profiles. Students of all ages, from kindergarten through high school, are engaging with a series of questions designed to help students get to know themselves better as learners 鈥� and for teachers to have a better idea of their students鈥� needs and preferences.

鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 really sure how this would work in kindergarten,鈥� said Katie Landers, a kindergarten teacher at Farmington Elementary who helped develop the questions for the learner profiles. 鈥淎s I learned a little bit more, I felt that kindergarten is one of the most important grades to start this in. The learner profile is just a piece of the big picture of students really seeing their purpose in being at school. Rather than the teacher being the voice and the leader in everything, the students are taking that responsibility.鈥�

Lori Phillips, director of teaching and learning at 澳门天天好彩, facilitated a workshop on personal learner profiles with Farmington elementary, middle and high school teachers as part of the district鈥檚 aims to create personalized, competency-based learning environments where students are empowered to own their learning.

鈥淔or agency to increase, students need to understand themselves as learners,鈥� said Phillips. 鈥淧ersonal learner profiles are a great way for students to document their learning needs and preferences, reflecting on strengths and challenges as they grow.鈥�

For Landers, that reflection is a key part of the learning.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not me as a teacher saying, 鈥榶ou鈥檙e good at this,鈥欌�� Landers said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e reflecting. We鈥檙e providing the opportunity for them to stop and think, what was I proud of? Why? What is my purpose?鈥�听

Being thoughtful about what you鈥檙e learning can happen at any age.

Landers is a part of the learner profile team in the district, which convenes at key times throughout the year to share how they鈥檙e implementing learner profiles and what they鈥檝e learned. Just as student agency is a critical part of the culture at Farmington schools, teachers are empowered, too, to take risks, solve problems and work together to better serve all learners. The district began last summer by bringing teachers from all nine schools together to share ideas about what the learner profiles could look like, but more importantly, what they could do.

鈥淚t was a little daunting at first,鈥� Landers said. 鈥淚鈥檓 used to someone telling me, 鈥楾his is the activity, and this is how you鈥檙e going to do it.鈥� But we didn鈥檛 know what the end product would be, how the questions were going to be given to the students, how the learner profile would be used. We had to just ask ourselves, what do we want students to be thoughtful about?鈥�

When students open their profile, they see a photograph of themselves and a simple explanation:

This is your learner profile. The purpose of this profile is for you to better understand yourself as a learner over time. You will come back to these questions for further reflection throughout your time in school. Teachers and your families may want to talk with you about your learner profile to better understand you as a learner.

The questions are designed to cultivate reflection not only in students鈥� day-to-day activities, but from year-to-year.

鈥淯ltimately, we just want them to be more thoughtful about who they are as learners,鈥� Landers said.

Reflections for students, reflections for teachers.

For Tim Schlatter, learning advisor at Gateway Academy, that thoughtfulness extends to how the learning profiles are utilized by teachers.

鈥淚t鈥檚 up to each school building how they鈥檙e used. It could be a couple of grade levels, or a couple of teachers,鈥� said Schlatter. 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 want it to feel like we鈥檙e pushing something on to teachers, to have it feel like one more thing. We want it to be authentic.鈥�

When thinking through questions to include, Landers and her peers reflected on the fact that they wouldn鈥檛 have answers for some of the questions they were asking their students.

鈥淚 realized it was because I鈥檝e never been asked,鈥� Landers admitted. 鈥淚 thought of that as a negative for a minute, but that鈥檚 even more of a reason to have those kinds of questions in there. I probably would have an idea if I鈥檇 been asked how I learn best, or what keeps me going when things get difficult. If they are here from kindergarten to twelfth grade my students could be asked at least once every year, and that answer is going to become easier and easier. What an amazing thing to reflect on and be thoughtful of.鈥�

鈥淭he learner profile identifies who a student is, how they like to learn, and we want to develop a learner plan that goes along with it so students can see how what they know about themselves can impact their learning,鈥� says Schlatter, whose fifth to eighth-grade students are already using their learner profiles to identify a passion project each trimester. The projects are completely student-led.

鈥淚t鈥檚 all on them 鈥� we鈥檙e there to support them however they feel like they need supported. We can give suggestions, but if they don鈥檛 listen, that鈥檚 their choice,鈥� Schlatter said. 鈥淭hese projects are one of our biggest learning opportunities. Sometimes they鈥檙e successful, sometimes they鈥檙e not, and that鈥檚 okay. If their personal project isn鈥檛 as good as they hoped it would be, they鈥檙e reflecting on it: maybe I didn鈥檛 use my time that wisely and I need help, maybe I need to advocate for myself a little bit more when I鈥檓 stuck.鈥�

Learner profiles build confidence 鈥� and relationships.

While there is an agreed upon set of questions and a vehicle for the learner profiles 鈥� they鈥檙e housed on Google slides and accessible to students, teachers and parents 鈥� every teacher has approached using the profile differently to best meet their needs and the needs of their students. While teachers with students in older grades can have the students complete the profiles themselves, Landers has one-on-one conversations with her students and records their answers. While that wasn鈥檛 initially how they were conceived of, it鈥檚 something Landers plans to continue to do because of the relationship-building power of those conversations.

鈥淚鈥檓 helping to shape how they see school. I think it鈥檚 important that they see that I value them, that I鈥檓 taking this time and I鈥檓 not thinking about anything else besides just you now,鈥� Landers said. 鈥淚 think that kids want to work harder for people that they have a relationship with. But the whole point of the learner profile is that they鈥檙e not working harder for me 鈥� they鈥檙e doing it for themselves.鈥�