District Exemplars – LearningEdge

Supporting Teachers at D51: A Conversation with the Professional Learning Facilitators

June 23, 2020 by Chris Sturgis

Tags: competency-based learning mastery-based performance-based personalization personalized learning professional development proficiency-based voice and choice

This article is the seventh in the Designing Performance-Based Learning at D51 series. A reminder: D51 uses the phrase performance-based learning or P-BL.

Leigh Grasso, Director of Academic Achievement & Growth at D51, emphasizes, “We are shifting from a focus on professional development to professional learning.” And there are a lot of people focusing on helping the adults in the system learn…… Read More

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Locations: Colorado

Laying the Foundation with Culture and Climate

June 21, 2020 by Chris Sturgis

Tags: competency-based learning equity growth mindset mastery-based performance-based personalization personalized learning proficiency-based school culture social emotional learning

This article is the sixth in the Designing Performance-Based Learning at D51 series. A reminder: D51 uses the phrase performance-based learning or P-BL.

The first of District 51’s five phases of implementation is Laying the Foundation. The foundation they are speaking of is the culture and climate in which personalized,….. Read More

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Locations: Colorado

Mastery-Based Learning in Idaho

February 3, 2020 by Chris Sturgis

Tags: competency-based learning mastery-based performance-based personalized learning proficiency-based

This is the first post in a series on Mastery Education in Idaho.

In April 2018, I went on a whirlwind tour of seven schools in four districts in Idaho in an effort to understand how mastery-based learning was advancing there. Idaho is a big,….. Read More

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Locations: Idaho

The Sharp Ones: A Few Takeaways from Idaho

February 1, 2020 by Chris Sturgis

Tags: competency-based learning districts mastery-based performance-based personalized learning proficiency-based

This is the tenth article in the series on Mastery Education in Idaho. Links to the other articles can be found below.

Oh, there is so much to learn in Idaho. Where to start?

1) Learning from others and making it your own…… Read More

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Locations: Idaho

Redesign at Pittsfield School District (Part 1)

March 21, 2019 by Chris Sturgis

Tags: communication and community engagement

This article was originally published on CompetencyWorks in 2014.

It was a delight to visit Pittsfield School District (PSD) to learn about the redesign of the district starting with the Pittsfield Middle High School. It’s a comprehensive design: Keep “students at the center” using personalized learning strategies that build upon a competency-based infrastructure to ensure students master twenty-first century skills and demonstrate academic content and skills…… Read More

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Locations: New Hampshire

Hand in Hand: Pittsfield Integrates Personalized Learning and Competency Education

March 21, 2019 by Chris Sturgis

Tags: personalized learning

(This is the second in a series about Pittsfield. The article was originally published in 2014 at CompetencyWorks.)

One of my big takeaways from my visit to New Hampshire is that personalized learning and competency education go hand in hand. When personalizing education,….. Read More

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Locations: New Hampshire

Pittsfield Rethinks Adult Roles (Part 3)

March 21, 2019 by Chris Sturgis

Tags: districts personalized learning

(This is the third part of a series on Pittsfield. The article was originally published at CompetencyWorks in 2014.)

One of the big questions that we have barely begun to tackle is how do districts have to be transformed within a personalized, competency-based environment?

In preparing to transform the Pittsfield Middle and High School to a personalized,….. Read More

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Locations: New Hampshire

Implementation Insights from Pittsfield School District (Part 4)

March 21, 2019 by Chris Sturgis

Tags: districts personalized learning

(This is the last of a four-part series on Pittsfield.The original article was published on CompetencyWorks in 2014.)

That’s a constant refrain when talking to districts converting from traditional curriculum/time-based systems to student-centered systems. Below are a handful of insights shared by the Pittsfield School District leadership team about their redesign process and the challenges they are encountering…… Read More

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Locations: New Hampshire