WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en 00:00:06.060 --> 00:00:09.999 School districts in the Wayne Finger Lakes region are collaborating to shift 00:00:09.999 --> 00:00:15.159 instruction with a focus on student empowerment and engagement. We tailor 00:00:15.159 --> 00:00:19.750 learning to student's individual strengths needs and interests. We provide 00:00:19.750 --> 00:00:25.029 facilitation flexibility and support. We help students recognize and engage with 00:00:25.029 --> 00:00:29.980 resources available to them. We leverage the use of "targeted data" to encourage 00:00:29.980 --> 00:00:33.879 ownership of progress and inform instruction. We deliver enrichment and 00:00:33.879 --> 00:00:35.973 support while ensuring mastery at the highest standards possible. 00:00:35.973 --> 00:00:37.809 While ensuring mastery at the highest standards possible! 00:00:49.379 --> 00:00:53.980 But it's clear to us from the educational standpoint that we had to be 00:00:53.980 --> 00:00:59.110 much more progressive in nature. We had to look and prepare our students for the 21st century. 00:00:59.110 --> 00:01:04.269 One of the ways that we aligned was not necessarily on the 00:01:04.269 --> 00:01:09.159 pathway, but on the point we wanted to reach. We all knew the students should be 00:01:09.159 --> 00:01:12.640 the center of the learning, we all agreed upon that. We talked about where we 00:01:12.640 --> 00:01:16.540 wanted to get to, not necessarily the pathway to get there. We have similar 00:01:16.540 --> 00:01:23.560 goals but different pathways to reach those goals. 00:01:23.560 --> 00:01:27.820 Student-centered learning is an instructional approach that focuses on "tailoring learning" for each student's 00:01:27.820 --> 00:01:33.940 strengths needs and interests, including enabling student "voice" and "choice" in 00:01:33.940 --> 00:01:40.000 "what" "how" "when" and "where" they learn. We have made a conscious effort to take on 00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:44.590 an initiative to transform instructional practices focusing on student engagement. 00:01:44.590 --> 00:01:49.210 What we're actually seeing is classrooms that are moving from engagement where 00:01:49.210 --> 00:01:52.509 students are doing things it may be teacher director it may be student 00:01:52.509 --> 00:01:57.189 directed but actually to empowerment that builds in more "voice" and "choice". 00:01:57.189 --> 00:02:00.630 It actually builds in digital tools where necessary but not all the time. 00:02:00.630 --> 00:02:06.000 Engagement is the key, having the kids know what they're doing. Having them confident. 00:02:06.000 --> 00:02:10.720 Again the empowerment of what they're doing choosing what they're doing all 00:02:10.720 --> 00:02:14.170 leads to that. When kids want to be doing something it's amazing what they'll do. 00:02:14.170 --> 00:02:20.799 I feel like it's because it gives me power over what I am doing in my class. 00:02:20.799 --> 00:02:25.030 It gives me a say so say the teacher is like okay you can 00:02:25.030 --> 00:02:28.690 either do this essay and then have a little write-up afterwards or you can do 00:02:28.690 --> 00:02:33.940 "watch this video" and then give me three short sentences on what you thought. 00:02:33.940 --> 00:02:41.739 The video so that I can choose the video because I learn better I visually than I do just writing something down. 00:02:41.739 --> 00:02:46.810 So to me that's what "student empowerment" looks like. I walk into a classroom it's 00:02:46.810 --> 00:02:52.209 hard to identify where is that teacher space because of the layout of the 00:02:52.209 --> 00:02:56.109 classroom that allows students to work in groups work individually, work in 00:02:56.109 --> 00:03:00.610 small groups maybe with the teacher. To me, that's where you're empowering 00:03:00.610 --> 00:03:03.680 student because I'm not taking control in the classroom 00:03:03.680 --> 00:03:09.080 It's hard, it's hard because we think it's better if we have "control over something"... 00:03:09.080 --> 00:03:13.190 Or full control. I can't have kids working on ten different media pieces, 00:03:13.190 --> 00:03:23.480 or whatever, what you can, it is just difficult . It's hard it's hard to kind of make that shift over and release control. 00:03:23.480 --> 00:03:27.830 We are used to as educators to being in control but when you can see the kids in that 00:03:27.830 --> 00:03:30.860 type of learning environment where they're learning on their own or they're 00:03:30.860 --> 00:03:34.670 learning collaboratively or they're failing and they're figuring out how 00:03:34.670 --> 00:03:39.050 they can fix it, they actually learn more in the end. And they're more interested in it. 00:03:39.050 --> 00:03:45.620 Yeah I really think that with me having my own responsibility of my 00:03:45.620 --> 00:03:50.810 learning I can "affect it" more than someone else because I can 00:03:50.810 --> 00:03:55.880 I can't control what he's teaching in a lesson but I can control what I am learning. 00:03:55.880 --> 00:03:59.870 I could teach a small group while another group was focused on "I 00:03:59.870 --> 00:04:02.690 ready" while another group was collaborating on something another group 00:04:02.690 --> 00:04:10.040 was working on "I Excel" practicing and the idea just from from the get-go for 00:04:10.040 --> 00:04:15.860 me made perfect sense. The engagement piece is just amazing that these kids 00:04:15.860 --> 00:04:22.400 are actively engaged in their learning in so many different ways. I think they 00:04:22.400 --> 00:04:27.350 see that I'm taking the time to try and account for each individual person in my 00:04:27.350 --> 00:04:33.860 room instead of just looking at us at a whole. 00:04:33.860 --> 00:04:38.330 Personalized learning has allowed us to know kids like really know them. 00:04:38.330 --> 00:04:43.010 When they feel invested in it then I see, like one of the things I heard 00:04:43.010 --> 00:04:46.370 students say today is "oh my gosh it's been 42 minutes already" like they were 00:04:46.370 --> 00:04:50.960 just working on what they wanted to and the period flew by and it was so productive. 00:04:50.960 --> 00:04:55.430 Life isn't gonna come down to me getting a lecture all the time. 00:04:55.430 --> 00:04:59.300 It's not gonna be me being "spoon-fed" over and over and over again until I get it right, I'm solid with it. 00:04:59.300 --> 00:05:03.230 I think that personalized learning allows me to learn how I do that best. 00:05:06.879 --> 00:05:10.629 Shifting to a student-centered model promotes "engagement and awareness" of resources 00:05:10.629 --> 00:05:14.740 for active learners to leverage. Collaboration becomes the expected norm. 00:05:14.740 --> 00:05:18.969 I mean the teachers are there to help you, your friends are there to help you 00:05:18.969 --> 00:05:23.439 not to just to be your friend they're here to help you they're a resource. 00:05:23.439 --> 00:05:27.789 If you're stuck on something use your resources. Well, I think it's perfect how 00:05:27.789 --> 00:05:31.629 we're learning in that. Because some students they don't like to work with 00:05:31.629 --> 00:05:37.150 the whole class just working all together on one specific subject. 00:05:37.150 --> 00:05:41.409 Some kids like to be alone, some kids like to work with a teacher one-on-one. 00:05:41.409 --> 00:05:48.190 Its always been about personalizing it and hitting what the kids need. 00:05:48.190 --> 00:05:52.599 Having the avenues to do it now and the expectation to do it has really changed because you 00:05:52.599 --> 00:05:57.610 have the freedom to do. I don't have to sit through learning the unit Haley 00:05:57.610 --> 00:06:02.800 doesn't know and I know where and she doesn't have to sit through the unit 00:06:02.800 --> 00:06:07.060 she knows and I don't know. I can succeed myself and everyone else around me is 00:06:07.060 --> 00:06:11.560 doing stuff to help them instead of everyone waiting for their one topic to 00:06:11.560 --> 00:06:14.710 come up that might not ever come up because we don't have enough time. 00:06:14.710 --> 00:06:18.250 I think it goes back to that gap filling right and so finding out where the kids 00:06:18.250 --> 00:06:21.879 are using that data not just as numbers on the data point, but figure out 00:06:21.879 --> 00:06:25.180 where they are , where their gaps and where their limitations really are. 00:06:25.180 --> 00:06:30.039 Also where they need to be challenged and pushing them at their own pace and 00:06:30.039 --> 00:06:34.389 at their own level. Its just providing students with a little bit of 00:06:34.389 --> 00:06:38.379 information and a little bit of guidance you could take a project and make it 00:06:38.379 --> 00:06:42.669 your own. That is very exciting to see what you do with that and sometimes it's 00:06:42.669 --> 00:06:46.360 not something we would have even thought of. I think it's really cool 00:06:46.360 --> 00:06:49.870 when kids teach adults things, which happens all the time. Kids don't even 00:06:49.870 --> 00:06:53.940 know that but It happens all the time. 00:06:53.940 --> 00:06:58.470 By working "collaboratively", districts are implementing changes to support this vision. Sharing successful strategies 00:06:58.470 --> 00:07:03.780 lessons and ideas engages students and generates excitement for all learners. 00:07:03.780 --> 00:07:09.450 I like the "blended model" because it sort of freed up a lot of resources and 00:07:09.450 --> 00:07:14.160 myself as well and allows for kids to have choices and voices. I feel like I'm 00:07:14.160 --> 00:07:17.790 meeting kids where " they're at". Today we're visiting Seneca Falls to do our 00:07:17.790 --> 00:07:21.540 the "retail BOCES learning walks" so we are looking at the students 00:07:21.540 --> 00:07:26.090 different "personalized learning techniques" different classrooms different "flexible seating" 00:07:26.090 --> 00:07:30.690 Also just knowing what other teachers are doing and what other school districts are doing. 00:07:30.690 --> 00:07:35.190 helps improve our instruction. And I think 00:07:35.190 --> 00:07:40.500 that's been one of the greatest insights by having these regional visits. 00:07:40.500 --> 00:07:45.330 What also is nice is having multiple teachers in the actual "cohort" learning at the 00:07:45.330 --> 00:07:48.000 same time so if something works for us we can spread it out, something doesn't work , we can bounce the idea off other 00:07:48.000 --> 00:07:50.910 people to get an idea on what could be fixed. 00:07:50.910 --> 00:07:55.560 We've been able to connect with one another in a way that we all benefit 00:07:55.560 --> 00:07:59.760 in the students benefit from that. And it's not this competition between the 00:07:59.760 --> 00:08:02.880 different districts it's about how could we help one another and how can we learn together. 00:08:02.880 --> 00:08:06.990 When we talk about personalized learning, we talk about collaboration, so 00:08:06.990 --> 00:08:11.820 in a sense we are learning about "personalized learning in a collaborative 00:08:11.820 --> 00:08:17.160 way using personalized learning" . When we talk about access for students and 00:08:17.160 --> 00:08:22.110 opportunities for students the best access the best opportunities come when 00:08:22.110 --> 00:08:25.250 we work together as one.