Episode Details

This is a teaser for the Transformative Leadership Summit. Allison Zmuda, co-author of the book Students at the Center, explains how to start personalized learning in small steps by changing one part of what you already do well, because you don't have to treat it as one big mind shift.

She offers two concrete starting points, inquiry and feedback, and a sounding board that runs from teacher-generated to student-driven work. Teachers back up toward teacher-generated when they introduce new content or when students struggle, and otherwise look for when to move toward student-driven work.

What you'll learn

• Start personalized learning with one element you already do well, such as inquiry or feedback.
• Let students craft questions and ideas tied to curriculum goals, and give them clear feedback they can act on.
• Slide along the teacher-to-student sounding board, backing up for new content or struggling students.

Chapters

• 0:00 Teaser introduction and the Transformative Leadership Summit
• 1:02 Personalized learning starts with inquiry and feedback
• 2:43 The sounding board from teacher to student driven

Times are for the episode without ads. Your player may be off by the length of any ads.

Questions this episode answers

How do you start personalized learning without a huge mind shift?
Zmuda says to pick a territory you are comfortable with and push one aspect of it toward student-driven work. Her two examples are inquiry, where students craft questions grounded in curriculum goals, and feedback that is clear and actionable.

When should a teacher move back toward teacher-led instruction?
Zmuda says to back up toward teacher-generated work when you introduce brand new content or topics so students have a baseline understanding, and for struggling students who need scaffolds where they might get lost.

About Allison Zmuda

Co-author of the book Students at the Center.

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