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I was born in Mesa and lived in both Arizona and Utah. I attended four different high schools and moved back to Mesa my senior year. I love to travel and explore; I studied abroad in England, Scotland and France and had a blast. Music and writing drive me. I am a hard worker, when I am motivated to be. I am a passionate girl who loves people. I love friends but I also love my quiet time. Most importantly, I love to Love. I am a writer, an educator, a learner, an explorer and yes, a Mormon. I am blessed and I love my life. I am currently serving a mission for the Lord through the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Italy until January of 2016.

My motto

My Motto
Love and Be Loved

Monday, November 21, 2016

What are ways that we can implement individualized learning for any student in all subjects?

I grew up attending Acorn Montessori School from grades K-6 where the methodology for learning is much different than direct instruction and other "normal, public" school settings. The Montessori approach is very hands-on and inquiry based, or self driven. Throughout my pre-teaching journey, I have noticed the lack of this individualized learning in schools, and though it is not the only way to teach, I feel like it is how we naturally and should be implemented more than it is. I am passionate about strategies and ways to teach that promote individualized learning, and I hope that you will benefit from what I share today.

As a guide for my workshop, I used the concept of 20-time to facilitate my workshop. This idea is geared towards older grades, especially junior high and high schoolers, but is also scaffolded for and would be great to use with elementary grades. Thanks to 20-time, today's necessities like Sticky Notes and Google maps were created. Use this website and information as a tool to give that same opportunity of creation to your students in your classroom.

This project starts with a goal or a vision. It needs to be more than just a performance goal, though. It needs to be a learning goal, like a SMART goal. A performance goal is like wanting to run a mile in 8 minutes, but that's it. A learning goal plans how to get there, studies the steps, and measures progress and results. 

"Sir Ken Robinson explains in The Element that when someone doesn’t know how to read and write, we don’t assume they are incapable of literacy. Instead we know that they haven’t yet learned how to read and write. In a similar manner, he explains, when someone isn’t creative, we should not assume that they are incapable of creativity. We should assume they just need to be taught.
I am trying to teach my students how to be creative.
They choose what they will learn based on what they wonder about, what they are good at, and what they are passionate about." 


Start on a small, simple scale of this project to get the feel for it. Write:
2 things you love to do or learn
2 things you are good at
2 things you wonder about life
Now go have some fun!



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Independent study is a different way of learning and is also an example of the workshop. In independent study, a student is guided by a teacher but usually does not take classes with other students every day. The student works independently. Independent study is available to children and adults. Here is a great introduction to independent study in California, and here is a more in-depth example of what it entails. 

There is a student in my current third grade class who just seems to know everything that you would never think a third grader would know. He zooms through his work and then gets bored, distracting the other students at his table and always has much to say off topic. This student needs deeper work or a project to work on (like any of these listed) in that "extra" time he has. So, things like 20-time don't have to be used for the whole class, but can be used on an individual basis or even as an incentive. You can also check out what Scholastic has to say about independent studies. The linked article talks about a school in North Carolina that has developed this learning method with students and it's amazing the results that have been shown.


Some more ideas...


Makerspaces is a new term coming into the world of education, or becoming more popular. Do you have techy students in your class? Try using recycled technology devises as learning tools that they can take apart, rebuild and explore. 

Dreambox is a tool that my school has just recently introduced to the students. Students start either at grade level or from kindergarten level, and as they answer each problem the math program automatically moves them up or down to where they should be. This is what makes it wonderful! They can work on iPads in class or any tech device, even at home, on their own and at their own pace.

Flexible Seating is a wonderful way to individualize the classroom! Very dependent on where you teach and the policies of the school district, you may have to be super convincing to let this swing. As this article explains, you slowly make the change in your classroom so it's not a budget breaker do remake your classroom over fall break. Some people love working at a table or desk. For others, it makes then feel trapped and they just want to kick back and prop their feet up. With great planning and great classroom management, you can implement even one or two parts of this flexible classroom into your own to really give students the freedom for their own education. I know of one teacher who uses the blue fitness ball for one of her two desks "chairs" and I also see accommodations for gifted or special needs students.

Kiddom is more of a resource that teachers can use, but it seems to be effective. Teachers can supplement their work online with what they do in class for blended learning, it can be implemented for individual practice and also as a self-guided type of learning that puts the each student in charge. Check it out! We are all about choices these days.


Learning contracts and choice boards. While I was at Acorn, each week my teachers would give us a contract, or a schedule for the week of what we would be doing. The days marked across the top and the subjects down the side, we would know exactly what is happening. Group and required work would be obvious, and then there were other activities that we could work on once we were finished with all of the have-to's. This would be great for students to keep track of what the class is doing, or to have for individual students who may want extra work or even need less work. Choice boards are somewhat similar, but maybe students will only pick at least three of the activities provided. 




Here is a list of some final resources you can check out that I read or skimmed through in my studies:

  • http://hechingerreport.org/how-finland-broke-every-rule-and-created-a-top-school-system/
  • https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/partnering-with-childs-school/instructional-strategies/individualized-instruction-vs-differentiated-instruction