A Small Learning Community ( SLC ), also referred to as a School-Within-A-School , is a school organizational model that is an increasingly common form of learning environment in American secondary schools to subdivide large school populations into smaller, autonomous groups of students and teachers. SLCs can also be physical learning spaces .
47-705: The primary purpose of restructuring secondary schools into SLCs is to create a more personalized learning environment to better meet the needs of students. Each community will often share the same teachers and student members from grade to grade. Teachers in these units usually have common planning time to allow them to develop interdisciplinary projects and keep up with the progress of their shared students. SLCs can take several forms. Core courses include: Electives include: Other courses: Personalized learning Personalized learning (also named individualized instruction , personal learning place or direct instruction ) refers to efforts to tailor education to meet
94-411: A fourth component in where after the teaching portion, the student and/or the teacher would "Make a Record". This modified model can be thought in the terms of: research, decide, teach, record. The benefits of using conferring have been documented in a couple of studies. Using a mix method case study approach in observing a group of 4th grade students, Javaye Devette Stubbs posed the question: "How does
141-627: A particular subject or skill. Various investigations, using different approaches and research frameworks have proved collaborative learning to be effective in many kinds of settings and contexts. Teachers should assign tasks that students cannot do on their own, but which they can do with assistance; they should provide just enough assistance so that students learn to complete the tasks independently and then provide an environment that enables students to do harder tasks than would otherwise be possible. Teachers can also allow students with more knowledge to assist students who need more assistance. Especially in
188-459: A reading level and a range. Books rated below their level are easy to read, while books above their level challenge the student. Sometimes students are not even allowed to check out books from the school library that are outside their range. Vygotsky argued that a major shortcoming of standardized tests is that they only measure what students are capable of on their own, not in a group setting where their minds are being pushed by other students. In
235-533: A second-grade classroom working on a book project, Smith found that the work produced "looks similar to what is produced by native English speakers". Smith later suggests that the success of the two students were largely tied to the writing conferences, and goes on to state that writing conferences are the "heart of the writing process, and with this in mind, the potential of the teacher-student writing conference becomes clear". The information can be summarized into three main takeaways. First, building student knowledge
282-434: A student has a certain level they can achieve by themselves and with support they are able to achieve a higher level of learning. However, there is still some level in which the student is incapable of reaching, no matter what support is provided. For example, a student may be working on double digit addition. Their current knowledge may already provide them with the skills to move on to triple digit addition without any help. If
329-565: A system of checks and balances. And, it gives us laughter and human connection -the understanding of our children that gives spirit to our teaching." Calkins believed that there were three main components to every conferring session: Research, Decide, and Teach. Research focused on where the student was in their current writing, Decide would help the teacher choose what to teach the student, and Teach would use modeling and guiding practice to further advance student learning. In their book The Writing Workshop , Katie Wood Ray and Lester L. Laminack added
376-464: A task within a group before they are able to complete it on their own. He notes that the teacher's job is to move the child's mind forward step-by-step (teachers cannot teach complex chemical equations to six-year-olds, for example). At the same time, teachers cannot teach all children equally; they must determine which students are ready for which lessons. An example is the often-used accelerated reading program in schools. Students are assessed and given
423-421: A tool for success. Meyer used the concepts of Cognitive Evolutionary Pressure and Cognitive Empathetic Resonance to provide a theoretical underpinning for how and why the zone of proximal development arises, and this also has implications for how scaffolding can best be used. Scaffolding in education does have some boundaries. One of the largest hurdles to overcome when providing ample support for student learning
470-762: A useful strategy for education, in practice it is mostly just about selling technology products. Personalized learning promises a strategy to specifically adjust education to the unique needs and skills of individual children, he argued, but really it means merely "adjusting the difficulty level of prefabricated skills-based exercises based on students' test scores... [and] requires the purchase of software from one of those companies that can afford full-page ads in Education Week ". While "certain forms of technology can be used to support progressive education ", Kohn wrote, "...meaningful (and truly personal) learning never requires technology. Therefore, if an idea like personalization
517-472: Is a concept in educational psychology that represents the space between what a learner is capable of doing unsupported and what the learner cannot do even with support. It is the range where the learner is able to perform, but only with support from a teacher or a peer with more knowledge or expertise. This person is known as the "more knowledgable other." The concept was introduced, but not fully developed, by psychologist Lev Vygotsky (1896–1934) during
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#1733093575045564-562: Is crucial for a child's development that they are able to interact with more knowledgeable others: they are not able to expand on what they know if this is not possible. The term more knowledgeable others (MKO) is used to describe someone who has a better understanding or higher ability level than the learner, in reference to the specific task, idea, or concept. He noted cultural experiences where children are greatly helped by knowledge and tools handed down from previous generations. Vygotsky noted that good teachers should not present material that
611-664: Is dependent on the current level of knowledge the student has and what kind of support they are provided. Second, conferring is a model that can provide student support through a structured four-part process. Third, conferring has been shown to increase student learning in both reading and writing. Andy Hargreaves and Dennis Shirley write that while there are advantages in students being able to access information instantly on-line, one should not mistake such processes for "something deeper, more challenging, and more connected to compelling issues in their world and their lives". Alfie Kohn wrote that while personalized learning may sound like
658-552: Is managing multiple students. While scaffolding is meant to be a relatively independent process for students, the initial phase of providing individual guidance can easily be overseen when managing large classrooms. Thus, time becomes a critical factor in a scaffolding lesson plan. In order to accommodate more learners, teachers are often faced with cutting parts of lessons or dedicating less time to each student. In turn, this hastened class time might result in loss of interest in students or even invalid peer-teaching. Cognitive abilities of
705-489: Is not exclusive to digital technologies or environments. In the rhetoric around 21st Century Skills, personalized learning is often equated with 'customization' (as found in the business world), with digital personalization used to frame the learning experience as highly efficient. Problematic in this is the discounting of the highly relational and socially constructed space well defined in the research on learning. Narrowing personalized learning to its digital form also raises
752-487: Is often used as a source to develop personalized learning programs for students. New studies are coming out that suggest that AI may be a top source for creating quick individual based learning programs. According to researcher Eduard Pogorskiy: ICT can be a powerful tool for personalized learning as it allows learners access to research and information, and provides a mechanism for communication, debate, and recording learning achievements. However, personalized learning
799-533: Is presented from the start as entailing software or a screen, we ought to be extremely skeptical about who really benefits." Dr. Ces'Ari Garcia-Delmuro advocated in her research on personalized learning for other researchers to continue including teacher voice in their studies of personalized learning programs as a way to improve these programs for teachers and students. She said more studies should be conducted that focus on other low SES schools implementing personalized learning. Furthermore, donors that are giving to
846-423: Is provided, and generally much less at the tertiary level. Ultimately students must find library resources or a tutor when presented with challenges beyond the zone. Another example of scaffolding is learning to drive. Parents and driving instructors guide driving students along the way by showing them the mechanics of how the car operates, the correct hand positions on the steering wheel, the technique of scanning
893-513: Is seen as a scaffolding , a structure of "support points" for performing an action. This refers to the help or guidance received from an adult or more competent peer to permit the child to work within the ZPD. Although Vygotsky himself never mentioned the term, scaffolding was first developed by Jerome Bruner , David Wood, and Gail Ross, while applying Vygotsky's concept of ZPD to various educational contexts. According to Wass and Golding, giving students
940-576: Is thought of as specifically feedback between the teacher and the student. The idea of providing feedback to advance student learning is best understood in the framework of the " zone of proximal development " or ZPD . Psychologist Lev Vygotski has defined the ZPD as "the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers". More plainly,
987-470: Is too difficult and "pull the students along." Vygotsky argued that, rather than examining what a student knows to determine intelligence, it is better to examine their ability to solve problems independently and ability to solve problems with an adult's help. He proposed a question: "if two children perform the same on a test, are their levels of development the same?" He concluded that they were not. However, Vygotsky's untimely death interrupted his work on
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#17330935750451034-403: The ZPD, including reciprocal teaching and dynamic assessment . For scaffolding to be effective, one must start at the child's level of knowledge and build from there. One example of children using ZPD is when they are learning to speak. As their speech develops, it influences the way the child thinks, which in turn influences the child's manner of speaking. This process opens more doors for
1081-586: The advancement of personalized learning need to consult new research to ensure that they are donating to programs that benefit all students including those who belong to vulnerable populations (students in special education, bilingual emergent students, and students of low socioeconomic status ), not just those students who are able to self-direct. In future research, it is important to continue to study these schools who are piloting personalized learning to see how their needs change over time. Because these programs are still relatively new, it would be helpful to understand
1128-422: The assessment process is integral. In the same token, it is critical for the students to find whatever method of learning works for them. Young minds are fresh slates, open minds ready to learn. But as different as each person is, so are their learning strategies and habits. Some students may be visual learners, some auditory or hands-on learners. Some may need to take an idea chunk by chunk while others can hear
1175-585: The book One to one: the art of conferring with young writers by Lucy Calkins , Amanda Hartman, and Zoe Ryder White. In the work, Calkins and her co-writers describe how effective writing workshops for students included individual writing conferences (conferring), where teachers would sit and talk with their students about their writing. Per the book, "Conferring can give us the force that makes our mini-lessons and curriculum development and assessment and everything else more powerful. It gives us an endless resource of teaching wisdom, an endless source of accountability,
1222-635: The child to expand their vocabulary. As they learn to convey their thoughts in a more effective way, they receive more sophisticated feedback, therefore increasing their vocabulary and their speaking skills. Wells gives the example of dancing: when a person is learning how to dance, they look to others around them on the dance floor and imitate their moves. A person does not copy the dance moves exactly, but takes what they can and adds their own personality to it. In mathematics, proximal development uses mathematical exercises for which students have seen one or more worked examples. In secondary school some scaffolding
1269-628: The concern of the echo chamber effect emerging in (hyper)personalized online experiences. Proponents of personalized learning say that many elements of curriculum, assessment, and instructional design must be present in classrooms for students to succeed and often use software systems to manage and facilitate student-led instruction. Proponents argue that classroom learning activities must build upon students' prior knowledge and teachers need to allocate time for practice. Advocates argue that teachers must continuously assess student learning against clearly defined standards and goals, and student input into
1316-450: The context of second language learning , the ZPD can be useful to many adult users. Prompted by this fact as well as the finding that adult peers do not necessarily need to be more capable to provide assistance in the ZPD, Vygotsky's definition has been adapted to better suit the adult L2 developmental context. The concept of the ZPD is widely used to study children's mental development as it relates to educational context. The ZPD concept
1363-443: The context of collaborative learning, group members who have higher levels of understanding can help the less advanced members learn within their zone of proximal development. In the context of adults, peers should challenge each other in order to support collaboration and success. Utilizing student's ZPD can assist especially with early childhood learning by guiding each child through challenges and using their student collaboration as
1410-403: The different needs of students. The use of the term "personalized learning" dates back to at least the early 1960s, but there is no widespread agreement on the definition and components of a personal learning environment . Even enthusiasts for the concept admit that personal learning is an evolving term and doesn't have any widely accepted definition. In 2005, Dan Buckley defined two ends of
1457-425: The flexibility or rigidity of previously formed stereotypes, how willing the child is to collaborate, along with other factors. This context can impact the diagnosis of a function's potential level of development. Vygotsky stated that one cannot just look at what students are capable of doing on their own; one must look at what they are capable of doing in a social setting. In many cases students are able to complete
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1504-625: The hardest tasks they can do with scaffolding leads to the greatest learning gains. Scaffolding is a process through which a teacher or a more competent peer helps a student in their ZPD as necessary and tapers off this aid as it becomes unnecessary—much as workers remove a scaffold from a building after they complete construction. "Scaffolding [is] the way the adult guides the child's learning via focused questions and positive interactions." This concept has been further developed by Mercedes Chaves Jaime , Ann Brown , among others. Several instructional programs were developed based on this interpretation of
1551-478: The implementation of one-on-one conferring promote higher order thinking skills in students with difficulties in reading?" The results from her pre and post-test found that "even those with reading difficulties did show a significant gain in higher order thinking skills". In a separate study, the educator Antony Smith examined the effectiveness of using teacher-student writing conference for English language learners ( ELLs ). Observing two students who were ELLs in
1598-531: The last three years of his life. Vygotsky argued that a child gets involved in a dialogue with the "more knowledgeable other" and gradually, through social interaction and sense-making, develops the ability to solve problems independently and do certain tasks without help. Following Vygotsky, some educators believe that the role of education is to give children experiences that are within their zones of proximal development, thereby encouraging and advancing their individual learning skills and strategies. The concept of
1645-447: The pace of learning and the instructional approach are optimized for the needs of each learner. Learning objectives, instructional approaches, and instructional content (and its sequencing) may all vary based on learner needs. In addition, learning activities are meaningful and relevant to learners, driven by their interests, and often self-initiated. Typically technology is used to try to facilitate personalized learning environments. AI
1692-492: The pace of learning and the instructional approach are optimized the needs for each learner." Conferring is a process in which this can be accomplished. Conferring, as defined by Julie Kallio, is a "regular, goal-oriented meeting between the teacher and student(s) where they talk about learning progress, process, and/or products." Conferring, more simply, is a way to provide more personalized feedback. Learning, in any context, requires some form of feedback. In schools, most feedback
1739-487: The perceptions of teachers who are using these programs for five years or longer to continue assisting teacher and school sites as they mature in their personalized learning use. Additionally, research which compares teacher perception of personalized learning compared to student academic outcomes will be helpful once schools new to personalized learning overcome their fifth year of implementation. Zone of proximal development The zone of proximal development ( ZPD )
1786-485: The personalized learning spectrum: "personalization for the learner", in which the teacher tailors the learning, and "personalization by the learner", in which the learner develops skills to tailor his own learning. This spectrum was adopted by the (2006) Microsoft's Practical Guide to Envisioning and Transforming Education. The United States National Education Technology Plan 2017 defines personalized learning as follows: Personalized learning refers to instruction in which
1833-431: The right amount of help to each student. If a teacher provides information to the whole class too quickly, some students are left behind trying to figure out the first step. Conversely, if a teacher provides information to the whole class too slowly, some students will finish rapidly and be left with nothing to do. Conferring is a tool that teachers have used to help mitigate that issue. Conferring first gained prominence in
1880-423: The roadway, etc. As the student progresses, less and less instruction is needed, until they are ready to drive on their own. The concept of scaffolding can be observed in various life situations and arguably in the basis of how everyone learns. One does not (normally) begin knowing everything that there is to know about a subject. The basics must be learned first so one can build on prior knowledge towards mastery of
1927-507: The student also play a significant role in the success of scaffolding. Ideally, students are able to learn within this zone of proximal development, but this is often not the case. Recognizing students' individual abilities and foundation knowledge can be a challenge of successful scaffolding. If students are evidently less prepared for this learning approach and begin to compare themselves to their peers, their self-efficacy and motivation to learn can be hindered. These hurdles of scaffolding and
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1974-403: The student is introduced to multiplication, however, they will need help to understand that multiplication is a quicker way to represent the same number being added onto itself a defined number of times. Where this help occurs is the student's ZPD . Even with help though, it is not reasonable to expect the student to learn how to solve a calculus problem. The struggle for teachers is how to provide
2021-421: The teacher or peer. The teacher then helps the student attain the skill the student is trying to master, until the teacher is no longer needed for that task. Any function within the zone of proximal development matures within a particular internal context that includes not only the function's actual level but also how susceptible the child is to types of help, the sequence in which these types of help are offered,
2068-507: The whole idea and have it locked in their memory with full understanding. However, determining how a student learns can be time-consuming. Leading to a less efficient use of time in the classroom and may lead to the student falling behind. It is essential to create a learning process that helps all the students while being efficient and without leaving any student out. As stated above by the 2017 United States National Education Technology Plan, "Personalized learning refers to instruction in which
2115-668: The zone of proximal development was originally developed by Vygotsky to argue against the use of academic, knowledge-based tests as a means to gauge students' intelligence . He also created ZPD to further develop Jean Piaget 's theory of children being lone and autonomous learners. Vygotsky spent a lot of time studying the impact of school instruction on children and noted that children grasp language concepts quite naturally, but that math and writing did not come as naturally. Essentially, he concluded that because these concepts were taught in school settings with unnecessary assessments, they were more difficult for learners. Piaget believed that there
2162-413: The zone of proximal development, and it remained mostly incomplete. Since Vygotsky's original conception, the definition for the zone of proximal development has been expanded and modified. The zone of proximal development is an area of learning that occurs when a person is assisted by a teacher or peer with a higher skill set. The person learning the skill set cannot complete it without the assistance of
2209-537: Was a clear distinction between development and teaching. He said that development is a spontaneous process that is initiated and completed by the children, stemming from their own efforts. Piaget was a proponent of independent thinking and critical of the standard teacher-led instruction that was common practice in schools. Alternatively, Vygotsky saw natural, spontaneous development as important, but not all-important. He believed that children would not advance very far if they were left to discover everything on their own It
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