I'm sold on personalized learning for kids. As a parent I see everyday, if you give kids the opportunity to create and explore they take off with it. Adults, that's a different story. We've already been programmed to learn a certain way. This past winter (well we're still technically in winter...) I lead a professional development day starting with a keynote on Digital Literacy. In my email to the staff a week ahead of time I listed the learning resources and clearly stated that this would be self-directed learning time. After my presentation, I go off to the library to facilitate and I have 50 teachers staring at me waiting to start.
Be free my children...go off and learn. Easier said than done. How do we break people of the habits they've learned over decades of schooling K through a Master's Degree, on to professional learning events? Putting together/curating resources is easy. The adult learning...that's the hard part.
I think having personal learning communities embedded into the school culture is a step in the right direction, but I feel that is more of an anomaly than a practical solution. We've all heard ad nauseum how how magical PLCs are. Every time I hear how someone claim to have rolled out PLCs successfully I usually say internally baloney - or something of that sort. Are the streets lined with gold in Lincolnshire, IL where all the leaders and strong, the teachers reflective and the children advanced? What's really in the water there, or is it just that lots of really talented people want to work there, so that's what's in the water? I work and have worked for good districts. I have connections with districts that are considered the top in our state. I have yet to hear from one person "come to X district, we have PLCs rolling."
So what realistic framework can we set up (maybe the PLC is and I'm just cranky) to empower personalized adult learning? ISTE's L & L issue this month is all about online professional development, but I fear there's nothing there on setting the culture necessary to have it take off. I'm all ears!
Be free my children...go off and learn. Easier said than done. How do we break people of the habits they've learned over decades of schooling K through a Master's Degree, on to professional learning events? Putting together/curating resources is easy. The adult learning...that's the hard part.
I think having personal learning communities embedded into the school culture is a step in the right direction, but I feel that is more of an anomaly than a practical solution. We've all heard ad nauseum how how magical PLCs are. Every time I hear how someone claim to have rolled out PLCs successfully I usually say internally baloney - or something of that sort. Are the streets lined with gold in Lincolnshire, IL where all the leaders and strong, the teachers reflective and the children advanced? What's really in the water there, or is it just that lots of really talented people want to work there, so that's what's in the water? I work and have worked for good districts. I have connections with districts that are considered the top in our state. I have yet to hear from one person "come to X district, we have PLCs rolling."
So what realistic framework can we set up (maybe the PLC is and I'm just cranky) to empower personalized adult learning? ISTE's L & L issue this month is all about online professional development, but I fear there's nothing there on setting the culture necessary to have it take off. I'm all ears!
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