An Introduction to Learning Acceleration
As the global pandemic unfolded, Kentucky educators knew it could have a tremendous impact on our learners. When students were not able to go to school in Northern Kentucky, districts and families put their collective efforts into developing plans that would maximize the resources, time and skill sets available to each child to keep them on track as much as possible. The flexibility, efficacy and determination demonstrated by the families and
educators in the face of COVID19 was remarkable. However, many children now have some unfinished learning. That caused the Kentucky Department of Education to establish guidance around a process that will help educators accelerate the learning of Kentucky’s students.
Background
In some educational practices, there is a tendency to feel like you have to remediate student learning gaps and delay access to grade- level learning until all of the missed learning is remediated. While parts of this seem logical, research shows that this practice actually moves students backward as it widens the gap between the students receiving remediation and their grade level peers (Accelerated Learning). The goal is to engage all students in grade level content while building supports underneath these lessons with the relevant content and skills certain learners may have not yet mastered. This also means building extensions for students who have already mastered the grade level content. According to a research study by The New Teacher Project (TNTP), educators should have more success with this model than waiting to expose students to grade-level learning until they have mastered all the previous content and skills. According to the study (1998) The Opportunity Myth,
Greater access to the four resources can and does improve student achievement—particularly for students who start the school year behind. When students did have the chance to work on content that was appropriate for their grade, they rose to the occasion more often than not. Those chances paid off: In classrooms where students had greater access to grade-appropriate assignments, they gained nearly two months of additional learning compared to their peers. (TNTP- Executive Summary)
And when students started the year behind grade level, the research showed that classrooms with more grade appropriate assignments closed gaps by more than seven months.
What it Looks Like in Schools
Learning acceleration can seem like a daunting task to some. The Kentucky Department of Education has established a guidance document outlining a step-by-step process for adjusting the curriculum for acceleration. The document focuses on a three key steps:
Analyzing the existing curriculum for alignment to the KAS and adjustments to address interrupted learning for incoming students;
Identifying areas for potential learning gaps to share in vertical conversations; and
Drafting an adjusted curriculum. (KDE)
An article on KDE’s Kentucky Teacher also highlights the importance of using the formative assessment process to continuously evaluate learning and apply evidence-based instructional practices to ensure acceleration of learning.
Getting Started
While the Learning Acceleration process will take time to be thoughtfully designed and executed, there is a fairly simple practice that can be an entry point for anyone wanting to take the first step: pre-tests. While this practice was all the rage at one time in my career, it’s popularity has faded over time. Let’s bring them back! Pre-tests are a valuable tool to give educators the information they need before the lesson to design supports and extensions for children based on their access points. To design your pre-test, if possible, look at the progression of the standard and note the difference from the grade level below and above. Unpack all three of those standards and develop learning targets. Use those learning targets to build a pre-assessment to see where your students are on the standard. This knowledge will help you design a learning experience that not only starts with what students can do but propels them forward to grade-level mastery and beyond. Learning Acceleration will be an important process in which districts and schools will engage as we emerge from the pandemic and work together to build a stronger foundation in our students than ever before.
Until next time...keep growing the Bluegrass.
Jess
