Alignment: ensuring our outcomes, performance tasks, formative tasks, and assessments/tools are connected
Backward Design: a 3-part process to designing a studio:
Identify desired results
Determine acceptable evidence
Plan learning experiences and instruction
Beacon: a competency-based Learning Management System that holds all learner data as they progress through portfolios
Best First Instruction: our district instructional model ensuring clarity of outcomes, high-impact strategies, and formative assessment for feedback
Building 21: a non-profit organization that functions in many ways.
They are an educational redesign organization that helps schools and districts become competency-based.
They support their own lab schools (b21 philly, b21 allentown),
They are hosts of a network called, “Learning Innovation Network” to share resources between all schools they support. This is us!
And finally they are the creators of the Learning What Matters Framework (Building 21 Competencies + Continua) alongside their NEW LMS- Beacon
Competency: This is one area within a Competency Set that defines only a part of the bigger set. For example, a competency under the set of ELA would be Reading Critically, or Write Effectively.
Competency-Based: using competencies (global skill sets) to assess and promote students. The fancy definition we use is “an approach to education that focuses on developing students’ competency (or lifelong, durable skills) through meaningful, authentic learning and that advances learners based on demonstrated readiness rather than time spent in a grade or class” (reDesign).
Competency Framework: the collection of all competencies, skills, and success criteria that students are expected to master within their time with the school (our promise to the community)
Competency Set: Also known as a subject area, these are the names of the collection of all skills within that area. The Academies use 8 Competency Sets (ELA, Math, Sci, Social Studies, PE, Health, Habits of Success, and NextGen Essentials).
Continua: (plural) a continuum is a progression of a skill showing the learning journey of that skill using levels. Those levels let you know if the student is just beginning (level 2) or college ready (level 10).
Culminating Task: the overarching performance at the end of the studio that assesses competencies (showcase, presentation, implementation of…) where students can see the impact of what they have learned
Descriptor: the smallest part of the continua that defines specific actions a learner needs to take
Formative Task: a small type of assessment(not rated) that monitors student performance and understanding on competencies
Instructional Model: We use Best First Instruction. And we use the Workshop Model (Make Meaning, Investigate, and Synthesis) for daily learning
Investigate: The part of the instructional model where students practice on their own or in groups
Learning Cycle: a way for learners and teachers to track where they are in a project and the type of thinking needed
Level: M-12, ratings that show where a learner is within the skill they are working on
Make Meaning: the part of the instructional model where teachers are instructing based on the skills needed to complete the studio
Mastery: Idaho defines mastery as “An education system where student progress is based on a student’s demonstration of mastery of competencies and content, not seat time or the age or grade level of the student” (33-1632).
Mentee(s): the student(s) in your mentoring group
Mentor: the trusted adult who facilitates mentoring
Mentoring: a time during the day where mentees (a group of students) and mentor (trusted adult in the building) meet to build community, ownership, and ensure progress within their dashboards.
Milestones: A module that contains the performance task and stepping stones (small tasks) within a studio that guides learners to the performance task. All Milestones lead to the Culminating project.
STEAL IMAGE FROM STUDIO GUIDE
Pacing: This is a hot topic. Pacing is meant to describe the rate of which a student completes a portfolio, not a studio. No pace is not a pace. Used with students, say- “optimal pace” “flexible due dates” and “You are with me or ahead of me.”
PBLx: there are too many PBLs (project, performance, problem-based) so PBLx is the learning experience of any model chosen
Performance Task: a type of assessment where learners are assessed on competencies through a performance or product (a lab report, a speech, an infographic, an interview)
Personalized Learning: responsive instructional practices enabling teachers to meet the needs of students where they are through structured learning supports to optimize engagement, growth, and sense of community.
Inquiry-Based Learning
Explicit Skill and Strategy Instruction
Expanded Discussion
Regular Conferencing
Formative Assessment
Flexible Environment and Groupings
Portfolio: a collection of work showcasing how well a learner has mastered a competency set.
Problem Frame: an overarching real-world issue or problem that a studio is designed to explore. It takes the form of an open-ended, student-facing question that is short, engaging, challenging, and cuts to the heart of the problem
Skill: a literal skill a student is getting better at within a competency.
Stepping Stone: a small task that guides learners toward their performance task within a Milestone. These can be rated or not rated. They can be learning experiences (discussion) or practice (worksheets).
Studio: a learning experience/problem-based unit that assesses learners on competencies
Synthesis: the part of the instructional model (daily learning)where learners reflect on what they have learned, their next steps, or submit their task(s).