This week in CONNECTIONS:

• INNOVATE, ITERATE, INSPIRE | Industry leaders in almost every sector continually invest in Research and Design. In fact, it’s likely that you’ve used something today that resulted from strategic R&D. How might this approach accelerate change in schools?

• MAKING PROFILE COMPETENCIES INTENTIONAL | Inspiration from Rowan County and Beechwood Independent in Happening in the Field.

• LEARN WITH US! Rethinking the middle and high school master schedule, creating workflows that cultivate student agency, seeing Modern Classroom Project’s new partnership and pilot in action featuring Illustrative Mathematics and Spencer County teachers and equipping students to be AI fluent - all in What’s on Deck below!
  

CONNECTIONS

January 2025 | Issue 15

Innovate, Iterate, Inspire: Revolutionizing Learning Through Prototyping

Industries like healthcare and technology, which have transformed our daily lives, thrive on robust research and development (R&D). So why has education, the foundation of our future, lagged behind in embracing this transformative process?

R&D systematically tests and refines ideas to solve problems and find new solutions. In healthcare, for example, decades of research enabled the rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines. Imagine if education adopted this same approach—testing new ideas with urgency and intentionality.

Some schools have already begun.

• High School Prototype: One leadership team wanted to explore new scheduling options. What they didn’t want, however, was to implement changes long-term without knowing whether or not they’d really work. What might give them the opportunity to try something in a low risk way, learn from it and continue to iterate? They decided to find space for a series of short design cycles. 
• One of their prototypes engaged students in designing one week - five days - of personalized learning. Not only did this ultimately inform their new approach to scheduling, this prototype is still in existence as Intersession, a five day period occurring each quarter that provides time for students to explore passions and interests as well as to take important steps toward their post secondary plans. It has become a popular cornerstone of the high school experience - one that students start talking about and planning for even in middle school.
• Middle School Flex Period: Frustrated with poor time management, teachers introduced a student-owned “flex period.” This simple concept evolved into a full flex day where students manage their own learning.
• A Different Approach to Summer Learning: Knowing the dismal outcomes often resulting from the traditional approach to summer school, one district asked teachers to create proposals for “adventures” with an intentional focus on math and reading/writing and the district’s Profile of a Learner competencies. Through a series of Design Studios, the district supported teachers in designing their “adventures” aligned with the district’s goal of authentic learning as the norm for every student. 
• Not only did this result in a much more engaging and impactful summer learning experience for students, it also allowed teachers an opportunity to try something new in a way that felt much less risky than during the school year. A special celebration of learning to conclude the summer learning program involved both students and teachers reflecting on the impact of the new design. 
• Student-Driven Credit: After a disengaged student wished he could get credit for his passions, his school designed a program allowing students to propose personalized learning paths alongside traditional credit models. (Imagine doing some R&D around a model like this for credit recovery!)
• These are just a few examples showing how R&D can drive meaningful change. Interested in thinking about what’s possible in your school or district? Join us on March 7 for a special Design Studio, Beyond the Bell: Reimagining the Secondary Schedule. Together, we’ll explore entry points, prototypes, and rapid design cycles to find new ways to use and organize time so that our students are truly equipped for the world today.
  

Districts across the country have developed Portraits of a Learner to serve as a North Star in reimagining what we want for learners. Translating the promises we make in those Portraits into practice and learner experiences is a journey. Check out a couple of structures districts are using to shine a bright light on the kind of learning experiences necessary to develop the skills and knowledge in our Portraits AND create enabling conditions for educators to design those experiences. 

THINK BIG THURSDAY IN ROWAN COUNTY | Rowan County keeps their Profile competencies in the spotlight through “Think BIG Thursdays.” Follow them on social media for more!

DURABLE SKILLS THROUGH REAL WORLD CHALLENGES | Beechwood Independent focuses on durable skills beginning in Kindergarten through The EDGE. What a great example of big thinking (and no doubt, strategic R&D was involved!)

The EDGE program started in 2018 after several years of research and planning by the district, which uncovered a number of issues facing business, industry, and universities: students and new employees lacked certain skills including critical thinking, problem-solving, long term planning, and creative thinking. EDGE begins in kindergarten at Beechwood. Beechwood adopted the goal that 100% of its students will experience personalized learning opportunities. Between kindergarten and 4th grade, the foundations of the core concepts of EDGE are introduced and reinforced through quarterly EDGE challenges.

Between 5th and 8th grade, each student gets to attend a “seminar” which refines the core concepts through a series of real-world challenges. At the end of 8th grade, each student will choose a “minor” class that they want to take in high school. The minor is a three-year specialized course of study. These minors have unique curriculum personalized by industry partners. Students are then eligible for a 4th year internship, early college or dual credit that is aligned with their minor. See the full article here.

AI FLUENT STUDENTS | January 30 | 4:00 pm EST | Will your May graduates be ready to navigate the world of AI? It’s not too late! Join us on January 30 to learn more. Here’s the registration link along with a short video to learn more.

HQIR ILLUSTRATIVE MATH & MODERN CLASSROOM PROJECT | Feb 5 | 9:00-1:00 pm EST | Amanda Butler, Spencer County’s CAO, is inviting you and anyone else you’d like to bring to see the Modern Classroom Project’s Illustrative Math Pilot in action. Please note that space is limited. I've included the details below, and Amanda and/or I will be happy to answer any questions you might have. We hope you can join us! RSVP here.

        When: Wednesday, February 5th - 9:00-11:00 am 

Where: Spencer County Middle School in Taylorsville, KY

What to expect: We'll have time to review the model, learn what we look for in classrooms, and meet the leaders before we head out for classroom observations. We'll close with a chance to debrief and connect about questions before the session ends.

BEYOND THE BELL: RETHINKING SECONDARY SCHEDULES | | March 6 | 9:00-3:00 pm EST | Tired of the 7-period day? What would your students say? Is that schedule working for your teachers? During this special Design Studio, we’ll explore entry points, prototypes, and rapid design cycles to find new ways to use and organize time so that our students are truly equipped for the world today. Register here! 

HOW MIGHT WE RETHINK TEACHER-LED CLASSROOM ROUTINES TO INSPIRE STUDENT AGENCY? | April 17 | 9:00-3:00 pm EST | Join us this spring to learn how even the simplest of classroom routines can cultivate agency in your students. Register here!

WHAT MIGHT THE NEXT STEPS BE FOR YOUR CLASSROOM, SCHOOL OR DISTRICT? 

Whether looking for ways to bring your Profile to life, how to organize the time we have with students differently, simple shifts to create a different - and much more meaningful and memorable - learning experience, building student agency, or something else, we’d love to be your design partners. 

Not sure what your next steps need to be? We can help with that too! Contact us at elevatED studios!

IN CASE YOU MISSED THEM:

Ms. Z’s Tier 1 Dilemma | CONNECTIONS NO. 7

Ms. Z, Tier 1, and KY’s Framework for Teaching | CONNECTIONS NO. 8

HQIRs and Performance Assessments: Bringing Learning to Life | CONNECTIONS NO. 9

Empowering Young Architects: A Student-led Profile of a Learner | CONNECTIONS NO. 10

Designing Learning that Matters: A Series of Simple Shifts | CONNECTIONS NO. 11

Breaking the Bell: Thinking Differently About Time | CONNECTIONS NO. 12

Questions for Reflection in the New Year: What’s a Diploma Worth? | CONNECTIONS NO. 13