Guest Post from Teacher @nunco3773 on Personalized Learning Conference

I was privileged to be able to attend the personalized learning conference this year with a great team from North. There were a variety of great speakers from Tony Evers, Alfie Kohn, and Diane Laufenberg. Jody asked us to respond with an ah-ha moment or what resonated with us based off of the personalized learning elements. We looked at why failure is essential, how play is vital to inquiry and learning, and that building relationships through having a clear understanding of who our students are, will increase active learning and school success. 

It is difficult to pin down one point that was more essential than the others. That being said, I believe the most important thing is for us to have a clear understanding of our students BEFORE we build a curriculum. Alfie Kohn made the statement "I have the perfect marriage all set - I just need the partner" and that this is how we treat education. We plan everything out before we even consider the student. We have no idea what will motivate them, what learning style they excel with, what interests they have, what their soft skills look like, or what they may dream about having some day. He suggests that we need a personalized learning profile or plan. That we foster our relationships with students more regularly. That we look at what students want from school and develop plans around that. Quite a challenge to meet when you have 140+ students to serve. Yet schools around the country are doing it. They are putting the emphasis on the excitement of creating interested learners. 

He asks "What does it truly mean to have a classroom where things are organized around questions and projects?" That "Kids decide along with you how things are going to work - environment, materials, field trips, etc". He stated that the classroom may look noisy, chaotic even. That things may not appear to go well at first but if you keep students at the center of the instruction inquiry, excitement, and learning will grow and develop and be the center of your classroom. 
So for me, the big walk away is how can we build meaningful successful relationships with our students and have a better understanding of their personal learning needs so we facilitate their growth as life long learners and excitement for reaching their learning goals.