Section 2: Personalized Learning Plans

Conceptual Overview

Presentation Audio Transcript

Text-Based Reflection

Watch the Vermont Professional Learning Network's "Personalized Learning Plans at Main Street School: Charting a Path to Engaged Student Learning" video.
Answer the following questions:

• What questions does the video raise for you about personalized learning plans?
• How would you convince a skeptical parent or colleague about the value of personalized learning plans?

Student Experience

Watch two videos of your choice from The Tarrant Institute for Innovative Education's "How can students reflect on their PLPs?"
Answer the following questions posed by The Tarrant Institute:

• What are some of the ways your students tell the story of their learning?
• Now, what are some of the ways your students could tell the story of their learning?

Educator Experience

Evaluate the following personalized learning plan examples using the AOE's Personalized Learning Plan Critical Elements checklist:

• Vermont AOE Sample Plan
• Thrive Middle School Sample Plan
• Thrive Elementary School Sample Plan
• Chicago International Charter School Sample Plan

Answer the following questions:

• What are the key elements of a personalized learning plan? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the different plan formats? If you were a student, which plan would be more effective for you, and why?
• Where in your current work with students can you build in more opportunities for student goal-setting, choice, self-evaluation, and reflection?

Case Study Analysis

Read the case study below:

Guided Study at Flexible Middle School is a thirty-minute block of time each day for students to get extra help, complete homework, or read. It’s also a time where students work on their PLPs. Three years ago, Flexible School District decided to start its PLP journey in the middle school as a pilot with a plan that in 2017-2018, all students 6-12 would develop, maintain, and update a PLP each year.

In preparation for 2017-2018’s full implementation, high school teachers have been learning from the middle school teachers' experience. Once a month there is a cross-school faculty meeting where the middle school teachers present about PLP process. High school teachers are then able to ask questions as they think about what implementation will look like at the high school. In January, a group of teachers approached the high school principal with their concerns about how much time it took to develop PLPs in the middle school. They noted that there was no “Guided Study” time at the high school, and they had difficulty getting through all the content as it was. They could not see where the time to develop PLPs at the high school was coming from and asked if they could possibly take another year to think about it before implementing.

Answer the following questions:

• What advice would you give to the principal?
• What are some short-term and long-term options to consider?

More Resources

Review the Vermont AOE's resources on Personalized Learning for conceptual frameworks and templates.
Read the Rowland Foundation's "The Equity Traps Within Act 77: Flexible Pathways and Personalized Learning Plans" blog post for a reflection on how to ensure unconscious biases do not limit students' pathways.
Explore the Tarrant Institute for Innovative Education's "Implementation of Personal Learning Plans (PLPs) Around Vermont" for case studies about Vermont schools are implementing personalized learning plans.
Read the Tarrant Institute for Innovative Education's "How Students Tell Their PLP Stories" for a blog post about 5th and 6th graders from Fayston Elementary School taking ownership of their PLPs.
Read 2Revolutions' brief overview of "Personalized Learning Plans and Learner Profiles" for a conceptual overview and links to examples.
Read CompetencyWorks's "Three Quick Thoughts About Personalized Learning Plans" blog post.
Watch the Teaching Channel's "Deeper Learning Through Personal Learning Plans" video for an exploration of what personalized learning looks like in a Minnesota school.
Read Edmentum's "10 Steps to Creating Personalized Learning Plans for Students" list of considerations in implementing personalized learning plans.

Evidence of Learning

Be sure to record your answers to the above questions in the Evidence of Learning Tool.

Continue this Self-Paced Course

Section 3: Student Agency

Browse other questions: Practices in Personalized, Proficiency-Based Learning