I continue to work towards connecting the dots between the deep inquiry process that student curation brings, and making learning personal for each student.
Recently, Barbara Bray & Kathleen McClaskey, authors of Make Learning Personal and the most knowledgeable people I know on the topic of personalized learning published a brilliant infographic, illustrated by the amazing Sylvia Duckworth, on “The Continuum of Choice.”
This reminded me immediately of another graphic that depicts the evolution of inquiry – moving control of the learning –or inquiry –from the teacher, to the student, created by Robert Bonnstetter. In an earlier blog post, I speculated that the column furthest to the right demonstrates student curation. I started wondering, where does student choice fall in this process?
By Ronald J. Bonnstetter: Available http://wolfweb.unr.edu/homepage/jcannon/ejse/bonnstetter.html
I created the chart below to show my thinking on the connections and alignment between Inquiry, Choice, Curation & Relevance:
While student curation is an important part of transferring ownership of learning to the student, and allows for them to think deeply and make connections as learners, I can see by looking at the “Continuum of Student Choice” that curation is not the final step. We need to provide time and support for our learners to take the next step, and apply the learning and understandings they have reached through the process of curating to solving real world problems, or to create something new.
Because, it’s about the transfer. If we want students to have enduring understanding, and be able to use their learning in practical ways, to solve real world, messy, unstructured problems. We need to provide the opportunity for them to practice this kind of learning transfer in a safe and supported environment.
cross posted at Innovations in Education
Nancy White is the 21st Century Learning & Innovation Specialist for Academy School District 20, providing professional development on 21st century skills and technology integration, and working with the IT-ES team to carry out the district’s 21st Century Learning Plan. Nancy served on an ad-hoc team to help with the integration of 21st century skills into Colorado’s revised content standards, and co-authored The Colorado Learner’s Bill of Rights. Read more at Innovations in Education.
