Coaching Process & Student-Led Summative Activity

In most classes, the assessment process begins with the summative assessment and unpacking the standards the teacher feels fit into the unit they are covering in class.  In our class, our assessment process begins with a big or general idea that students brainstorm about and bring their ideas to us for a brief discussion to decide the best direction for their interests and ambition.  This is where the coaching process begins.

Coaching in Between

To ensure that personalized learning works in our classroom, we set up a coaching schedule for each unit. Students are not grouped by ability or levels. Groups are paired up with other groups or individuals so Learners can ask other Learners questions and bounce ideas off of each other. During this time we discuss short-term and long-term goals for their learning. We also set up "flash goals" - goals that can be met in 20-30 minutes.

Coaching is imperative to our personalized learning process. Our coaching process is simple and based on the foundation of reflection and modeling. We model for our Learners the strategies we want them to use and we help them reflect on their progress towards their self-regulated goals.

What made the coaching successful? (5th grade students' perspectives)

"Coaching other students made me feel proud of myself because I'm growing up to be a Coach. When my Coaches helped me, it made me feel proud of myself as well because I answered your questions with other questions. I would recommend this to other classes because working on things that interest me makes me feel good about myself." (A.B.)  

"I didn't see my own growth. I tried to monitor my growth so it fit me. When I coached other students, I tried to make them feel like they fit their work to their personality and their best, not my best. Coaching helped me find my own best answers." (K.C.) 

"The coaches didn't tell us what to do and they didn't tell us what we had to use. We got to choose that ourselves. This made me feel better than my old school because we didn't have to do the same things at the same time everyday." (B.C) 

"The coaching process was confusing but also extremely helpful. I got a lot of good coaching but it was stressful because I wanted to finish and I didn't want to give up. My coaches helped me see it through. My coaches helped me not give up. I was told that my coaches would rather see me fail than do something that I already know how to do. Doing something you already do is practice, but not showing growth. It made me feel good to be a Coach for other students because they wanted my help. I felt important and wanted." (K.P.) 

"Coaching is really helpful. It helps me learn how to control my interpersonal and social skills. It helps me organize my ideas so I have room for more and better thoughts." (D.O.)

The Exhibition

The exhibition would be considered our summative activity. In the case of our Health & Wellness Unit, students were set up throughout our classroom and flex space in a science fair format. We invited the entire school to come visit the exhibition and also Tweeted out a video to our district with an invitation to the exhibition.

Our Learners presented to all grade levels and even adults. They prepared posters, slides, models, and other physical artifacts to support their learning on their chosen topic of health and wellness. Some of our Learners went as far as providing their own feedback forms for students and adults to fill out after their presentation. It was amazing to see the level of engagement! One 2nd grader asked if he could stay through his recess so he could continue learning.

Personalizing the learning of our students was one of the greatest things we have tried this year. We noticed the most engagement, reflection, and ownership from our students when we gave them the opportunity to drive their own learning.