Personalized Learning With Matt & Courtney

Matt and Courtney have been busy lately, but we are back! We review the first semester of 2020 and how it has gone in this time of distance/hybrid learning.

Matt and Courtney return from their election-induced stress times with the introduction of the Profile of a Successful Distance Learner, developed this fall by the Maine Curriculum Leaders Association. They discuss how it is a document to be used to start conversations with teachers, learners, stakeholders, etc, and how it is NOT something to just hand out and call it good.You can find the document at https://www.mainecla.org/blog/mcla-profile-of-a-successful-distance-learner. It is definitely something we could all use as we head into the winter months.

Matt and Courtney made it through election day, but it's obviously still going. Just a few minutes of therapy from us about what to do next..... Hang in there.

Matt and Courtney return with a conversation around student attendance, some things that have been happening since March and into the fall, and how to go plaid.

Matt and Courtney are back with a mailbag! Post your own questions in our parking lot at plearnmc.com. Today's question: How do we set a reasonable bar for competency work when trying to hold students accountable in a "new normal" world?

Matt and Courtney return after a week off with a plea - use the damn moment! Education is different these days, we all know that. So this is the perfect time for us to make the system do what we want it to do - encourage learner agency; be standards-based, proficiency-based, or even competency-based;  project-based across content areas; etc, etc. This is the time!Read Kelly Young's article here, and follow Education Reimagined on Twitter.

Matt and Courtney return with some talk about what a portrait of a distance learner looks like in this time of COVID, and what about schools keeping the hybrid model after the pandemic ends?

Matt and Courtney return with a pod they've now done twice due to some amazing lack of recording skills by Matt. We talk about hard conversations in schools these days - especially about race. It's a good one - and we've done it twice.

Matt and Courtney return with a start-of-school special unlike any other! At least unlike the ones we've done in the past.

Matt and Courtney return for season 6 with an episode about adults. We need help dealing with COVID, too. What are some ways to help support our colleagues in these After Times?Courtney mentioned WellnessForEducators.com, and it's a great place to start.

Matt and Courtney are back with an interview with Carisa Corrow, principal owner of educatingforgood.com, and Gary Chapin, consultant and writer for educatingforgood.com. They talk about a virtual conference happening August 10-12 - sign up now! There are some pretty cool events happening, and you hear all about them in this interview.

Matt and Courtney answer the question about norms in the pandemic remote learning world. We have some good ones, and rant about some bad ones, but we always have good intentions. Like, ummm... Hitler. Listen and find out how we did that.

Matt and Courtney continue to pod in the summer, as they discuss what is best for learners in the age of pandemics. They talk about organizing kids according to what they know, among other things. Courtney starts us off with a big "don't-do" before a corresponding "do-do".

Matt and Courtney discuss how states/districts are planning to reopen for learning in the fall, and look at it from a personalized learning angle. How can we continue to make school engaging AND equitable in a blended environment of in-person and remote learning? And do it for ALL kids, not just what we did in the spring?Covid-19 is making us think differently about how we do school, whether we like it or not. Let's make it work for all kids this time.

Matt and Courtney return with a review of an article in Education Week. They discuss the 6 ways to bring students and staff back, but what about the learning? Discuss with us everywhere at PLearnMC!

Matt and Courtney are back! Matt has moved to Southern California, but the pod goes on! This week, we discuss a common topic for us: inequity. This time, however, we talk in the context of George Floyd. What are our responsibilities as educators?

Matt and Courtney talk about the near-future in a pandemic world of education. We get some tips from Allison Zmuda, along with some of our own ideas.

Matt and Courtney are back talking about grading, now in a pandemic situation. How is it done during a remote/distance learning time, and how do we make it fair for our learners? If we have been preaching providing evidence anytime anywhere anyhow, then how do we make it fair for all? And Courtney's soul-rocking question: is anywhere anytime learning problematic from the angle of equity? WHOA.And we got Zoombombed. It was nice. We cut it, but you hear the aftermath. Plus, a listener question!

Matt and Courtney return with an in-person pod! We recorded this one just before the coronavirus closed school around the world, but the intentions still work for learners. Awhile back, we talked about the role of argument being the key for all critical thinking - now Matt brings in the role of statistics into critical thinking (and Courtney wins, as statistics seems to be a subset of argument). Anyways, take a listen from the Before Times. Let us know what you think at plearnmc.com!

Matt and Courtney continue to catch up with teachers we have talked to - Matt Lunt is back! He is an OG from season one, and he's back to talk about teaching during these strange times.