News and Events – The Collaborative for Customized Learning

2024 Mass Customized Learning National Summit

Linda Laughlin — Mon, 15 Apr 2024 03:03:10 +0000

This year’s Mass Customized Learning Summit is scheduled for July 17th & 18th in Portland, Maine. How will Artificial Intelligence tools help us customize learning? What are the challenges these Artificial Intelligence tools present?

We hope you can join us this summer when we plan to provide keynote messages, interactive whole group & breakouts sessions that focus on customizing learning within an artificial intelligence society.

Find more details here. Please help us spread the word!!

We welcome a variety of stakeholders including teachers, learning facilitators, instructional support staff, school leaders, parents, and vendors who are producing products that facilitate the work learning communities are doing to design the Ideal Learning Experience.

We look forward to an engaging conversation among hard working and passionate educators who are transforming the learning experience they provide ALL learners.

Leaders, Lunch, Learn, & Collaborate

Linda Laughlin — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 05:31:37 +0000

CCL Leaders are meeting on the following Mondays @ 10:30 for important leadership conversations. At our November meeting we discussed the importance of having and using a set of core values to build a culture supportive of transformation. Leaders shared their own experiences at engaging their staff at developing rubrics that identify what each of their core values look like and sound like when operating at their best. Our next LLC session is scheduled for December 11th.

Future LLC Sessions: Dec. 11, Jan. 8 & 22, Feb. 5, Feb. 12, March 4 & 18, April 8, May 6 & 20, June 3

All sessions will start @ 10:30

“Providing Learners With Effective Feedback”

Linda Laughlin — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 05:17:00 +0000

Our mini-summit on “Providing Learners With Effective Feedback” is scheduled for January 12th, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

This will be a full day, online book study using Susan Brookhart’s book: “How to Give Effective Feedback To Your Students 2nd Edition” Our one day mini-summits are designed to provide content, time to process with others, and conclude with creation of an implementation plan. It is nice when there are a variety of learning communities represented so there are conversations among and across a variety of learning facilitators/teachers, and leaders, but by the end of the day we will group participants together within their own systems so they can develop a plan. If there is only one person from a system attending we will group them with similar participants and encourage them to build an individual plan. These conversations often show educators why it is important to adopt different grading/feedback structures.

November Focused Review on “Customizing Structures”

Linda Laughlin — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 05:08:43 +0000

I thank those who were able to participate in our focused review on “customizing structures” last Friday. We talked about the efforts folks are making to transition their grade level structures, effectively implement learning progressions, the challenges of implementing programs and bringing on new staff, as well as the challenges of transitioning to more effective feedback/grading systems, particularly at the high school level.

When I asked what structure has been the easiest to change, leaders talked about implementing a proficiency scale, grouping in a small elementary school, lunch/recess choices as a way for learners to practice self regulating and voice and choice, K-2 badging that has reinforced a focus on learning goals vs activities and assignments, multi-age grouping and explicit instruction of habits of mind.

It occurred to me how important it has been for these leaders to be patient and persistent.

2023 MCL Summit Keynote by Bea McGarvey

Linda Laughlin — Wed, 12 Jul 2023 01:40:39 +0000

Bean McGarvey is delivering the keynote at our annual Mass Customized Learning Summit, in Harrisburg, PA. Here is a link to her handout.

2023 MCL Summit

Linda Laughlin — Wed, 12 Jul 2023 01:31:08 +0000

Our Collaborative members are presenting as a “Success Story” in Harrisburg, PA this week. Click here to access the slides and the flyer we are distributing. Thanks to Deanna Mayers, Nadine Larkin, Tracy Fasick, and Nicole Dice for representing CCL.

March 24th Content Development Work Session

Linda Laughlin — Fri, 10 Mar 2023 02:01:26 +0000

In an effort to capture the expertise of our learning facilitators (teachers) who are doing an exemplary job building a culture supportive of delivering the Ideal Learning Experience, we have invited them to a work session on March 24th (8 a.m. to 3 p.m.). CCL Leaders are in the process of inviting their exemplary learning facilitators (teachers) to participate and asking them to build a resource (article, video, etc.) that will be added to our CCL Resource Library.

The goals of our work session are to bring these effective implementers together to share what they are doing and give them time and feedback to build a resource that can be used within all our member systems.

March CCL Newsletter

Linda Laughlin — Fri, 10 Mar 2023 01:45:31 +0000

Check out our March Monthly Newsletter.. In January we changed our communication system to include a common google drive where we have organized our CCL Resources and a Monthly CCL Newsletter. We are still in the process of this transition so check back frequently for more details.

CCL Member Conversations

Linda Laughlin — Fri, 10 Mar 2023 01:40:54 +0000

On February 28th we started hosting smaller member conversations between organizations looking for more information from others on a specific topic. Our first conversation was about “Defining Mastery/Proficiency” and it was between two systems, in different places in their implementation, who are implementing learning progressions. All CCL Members are invited to join these conversations and can find a recording of this session in our “members only” section. To request a future conversation, contact Linda Laughlin, Executive Director, lindaflaughlin@llaughlin

Leaders; Lunch, Learning & Collaborate (LLC) (Newly Revised)

Linda Laughlin — Fri, 10 Mar 2023 01:33:31 +0000

This winter we revised our LLC sessions to highlight the work of many of our members. All sessions start with a short presentation followed by a Q & A section.

In February we received a short presentation on Learning Walks from Michael Pyle, Principal, Baron Elementary School, Melissa Troiano, Instructional Coach, and Tracy Fasick, Director of Curriculum & Instruction at Manheim Central School District in PA. Check out this blog for more information.

At our April 3rd session we will hear from Silas St James & Christine Stearns about how they use proficiency scales to define learning outcomes. Register for “Destinations and Pathways”.

On May 8th, Kyle Rhoads, Principal at Windham Primary School in Windham Maine will present on “Talking Points for Building Leaders”

All of these one hour sessions are delivered via Zoom and start at 10:30 EST. Free for all CCL Members.