Customized Learning
Customized Learning
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2013-201Pilot Applications
Danville Community Schools is excited to again offer customized learning
pilot classrooms for the 2013-2014 school year! Pilot opportunities will
be available in mathematics for grades K-8 and English/Language Arts for
grades K-2. The application can be found here.
Please follow this link for a brochure created to provide
additional information on the pilots and answers to commonly asked
questions.
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We are excited to share that Danville was awarded the Imagining and Creating eLearning Grant from the Indiana Department of Education!! This is a big honor, and a big step forward for our district!
This grant was aimed at districts that are actively engaging in imagining and creating new learning experiences for students, particularly in thee areas of digital content, flexible scheduling and customized learning. The award of $300,000 will be split among three school districts who are all working currently on customized learning efforts. We are excited to join Plymouth Community Schools and Garrett-Keyser-Butler Schools in our journey!
Our goal is to use this grant to develop an effective and elegant approach to executing curriculum with MCL, from designing and planning curriculum, to looking for ways track student workflow and progress, and new tools to assess students and report that information to parents and teachers. This grant could be used to find products and tools that fit these needs, as well as fund the manpower necessary to undertake these projects.
Our teachers need support in continued curriculum mapping, time to write quality assessments that will ensure we are testing higher order thinking skills before students move on, and easier ways to communicate student progress with teams of teachers and parents. Continued work with teachers, parents, and community members is needed in order to shift the mindset of those very comfortable with the way education has looked for many years to the mindset necessary for this new model. |
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"The structure of most American school systems is archaic and unsuitable for the twenty first century. If American schools are to improve significantly, they will have to be restructured so as to release new energies from the efforts of all members of the system" (Bacharach 11).
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The above quote was written by Bacharach and Shedd in 1991. These
professionals wrote about changing the traditional structure of school over two
decades ago, and it's time we take notice. The traditional, assembly-line
approach to education is outdated and no longer supports the success of our
students. Danville Community School Corporation recognizes this need to
restructure our system and is committed to customizing each student's
education to complement individual learning styles, interests, and abilities.
Customized learning will enable our students to move at their own pace,
study content that is of interest to them and aligned with their curricular plan,
and maintain social ties to their peers. Our goal is to meet our students'
needs while engaging them with 21st century technology to prepare them for a
world that is ever evolving.
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To learn more about Customized Learning consider reading Inevitable: Mass Customized Learning, Learning in the Age of Empowerment by Charles Schwahn & Beatrice McGarvey or visit their website at
http://www.masscustomizedlearning.com/
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"We believe that making education more meaningful to learners, making
learning more motivational for learners, and preparing young learners for
for their future rather than our past is the critical educational and moral
(not to mention-economic) imperative of the day" (Schwahn xiii).
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Please email comments and questions to:
customizedlearning@danville.k12.in.us
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