Recently, the Gorham School Committee approved of the 2016-17Proficiency Based Learning (PBL) Action Plan that will guide our district’s
work for this year in creating a PBL system for our students. As you may or may not be aware, this work
has been ongoing for several years now with the goal of having a PBL system in
place for the graduating class of 2021 (our current 8th grade class). There is certainly much work to do to make
this happen, and one of the most essential components of making this new system
successful for our students is in making sure all of you know what “it” (PBL)
is and most importantly WHY we are moving in this important new direction. As a means to this end, I will be developing
a “PBL Informational Blog Series” aimed at helping parents and community
members to better understand our new PBL system, where we are, and where we are
headed. This article is intended to help
“kick off” this series! Here we go!
In Gorham, we believe that student engagement and student
achievement improve when the components of a proficiency based learning (PBL)
system are in place across all grades and content areas. Those components are: Clear learning standards/outcomes, aligned
instruction and assessments, timely help for students that need it, and
grading/reporting that reflects all those things and communicates clearly to
all stakeholders where students are in their learning.
Before people can begin to understand how our PBL system
works, you need to understand the fundamental differences between PBL and the
traditional models of schooling that we all grew up in.
What is
Proficiency-Based Learning?
Proficiency-based learning – refers to systems of
instruction, assessment, grading, and academic reporting that are based on
students demonstrating that they have learned the knowledge and skills they are
expected to learn as they progress through their education. (Note:
A few of the more common synonyms include competency-based,
mastery-based, outcome-based, performance-based, and standards-based education,
instruction, and learning, among others).
In Maine, academic expectations and “proficiency”
definitions for public-school courses, learning experiences, content areas and
grade levels are outlined in the Maine
Learning Results, which includes the Guiding
Principles. Based upon these core
documents provided by the State, each local school unit then creates their own
local system of standards and graduation requirements that are aligned to these
core documents. The general goal of
proficiency-based education is to ensure that students acquire the knowledge
and skills that are deemed to be essential to success in school, higher
education, careers, and adult life.
If you would like to learn more about the State’s guidance
for the development of a proficiency based system of learning, you can review
materials on their website called “Getting to Proficiency” located at this
link:
How is PBL Different
From Our Traditional Models of Schooling?
Below is a table taken from the Maine Department of
Education’s work with an organization called “The New England Secondary School
Consortium” or NESSC. Please know that
this table is intended to provide an overview of differences and is NOT
intended to list all possible variations, or to successfully harness the
complexities of either system. You can
learn more by going to: http://newenglandssc.org/resources/proficiency-based-learning/
Traditional Models
of Learning
|
Proficiency Based
Models of Learning
|
Students are
promoted from one grade to the next based largely on credits, age, and the
amount of time they have spent in school.
|
Students are
promoted from one learning level to the next based entirely on their ability
to demonstrate proficiency in meeting required clearly defined learning
standards.
|
Students learn at a
pace that is largely determined in advance by the teacher and school
schedule.
|
The learning
determines the amount of time required, time does not determine how much a
student can learn.
|
A one-size-fits all
approach to learning typically focuses on predetermined tasks (such as tests
and quizzes) and compliance.
|
Students have more
control over their education and – since the focus is on acquiring specific
concepts and skills, not executing specific tasks – they can learn in ways
that work best for them. Students may
execute different tasks or co-design projects based on their individual
interests, but learning expectations always remain the same.
|
Major learning gaps
persist or worsen over time because grades are not directly tied to a single
set of consistent expectations.
|
Achievement gaps
are minimized or eliminated because all students are held to the same
learning expectations. If students
fall behind, they are given the extra time and support they need when they
need it to make sure gaps do not grow.
|
Learning
expectations can be wildly uneven across courses, which undermines validity
and accuracy of student grades.
|
Standards enforce a
minimum level of required proficiency that empowers schools to maintain high
learning expectations across all courses, subjects, and grades.
|
A diploma may or
may not certify that students have met state-required standards or that they
are prepared for success in college, work, and life.
|
Every diploma is
based on demonstrated proficiency in meeting local and state-required
standards, which are based on what students need to know and be able to do to
succeed as college students, employees, and citizens.
|
A student who was
“compliant” and turned their homework in on time often got “good grades” even
though they may not have truly understood materials being covered.
|
Content area skills
and other important skills such as timely work completion are instructed and
assessed separately so that performance in one set of skills does provide
undue weight in the other
|
Why is Gorham moving to this new system of education?
The relatively easy, yet entirely
incorrect answer would be to say we are creating this model because the State
of Maine, through LD 1422, requires us to.
The real answer, however is that we see the creation of this system as a
mechanism through which we can make our mission/vision and core beliefs about
learning a true reality for ALL our students.
The Gorham School’s Proficiency Based Learning System is
built first and foremost upon the foundations of our Mission/Vision and Core
Beliefs About Learning. We believe
that by moving in this direction, we are “preparing” and “inspiring” our
students by focusing on teaching them how to be critical thinkers and clear
communicators, by making sure that we are meeting each student where they are
in their own learning, and challenging them to do their very best in meaningful
ways. We believe our new system of
education will extend learning beyond the four walls of our classrooms and into
our communities and we believe that we will create a system that allows us to
personalize student learning to meet each student’s needs, allowing them to
follow their passions and dreams now and well into the future! That’s why we are doing this important work!
More to Come!
Hopefully
this first article in our PBL system series has helped you to gain a better
understanding of what PBL is, and often just as importantly – what it is
NOT. It is important to understand that
in a PBL system, good teaching is just good teaching and is very often the very
same “good teaching" that you have seen in traditional classrooms. Whole group mini-lessons with breakout
workshops working with small groups of students, hands on, collaborative
learning are all very much a part of a good PBL system, just as they have
always been part of a good traditional system.
The
next article will focus on answering the question I’m sure you all have – "So,
what does this new system look like in the classroom for our students?"
