Institute for Personalized Learning - Roles, Relationships and Structures

The six elements in this layer identify the roles that learners, educators, and community members play in a personalized, competency-based education system. They describe healthy relationships between stakeholders that catalyze learner growth and achievement. They also address structures that support everyone in their roles and enable learning relationships to flourish. The elements in this layer offer opportunities for coaches, assistant principals, specialists and other educator support staff to impact the learning experience.

Explore This Layer

Click the dropdowns below to compare the legacy and learner-centered mindsets of the Roles, Relationships & Structures elements, and explore resources that support each one.

Co-Designers of Assessment

Learners and educators collaborate to determine evidence of learning. Learners play an active role in the understanding, planning, and demonstration of learning.

Move from legacy practice where teachers design assessments and give them to a whole class of students to learner-centered practice where learners and educators collaborate to determine evidence of learning. Learners play an active role in the understanding, planning, and demonstration of learning.

Resources to support your practice:

Songs for Biology: Students Write Hip Hop to Learn Science
Source: PBS NewsHour

What Happens When Students Design Their own Assessments?
Source: EducationWeek

When Students Design the Assessment, Everyone Wins
Source: EducationWeek

Supporting Student-Initiated Assessment
Source: Learning Accelerator

Build it Together: Co-Constructing Success Criteria with Students
Source: Cult of Pedagogy

Co-Designers of Learning

Learners and educators collaborate to design learning experiences based on the learner's academic and/or skill based readiness.

Move from legacy practice where teachers are responsible for managing all aspects of their students' learning experience to learner-centered practice where learners and educators collaborate to design learning experiences based on the learner's academic and/or skill based readiness.

Resources to support your practice:

Students as Users, Designers, and Co-creators of Learning
Source: Next Gen Learning

Students Co-Authoring Their Own Learning
Source: Getting Smart

Community as a Resource

Stakeholders collaborate to fully leverage resources and expertise to maximize the learning experience for all.

Move from legacy practice where involvement by the community in the education system is limited with few connections between concepts learned in the classroom and life outside of school to learner-centered practice where stakeholders collaborate to fully leverage resources and expertise to maximize the learning experience for all.

Resources to support your practice:

Building Strong Community Partnerships and Schools: A roadmap for finding champions and collaborators
Source: Harvard Education Review

Building a Culture of Kindness with a Day of Service
Source: Edutopia

Local Issues Make Science Learning Meaningful
Source: Edutopia

Connect with scientists across the globe!
Source: Skype a Scientist

Educator as a Coach

Educators are guides as they coach alongside learners to achieve shared goals. Coaches provide resources and support flexibly to ensure learner success.

Move from legacy practice where educators identify problems and provide advice and solutions to learner-centered practice where educators are guides as they coach alongside learners to achieve shared goals. Coaches provide resources and support flexibly to ensure learner success.

Resources to support your practice:

When Teachers Act as Coaches, Everyone Comes Out a Winner
Source: The 74

Thinking Like a Coach
Source: Edutopia

The Role of the Educator as Coach
Source: LinkedIn

Families as a Resource

Family input is reflected in the school design and learner experience. Collaboration between families and educators support learners in both school and home learning environments.

Move from legacy practice where family relationships generally focus on home support for a standardized curriculum, report cards, and school events to learner-centered practice where family input is reflected in the school design and learner experience. Collaboration between families and educators support learners in both school and home learning environments.

Resources to support your practice:

What the research says about the best way to engage parents
Source: The Hechinger Report

The Dual Capacity-Building Framework for Family-School Partnerships - Version 2
Source: Dr. Karen Mapp

10 Strategies for Schools to Improve Parent Engagement
Source: Getting Smart

Learners as a Resource

Learners are valued partners and a resource for their own learning and the learning of others. Learning is driven based on readiness, strengths, needs, and interests.

Move from legacy practice where students are seen as empty vessels to be filled with knowledge by the teacher. Instruction is outside-in to learner-centered practice where learners are valued partners and a resource for their own learning and the learning of others. Learning is driven based on readiness, strengths, needs, and interests.

Resources to support your practice:

Collaborative learning approaches
Source: Education Endowment Foundation

60-Second Strategy: Math Partners
Source: Edutopia

Encouraging Students to Learn from Each Other
Source: Tufts University