When They Already Know It

This practical guide is designed to help collaborative teams at all grade levels address the critical question "How will we extend the learning for students who are already proficient?" Mark Weichel, Blane McCann, and Tami Williams identify five elements of personalized learning, along with five instructional strategies for extended, differentiated instruction, that give all students the opportunity to reach their personal best. Rethink how to respond to proficient students in a competency-based curriculum: Realize the importance of addressing the fourth critical question of Professional Learning Communities at Work(TM). Learn the five elements of personalized learning: knowing your learners, allowing student voice and choice, implementing flexibility, using data, and integrating technology. Explore five differentiated instruction strategies for extending the learning for high-ability and high-potential students: curriculum compacting, flexible grouping, product choices, tiered assignments, and multilevel learning stations. Understand how collaborative teams in a professional learning community (PLC) can maximize student engagement, motivating students to learn beyond the essential standards. Utilize individual and collaborative team reflection tools, and read stories based on real-life teachers' experiences implementing the elements of personalized learning in classrooms. Contents: Introduction Chapter 1: Reframing Chapter 2: Personalized Learning Chapter 3: Instructional Strategies That Support Question 4 Students Chapter 4: Knowing Your Learners Chapter 5: Allowing Voice and Choice Chapter 6: Implementing Flexibility Chapter 7: Using Data Chapter 8: Integrating Technology Chapter 9: Bringing It All Together

Mark Weichel, EdD, is assistant superintendent for teaching and learning at Westside Community Schools in Omaha, Nebraska. The district has received local and national attention for its commitment to collaboration, innovation, technology integration, and personalized learning. Mark and his team developed collaborative systems which have been written about in various journals, and they host visiting districts and attend state and national conferences.

Previously, Mark was director of secondary curriculum, high school building administrator, and junior high school social studies teacher at Papillion-La Vista Community Schools in Nebraska. He and staff implemented Professional Learning Communities at Work™ strategies, and failure rates plummeted while standardized testing measures such as ACT, PLAN, and state writing assessments confirmed high levels of student learning. Mark and his leadership team at Papillion-La Vista South High School presented at conferences nationwide, and their work was featured on AllThingsPLC.info and in Principal Leadership magazine. They received the award for innovation in education from AARP. Mark also taught in the graduate schools for Peru State College and the University of Nebraska-Omaha.

Blane McCann, PhD, is superintendent of Westside Community Schools in Omaha, Nebraska, and former superintendent of Shorewood School District in Wisconsin. In both districts, Blane led cost-effective strategic-planning efforts and initiatives around personalized learning, professional learning, and integration of technology, which allowed each district to close achievement gaps while maintaining excellence.

Previously, Blane served as a teacher, coach, assistant principal, and elementary and middle school principal, as well as executive director for K-8 instruction. He has taught leadership courses at Cardinal Stritch University and is a member of Phi Delta Kappa, Learning Forward, the American Association of School Administrators, and the Nebraska Council of School Administrators. He serves on the boards for Methodist College, Wellness Committee of the Midlands, and Nebraska Council on Teacher Education.

Blane's honors and awards include Outstanding Educational Leader by Phi Delta Kappa chapter #0116 at the University of Nebraska-Omaha (2017), Lexington Education Leadership Award Fellowship (2015), U.S. Department of Education's ConnectED Summit Future Ready White House participant (2014), and Kenosha Unified School District Administrator of the Year (2001).

To learn more about Blane's work, visit Blane McCann's Blog (westside66.org/wcsblog) or follow @BlaneMcCann on Twitter.

Tami Williams, EdD, is an assistant professor in the educational leadership department at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. Tami has been a teacher, behavior interventionist, assistant principal, and district administrator. She is former director of assessment, research, and evaluation at Millard Public Schools in Nebraska, where she supervised buildings and led assessment innovations, program evaluations, data storage and reporting, and data professional development.

Tami is a member of Phi Delta Kappa. She was selected for the PDK Emerging Leaders class in 2012 and received the 2010 Linda Gehrig Educational Leadership Award from the Metropolitan Reading Council. Tami has presented on social justice, program evaluation, and school improvement at several local and national conferences.

To learn more about Tami's work, follow @tamijwilliams on Twitter.