Institute Studies Cohort I 

The Institute Studies Cohort (ISC) provides intentional collaboration among groups that are working to design a learner centered environment based on personalized learning practices for their classroom, school or district. Cohorts will work as a community of practitioners, across districts, to formulate ideas, share best practices and network with each other. The Institute Studies Cohort is a great opportunity to launch personalized learning examples without too much face-to-face time or financial commitment. The cohort includes six directed sessions over an extended period and is open to any interested district, particularly districts or teams of educators, that:

• Are just getting started or trying to re-engage or re-energize their efforts
• Are looking to see personalized learning practices in action
• Have a small team in a school but do not have infrastructure support throughout the district to implement personalized learning
• Want continuing support, over an extended period, to make element connections and develop a plan for implementation

Successful implementation of personalized learning has always involved a team working together in conjunction with a supportive administrator. As such, participants are encouraged to be part of a team; we strongly encourage one member of the team to be an administrator. 

Session 1: Foundations - September 21, 12:00pm-3:45pm, CESA #1

At this session participants will learn about the Institute’s model to personalize learning and the work currently being done in the network. Participants will discuss why they are in the cohort, what they plan to accomplish, and will begin their journey of studying and understanding personalized learning. Participants will walk away from session one with a vision for implementing personalized learning in their environment. 

Session 2: Field Experience/Site Visits - October 3, 8:30am-2:30pm, Locations TBA

Participants will visit several sites in the CESA #1 region that provide robust examples of personalized learning in action. This provides an opportunity to see and learn from what others have done within our PL network. To conclude the field experience, practicing practitioners will offer "expert" advice, tips, and tricks for successful implementation. 

Session 3: Deeper Dive into the Honeycomb and Constellation Development - November 5, 8:00am-11:30am, CESA #1

At this session participants will have the opportunity to dive deeper into the layers of the Honeycomb Model. Teams, or individuals, will create element connections in the form of an "Element Constellation." This constellation will be the basis for the development of an implementation plan that shifts their practice from educator driven to learner driven. Participants are invited to watch for these elements in action in their learning environment over the next few weeks. 

Session 4: Creating a Constellation Implementation Plan - December 18, 8:30am-3:30pm, CESA #1

During this collaborative session participant teams will review their "constellation" and begin to draft their implementation action plan. This plan outlines the benchmarks and action steps needed to bring personalized learning to life in their context.

Session 5: Communication is Key (ONLINE) - December-January

Session 6: Cohort Celebration - February (2019) Date/location TBD

Please plan to bring a fully charged device and earbuds or headphones to sessions 1, 3, and 4.

You may also wish to familiarize yourself with our Guest Wireless Internet Access at CESA #1 and our Guest Wireless FAQ's.