{"id":16356,"date":"2018-09-10T09:25:22","date_gmt":"2018-09-10T13:25:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/?page_id=16356"},"modified":"2020-04-28T13:47:16","modified_gmt":"2020-04-28T17:47:16","slug":"learning-lab-vt","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/learning-lab-vt\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Learning Lab?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Welcome to Learning Lab VT<\/h1>\n<p>Vermont&#8217;s schools are home to some of the most innovative, passionate and skilled educators in the nation. And they&#8217;re opening up their classrooms to the world. Welcome to Learning Lab VT.<\/p>\n<h2>We\u2019re all in this together.<\/h2>\n<div class=\"epyt-video-wrapper\">\n<div  style=\"display: block; margin: 0px auto;\"  id=\"_ytid_17490\"  width=\"525\" height=\"295\"  data-origwidth=\"525\" data-origheight=\"295\" data-facadesrc=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VjHpD-XD1bo?enablejsapi=1&#038;autoplay=0&#038;cc_load_policy=1&#038;cc_lang_pref=&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;loop=0&#038;modestbranding=1&#038;rel=0&#038;fs=1&#038;playsinline=1&#038;autohide=2&#038;theme=dark&#038;color=red&#038;controls=1&#038;\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__ epyt-facade epyt-is-override  no-lazyload\" data-epautoplay=\"1\" ><img decoding=\"async\" data-spai-excluded=\"true\" class=\"epyt-facade-poster skip-lazy\" loading=\"lazy\"  alt=\"What is Learning Lab VT?\"  src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/VjHpD-XD1bo\/maxresdefault.jpg\"  \/><button class=\"epyt-facade-play\" aria-label=\"Play\"><svg data-no-lazy=\"1\" height=\"100%\" version=\"1.1\" viewBox=\"0 0 68 48\" width=\"100%\"><path class=\"ytp-large-play-button-bg\" d=\"M66.52,7.74c-0.78-2.93-2.49-5.41-5.42-6.19C55.79,.13,34,0,34,0S12.21,.13,6.9,1.55 C3.97,2.33,2.27,4.81,1.48,7.74C0.06,13.05,0,24,0,24s0.06,10.95,1.48,16.26c0.78,2.93,2.49,5.41,5.42,6.19 C12.21,47.87,34,48,34,48s21.79-0.13,27.1-1.55c2.93-0.78,4.64-3.26,5.42-6.19C67.94,34.95,68,24,68,24S67.94,13.05,66.52,7.74z\" fill=\"#f00\"><\/path><path d=\"M 45,24 27,14 27,34\" fill=\"#fff\"><\/path><\/svg><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You ever wonder whether you\u2019re really up to the task of meeting your learners\u2019 needs? We have. <\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our learners &#8212; Vermont educators &#8212; are in the midst of a monumental transition that, done well, will ensure that Vermont\u2019s public schools deliver on their mission of excellence and equity for all our learners.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No pressure.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The change is complex; the climb steep. And the realization a few years ago that we might be stumbling at our jobs &#8212; making sure educators have the support they need to meet the challenges they face &#8212; made us wonder. What kind of professional learning experience <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">could<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> prepare educators to meet the noble expectations of Vermont\u2019s Act 77 (personalized learning plans for all students) and Vermont\u2019s Education Quality Standards (locally-determined, proficiency-based high school graduation requirements)?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What would it look like, and how would it work?<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>The Dream<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Right away we knew the experience would have to model the very principles and practices Vermont educators are being expected to apply with their learners. With that in mind, we determined that the experience would be:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Personalized <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to meet the specific needs of each and every educator.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Proficiency-based<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to ensure all educators practice and develop the fundamental skills and mindsets expected of them.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Committed to the ongoing process of cultivating the kind of <\/span><b>trusting learning community<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that inspires educators to open their classrooms, minds, and hearts to each other. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Blended<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with just the right mix of in-person and asynchronous learning opportunities so teachers can work at times and places of their choosing. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Student-centered<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, placing our educators\u2019 students\u2019 learning at the center of the experience, inviting them to take on a vital part of the experience.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Contributing to <\/span><b>systemic capacity building <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">underway in our schools and across all of Vermont.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A few years later (and a few hairs grayer), we\u2019re now in our second year of co-teaching <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Learning Lab VT<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, our very best attempt to design and implement the learning opportunity we imagined. The results? Better than we imagined!<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>The Design<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Learning Lab VT is a year-long experience that provides a cohort of educators the support they need to partner with their students and each other to conduct and publish research that answers the questions:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why personalization?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What, exactly, are teachers and students doing in settings that are becoming increasingly personalized, and to what end?<\/span><\/li>\n<li>How might our findings be helpful to each other, our colleagues, and the field of education in general?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Learning Lab VT is:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Personalized to meet the specific needs of each and every educators.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Educators identify and pursue their own <a href=\"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/top-10-ways-to-spend-a-snow-day\/#.Xqhq6JNKjOQ\">inquiry questions<\/a>.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Proficiency-based, to ensure all educators practice and develop the fundamental mindsets and skills of student-centered learning.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Educators use <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/document\/d\/1vSVbaRXD4hjyLD9Yw4wYm1HcUEhStqIntp1FuGq7K4Q\/edit?usp=sharing\">our learning scales<\/a> to guide and track their learning.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Committed to a creating a trusting learning community so educators are game for opening their classrooms, minds, and hearts to each other and their students.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Educators use a variety of technology (Flipgrid, VoiceThread, Hangouts, <a href=\"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/learninglab18\/\">website<\/a>, blogs) to get to know each other and publish their inquiry questions and <a href=\"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/schedule-a-visit\/#.XJqqMlNKjOQ\">request \/ make visits to each other\u2019s classrooms. <\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Blended with the just-right mix of in-person and asynchronous learning opportunities so teachers can work at times and places that work for them.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/document\/d\/1tQm9agFQt4mtAcyBTLRQFJtwDewGrDdGOdcLX_C48RI\/edit?usp=sharing\">scope and sequence<\/a> gives a good sense of the rhythm of the year and how we work when we\u2019re together and apart.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Involve our educators\u2019 students so they have a seat at the table. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Each educator establishes<a href=\"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/the-role-of-students-in-the-learning-lab\/#.XqhrW5NKjOR\"> a site-based Learning Lab team of students<\/a> who play a range of roles. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Connected and contributing to the systemic capacity building underway across all our schools and the state of Vermont. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All of our learners make Bright Spots &amp; Belly Flops blogposts\u00a0to formatively tell the story of their findings, and all of our learners choose contribute to systemic capacity from a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thinglink.com\/scene\/1165711616201719809\">Choice Board<\/a>. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019d like to learn more, we and our learners would love to hear from you. Email Susan Hennessey (susan.hennessey@uvm.edu) or Bill Rich (redhouselearning@gmail.com)<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thinglink.com\/card\/1245364948779925506\" width=\"960\" height=\"533\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-original-width=\"1350\" data-original-height=\"750\"><\/iframe><script async src=\"\/\/cdn.thinglink.me\/jse\/responsive.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2>Why schedule a visit?<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Because this network of learning labs demonstrates what it looks like as teachers and their students co-create the kinds of learning experiences that make the challenging journey so worthwhile. Come take a look! Seeing &#8212; and chatting and doing &#8212; really is believing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome to Learning Lab VT Vermont&#8217;s schools are home to some of the most innovative, passionate and skilled educators in the nation. And they&#8217;re opening up their classrooms to the world. Welcome to Learning Lab VT. We\u2019re all in this together. You ever wonder whether you\u2019re really up to the task of meeting your learners\u2019 &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/learning-lab-vt\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;What is Learning Lab?&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-16356","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16356"}],"version-history":[{"count":30,"href":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16356\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25459,"href":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16356\/revisions\/25459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}