WHAT IS A PLAYLIST?
A playlist is a sequence of resources and/or activities for students to complete.
A playlist might:
- Be assigned for a subset of a class period, a full day, a week, or even a full course
- Include content for one skill, one standard, one lesson, one unit, or even cover multi-disciplinary content
- Be assigned to one student, a group of students, or all students
Traditionally, playlist activities & resources get progressively more rigorous. Example: DOK 1 at the beginning of the playlist and DOK 4 at the end
Playlists are often in a list or table format.
- They can be printed or online
- All non-digital playlists, resources, and activities should be accessible to students with minimal teacher support
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF A PLAYLIST?
When we ask students to complete multi-faceted independent activities, a playlist serves as guidance and sequencing without real-time teacher actions. This allows the teacher to direct students without having to be present, thus freeing up to the teacher to work 1:1 or with small groups of students, manage behavioral challenges, observe & respond to academic blockers, offer tech support, and so much more.
“With playlists, the responsibility for executing the learning plan shifts: Students are given the unit [lesson, activity, etc] plan, including access to all the lessons, ahead of time. With the learning plan in hand, students work through the lessons and assignments at their own pace.” Reference
Note: not all playlists are personalized; they can be assigned the same way to all students. To personalize, teachers implement playlists in conjunction with personalized learning strategies to target specific student interests, skills, and needs.
HOW DO I BUILD A PERSONALIZED PLAYLIST?
1. Gather the resources and activities students should explore/complete
- Use your summative assessment as your guide: what do students need to know/know how to do?
- Consider having multiple options for the same topic or skill so students can exercise choice. For example, if I want students to explore themes in literature, I might offer multiple inputs on a variety of topics or at a variety of lexile levels.
2. Sequence the resources & activities in a logical way
- Progression suggestions: steps to task completion, DOK level, scope & sequence from your existing curriculum
3. Layer personalized learning strategies to ensure each student’s needs are met
- Pull small groups to target students with similar gaps in their knowledge while the rest of the class has work time on the playlist
- Ask students to set goals for playlist completion. Build in reflection time for students to think about their progress (and likely report progress to the teacher).
- Add adaptive digital content as a resource on your playlist
4. Determine if any of these variables apply:
Format - will the resources and activities in your playlist be digital, printed, or a combination of both?
Student choice - where might students be able to make a choice from multiple resources/activities?
- Consider a “Must do/May do” approach
- What prompts can you include to help students make the best choice for themselves? Is there a data point they can reference from a recent formative assessment or self-reflection to drive the decision?
Incremental checkpoints - a playlist might include pitstops (formative assessments) where students must demonstrate mastery before moving on to the next section of the playlist. Example
- This strategy is highly effective in preventing failures on summative assessments
- Checkpoints can be formal quizzes, informal conversations with the teacher, labs - any sort of pulse check to prove to the student and teacher that the student is ready to move on.
- Points accumulation - assign point values to playlist items if the sequence is less critical. Challenge students to accumulate a minimum number of points, and let each student determine his/her path to doing so. Example & Template
- Minimum pace - is there a cadence that students should keep in order to stay on track? Consider collaboratively building a target timeline with students (or subgroups of students) for the first playlist you introduce. Then, gradually release the responsibility to students to manage their own time.
WHAT RESOURCES SHOULD I EXPLORE?
Using Playlists to Differentiate Instruction
Article + Artifacts: 10 minutes
“A Rhode Island teacher shares her system for customizing instruction to meet the needs of every student...an individualized digital assignment chart that students work through at their own pace.”
ES: Defaulting to individual playlists
Article + video: 10 minutes
“Creating rules in the calendar app to ensure students are always learning in a personalized way during instructional time.”
HS: Self-Pacing with Playlists
Google Slides: 10 minutes
ISTE presentation by Jason Appel highlighting his personal classroom playlist adoption experience.
Montessori Model: Non-digital playlists
Article: 10 minutes
Observations and reflections on non-digital playlist implementation based on a visit to a montessori classroom.
Bank of Playlist Pictures
Photos: time varies
Links to photos of playlists that Education Elements has seen in practice in classrooms.
