Our CEO Anthony Kim founded Education Elements in 2010 because he believed that learning could be personalized for every student. He wanted to help schools rethink the structure of schooling and the way technology could strengthen instruction and streamline operations.
Since then, Education Elements has worked with more than 750 schools and 140 districts. Through this work, we have supported more than 40,000 teachers and 630,000 students as we improve outcomes for students and positively shape the experience of all educators. As a result, we have a greater breadth and depth experience than any other school design consulting firm.
As our list of schools, districts, and networks
Along the way, we have developed some core competencies including, but not limited to, school design, personalized learning implementation, capacity building & leadership development, and school district organizational change. And, we have developed and tested a methodology for school-level change - one that reflects our deep expertise in design thinking, change management, facilitation, and collaboration.
From the beginning, we’ve taken the position that sustainable educational change doesn’t happen because each teacher alone leans into their craft. Rather, we believe that because we are all connected within communities, districts, schools, and teams, our work together is as important as the individual work we need to do. Our theory of practice has always been focused on systemic change within and across these groups, with the belief that by shifting the culture, and growing competencies as they relate to leading change, school and district leaders can realize long-term success. - Ben Politzer, |
In general, our approach -- helping schools make the transition to more student-centered, personalized learning -- follows our 4 step methodology for change: Plan & Align, Foundations, Design & Launch, and Support, Reflect and Iterate. Our Personalized Learning Toolkit follows this approach as well.
Depending on timing or needs, we vary this approach. For some schools and districts, the best approach is the cover of all four phases over the course of a year to a year and a half. This allows for time to engage in the material, prototype, test, and be ready for the next phase without feeling rushed. Districts like Loudoun County VA, Horry County SC, Wake County NC, Warren Township IN took this approach to the methodology. There are cases when compressing the phases makes sense, or when covering only some of the phases makes sense - due to limitations in budget or time.
During this phase, we work with districts and schools to define their teams, identify the project lead and sponsor, and develop an overall roadmap for designing, implementing, and supporting personalized learning. A key element of this phase is ensuring that there is alignment on the goals and timeline for the project.
During this phase, we lead a foundations event to help school and district leaders in developing a shared understanding of the components of personalized learning. The workshop includes a personalized learning simulation for all participants, provides opportunities for the team to learn more about the essential elements of personalized learning (ie the Core 4 Elements of Personalized Learning); and provides an opportunity for participants to explore examples of what personalized learning looks like in other districts and schools across the country. This is also a time for initial personalized learning vision setting.
We conduct readiness assessments with teams to help them better understand what’s working already, what initiatives exist that connect to personalized learning and, based on the results of the assessment, we work with schools to determine an appropriate timeline for the implementation.
Education Elements will facilitate a series of design workshops for the school design teams. Teams will be exposed to design thinking as a way of thinking and problem-solving. Teams will have opportunities to reimagine the student’s day, review personalized learning instructional models and approaches and ultimately create initial drafts of instructional models and operational solutions that align to the school and district vision and meet academic needs. The design workshop is designed to push participants’ thinking, inspire iteration and refinement, and instill a foundation for a sharing and learning community of practice. Schools will decide what will work best for their teams, and explore providing multiple pathways for teachers - so every teacher has a way forward.
Image to the left: Teachers’ ideas transformed into personalized learning Instructional Models for their schools
After design, the Launch Workshop is an opportunity to move from learning about PL and talking about PL to officially becoming a PL School. Topics will include change management, professional development, stakeholder engagement, and launch planning among others.
Image to the right: School Teams develop personalized learning pathways for each teacher to determine their path.
Learning Walks 1: Learning walks are typically six to eight weeks after Launch. During these, we meet with the staff to discuss progress thus far, visit classrooms using an agreed upon tool to provide
Reflect and Iterate: Following the first round of learning walks, we deliver a customized, half-day academy to your teams. During this academy, district and school leaders will reflect on the successes and challenges of personalized learning thus far. The academy will also be an opportunity for school teams to share out the results of their learning walks and plan supports based on the areas of observed need. We provide
Learning Walks 2: The second round of learning walks are typically six to eight weeks after the start of the second semester of implementation. During these learning walks, we will meet with the district and school staff to discuss progress thus far, then visit classrooms using an agreed upon tool to provide a summary of observations; finally, we debrief.
Reflect & Plan: Following the first round of learning walks, we deliver a customized, half-day academy to your teams. During this academy, district and school leaders will reflect on the successes and challenges of personalized learning thus far. The academy will also be an opportunity for school teams to share out the results of their learning walks and plan supports based on the areas of observed need. Topics can be used for planning and preparation for the following year.
This approach has resulted in documented impact year over year. Here are a few highlights of the results we’ve achieved with our school and district partners:
Heather Hurley, M.Ed - Supervisor, Personalized Learning - Department of Teaching and Learning - Arlington Public Schools
999 Skyway Rd, Suite 325
San Carlos, CA 94070
Copyright © 2020 Education Elements. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy Copyright Policy
Education Elements has worked hard to become ADA compliant, and continues to strive for accessibility on this website for everyone. If you find something that is not accessible to you, please contact us here.