Learner Driven Learning Design

Curriculum is a 4 letter word at Acton, but that doesn't mean we aren't intentional about learning design

I've already spoken at length about how the word Curriculum is a 4 letter word at Acton. And though it may seem trivial, I would argue the difference between Curriculum & Learning Design is just as vast as the difference between Academics & Education.

"Curriculum" stirs up feelings of administration staff, who have never worked a day in a classroom, selecting textbooks from a list of suitors all trying to sell their version of "what children need to know" in this specific subject at this specific age.

For me, it implies something that's being chosen for you and done to you and is in no way learner-driven.

"Learning Design" on the other hand is simply a series of invitations, challenges, and questions designed to peak your curiosity and actively engage you in the learning process. 

I also tell every family that tours Acton - "We are NOT an Academically driven school, rather we are a Learner-Driven Community that emphasizes character development and leadership (Learning to Be)."

But just because we don't emphasize Academics doesn't mean we don't see Math, Reading and Writing as foundational skills needed to lead a successful life. We still believe in Learning to Do & Learning to Learn (Education).

That said, we also believe we don't need to artificially push a child along, label them as ahead or behind, or add pressure to learn a specific skill by a specific age.

We believe every child who enters our doors possesses the ability to learn these skills on their own and at their own pace.  We desire to see learners establishing a true LOVE of learning, then continuing to take on more and more challenging work overtime. 
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My goal in writing this is to simply communicate, to current and future Acton families, though I despise the word Curriculum, and say we aren't an Academically driven school, we still take our learning design very seriously at Acton Lincoln.

​The idea of focusing on MORE than simply academics can most easily be summarized in three words: Whole Child Development. Yes, Math and English are important pieces of the learning design, but they certainly are NOT our only focus:
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​Shifting gears slightly, here are some very brief thoughts on the more academically driven pieces of our Learning Design:

1. We regularly leverage the network of 300+ Actons and 20,000+ pages of learning design documents for everything from selecting Coreskill programs to building badge plans, from individual launches to Quests and Civilization. This is the beauty of the Acton network - though we have the ability to adapt and change things, we aren't having to create everything from scratch and can lean on experts from around the world!
   
   
2. Our basic learning design map for any given year (though it varies in scope based on the studio) is:
   
   

• Quests (7 Sessions): Quests are real-world projects to master 21st-century skills. Usually lasting four- to six-weeks, each Quest includes a series of challenges bound by a compelling narrative and is designed to deliver 21st century skills while simultaneously incorporating traditional topics like science, social studies, and history. 
  
  ​The annual formula we have adopted from Acton main : (1) Team Building/ Communication Focused Quest, (1) Entrepreneurship/ Psychology Focused Quest, (1) Civilization Focused Quest, (3) Science/ Design Logical Thinking Focused Quests, (1) Art/ Curiosity Focused Quest. 
  • For Example, this year the plan is for the Discovery Studio to complete the following Quests (always subject to change, but still following the formula above):
    • Build the Tribe/ Lip Dub (Communication/ Leadership)
    • E-Ship Quest (Entrepreneurship 101)
    • US Citizenship Quest (History/ Civilization)
    • Detective Quest (Science/ Logic)
    • Zookeeper Quest (Nature/ Science)
    • Community Garden Quest (Science)
    • Growing Curiosity Quest
      
      
• Writer's Workshops/ Communication Challenges (4-5 Sessions): This process varies greatly from studio to studio with our Discovery Studio building this into their morning work rotations and our Adventure Studio working to perfect their craft. These workshops/ challenges range from podcast creation to writing persuasive speeches, from crafting an email to secure an apprenticeship to fiction-based writing. 
  
  I must also note that they are learning to write/ communicate in many other ways too, it just doesn't look the same as it did for you and I in school. They write townhall slips and draft meeting agendas, write 360 peer reviews, write reflections on Quest Challenges, and most importantly learn to formulate thoughts and craft arguments multiple times a day during Socratic launches. 
  
  A great example of some non-traditional writing opportunities that the heroes have just this week are:
  • Writing a thank you note to a veteran on Veteran's Day
  • Just yesterday, I posted a request to all studios to start having 1-2 representatives from each studio handle weekly posts in the Acton app, updating parents on studio life, launches, etc whatever they feel is important for parents to know.
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• ​Civilization Badges (5 Sessions): For Discovery & Odyssey this is utilizing the Story of the World books, while the Adventure Studio focuses on moral dilemmas and hard choices throughout world history.
  
  This is Acton's version of World History, Geography, Sociology, etc.
  
  Putting heroes in the shoes of citizens and heroes throughout world history and asking 'why'. Why do some societies rise, while others fall?
  
  We also complete one Civilization based Quest each year too (Acton Athens, Colonial Acton, US Citizenship, Cartography, etc).
  
  
• Core Skills (Daily 90-120 minutes): These are self-paced gamified programs designed to make the learning fun & engaging. The bulk of a learner's morning each day is spent building on these foundational skills as well as meaningful works & montessori works in the Spark & Discovery Studios.
  • ​Three facts, I often leave out with these programs and our mastery based system:
    1. We are asking heroes to MASTER each concept/ level. Not simply complete the work. This means we are asking FAR more of the learners than a traditional setting that pushes students along at an artificial pace set by the teacher, not the student. In short, we are asking learners to get an A+ on all their Math & English lessons. For some this means it will take them longer to move to the next concept, but you can be assured that the are building a STRONG foundation for what's to come next.
    2. The software programs we use go far more in-depth than a traditional textbook and worksheet method. Khan Academy for example (one of our Adventure Studio options for Math) covers 3x the material that a traditional Math curriculum would cover, because a traditional program simply doesn't have the time to go that in-depth and must continue to move on to cover all the material.
    3. As a fellow Acton parent, one thing I always come back to is a study that was done true self-paced learning in Math. The study found - if we waited until learners were truly ready & eager to learn math concepts they went from 2+2=4 to MASTERING Algebra in 75 hours!! In a traditional setting this takes 7-8 years of work!

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My hope is this blog post gives you a glimpse behind the curtain of our learning design.  (Even my wife, Heidi, said she learned something new in proofing this blog!). ​​We are always assessing and adjusting as we continue to learn more from everyone in the network.

The Adventure Studio will continue to build excellence into everything they do as the culture continues to build each year.

The goal of the Discovery Studio will be to build FUN & meaningful work into more and more aspects of the learning design, while the Odyssey studio works to be a bridge between those two worlds.

The Spark Studio simply focuses on learning through Montessori & play.

​It's always a work in progress, but that's the end goal.
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​This constant state of assessing and learning is also why we changed math software this year. Dreambox wasn't as fun & engaging, nor did it provide the immediate feedback loops for self-correction like Beast Academy. Plus Beast is actually far more comprehensive in nature too with built in instructional videos for when learners get stuck. Beyond that, we are able to lean on the Acton network here too, Beast came highly recommended from the network/ learners at other Actons which made the decision easier for us.

We didn't even have the space to touch on things like independent reading, handwriting, typing, foreign language, PE, Servant leadership badges, our outdoor program, or really any of the Learning to Be & Learning to Learn concepts in the "Whole Child Development" graphic above. 

All of which play a VITAL role in the overall learning design and badge plans of each of our learners.


My questions for you are,

1. Are you willing to trust your child with their learning journey?  Trusting they can & will learn these basic foundational skills on their way to discovering their world changing passions...
   
   If the answer is yes, then ask yourself:
   
   
2. Is Acton's Learner-Driven Community the right setting for that journey to unfold for your family?
   
   No school is utopia, Acton certainly isn't either. But it is a place that affords EVERY learner that sets foot inside our doors the opportunity to learn to learn, learn to do, and learn to be. All on their own timeline. It's messy. It's hard. It's certainly not the same linear, well mapped out path that comes when curriculum is mapped out for students day by day, quarter by quarter, age grouping by age grouping. No the journey at Acton is FAR richer, and FAR more empowering for a hero on a journey of becoming a life long learner. 
   
   If the answer to both of these questions are yes, then ask yourself:
   
   
3. Given the time, space, and resources, Do I believe there is anything my child can't learn on their own that they need for their journey?
   
   If the answer is yes, I would love to hear your reasoning so we can dig into this together, before taking on the challenge.
   
   If the answer to the final question is no, then I want to leave you with a challenge to continue to equip you for the Acton parenting journey:

My challenge for you, should you desire to dig deeper on our Learner-Driven Learning Design is to complete one or more of the Learning Design Family Badges. There are badges for parents to learn more about: Writing at Acton, Quests, Excellence, Mastery, and more!

Onward!
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