Personalized Learning in a PLC at Work™: Student Agency Through the Four Critical Questions (Develop Innovative PLC- and RTI-Based Personalized Learning)

I think we can all agree that world is changing fast, and as educators, we must figure out how to prepare our students for the challenges that will no doubt face the workforce in the next 10 to 20 to 30 years. The biggest obstacle is HOW – HOW to transform the educational paradigm to truly help students be successful in their future endeavors.The authors argue that Professional Learning Communities (PLC) can have a huge impact on student learning, especially PLCs in which learning is personalized. While this sounds good in theory (and the authors provide plenty of data backing up the viability of the PLC construct), the value of this information is HOW to put it into practice. And this is where the authors shine. Not only do the authors present the four critical questions that guide the PLC framework, they provide numerous examples, case studies and explanations that help the reader put the theories into practice. Indeed, this is a very practical book, and one that can help educators move toward personalized learning in their schools.I particularly appreciated the format of the book. In addition to its straight-forward, easy-to-grasp presentation of the process, each chapter has interactive sections called “Rate Your Progression,” “Tips for Transformation” and “Questions to Consider,” which provide both clarification and allow the reader to focus on how this information can be used in his or her school.I also thoroughly enjoyed the fascinating examples of how elementary, middle and high schools worldwide are putting this theory into practice. The global perspective is much appreciated and distinguishes this book.I would highly recommend this book for learning-progressive schools that want to truly excel, with students learning at high levels as they prepare for the future. The inquiry and reflection at the ends of the chapters not only benefit the reader, but in my opinion, ultimately benefit students. It is an excellent book.

More and more educators are coming to the realization that professional learning communities are not a "this too shall pass" fad but are here to say. PLC's provide a powerful and user friendly framework for school improvement, and the PLC movement continues to grow by leaps and bounds world wide. In Personalized Learning, Dr. Stuart challenges school communities to have students internalize the primary PLC questions. As a student, what do I need to know and be able to do? How will I demonstrate my learning? What will I do when I don't understand a particular concept? What will I do when I already understand the material--how will I deepen and extend my learning? Dr. Stuart's latest book offers excellent research based ideas that move schools toward student agency while also sharing specific models currently in use around the world. You will understand the theory and read of its application. It is easy to be excited about the potential of our students and school communities when you read Personalized Learning!

This is a book written by people who theorize, but never or rarely set foot in a classroom. It serves no purpose whatsoever other than to hurl around often overused buzz words and tropes.There are solid teaching books that care more about offering exercises that are applicable and usable, and then there are those that seemingly aim to take advantage of administrators who enjoy tweeting over teaching.

As an administrator at a school currently on a PLC journey, I found this book to be clear and concise with deep and explicit examples for use both with teachers, administrators. As in the title, Personalize Learning, can sometimes be difficult to define, Stuart, Heckmann, Mattos and Buffum deliver a strong explanation and definition for the purpose of implementation within the learning environment. This book in a great entry point for individuals in education who range from little to extensive knowledge of Personalized Learning. Piggybacking on Rick Dufour’s definition of PLCs, this book teases out the theory and ideas of learning communities, and focuses on implementation in order to achieve highly effective and learning progressive schools.The book explains that it focuses on learning, creating a collaborative culture, and is results oriented which is the golden triangle for any person in education.The authors effectively parse out personalized learning effectively allowing for schools that are not currently running the PLC model in advancing their schools. I found myself challenging the effectiveness of our PLCs in our students personalize learning journey as there were are reflective questions in the book. Moving forward I would use chapters of the book for professional development with my teachers in order to support their understanding of personalize learning and PLCs in order to make sure we were on the same page, No pun intended. It truly delivers a vernacular to what is and can be done in our classes and at our school.Another interesting note about this book is, not only is it a great professional development resources, it can be used by individual teachers who want to make learning more meaningful for their students through personalize learning. As an educator/administrator at many different district model schools, this book could be relevant for many different educators and administrators in differing demographic or educational levels. It’s not often a book can reach both ‘in the trench’ teachers, curriculum designers, and administrator at schools or at the district level.I believe that Solution Tree has package this book well and has used complementary authors to put together a very clear, concise, informative and directive driven book that educators would benefit from. Drawing from examples and experiences the authors have seen and used in the past, the theory to practice is very encouraging and allows for the reader to see that personalized learning while achieving a high level of academic excellence is possible. It is inspirational, practical and implementable. Well done, a definite must read in education.