Professional Learning

Experts Share Wicked Cool Curriculum to Fuel Next Gen Learning

What happens in next gen classrooms and schools? We opened the doors to peek inside classrooms and schools that are using next gen learning strategies in NGLC’s most recent chat on Next Gen Curriculum. Featured guests and participants tackled five key questions:

1. How does your next gen approach to curriculum differ from a more traditional approach?
2. Paint a picture for us — what does next gen curriculum look like in your classrooms for your students and teachers?
3. Share with us one favorite lesson/activity from your next gen curriculum toolbox!
4. In which content areas do you utilize these next gen learning approaches? Why?
5. How do you include students across all levels of readiness (students well below or above the standard, ELL students, and others) while ensuring deeper learning outcomes?

Next Gen Curriculum Approaches

• Put the learner at the center
• Enable authentic student choice
• Build on authentic experiences
• Foster learning outside the walls of the school and connections to community
• Enable students to be creators and not just consumers
• Must begin with a broader definition of student success
• Foster a learning environment where social learning is as important as academic learning

What It Looks Like for Students and Teachers

• A context that supports curiosity and agency
• Teachers and students co-creating the curriculum
• Experiential
• Grappling with and working to solve real (and tough) problems
• A variety of instructional groupings and tools
• Teachers supported with high quality and transformative professional learning

Favorite Lessons/Activities

Participants shared so many smart, engaging, fun, and rigorous lessons and activities that you should really check them ALL out via Storify. But to whet your appetite, I’ve shared just a few for you here:

Content Areas

Participants use next gen learning approaches in any and all content areas, but the choice depends, in part, on the school model and vision. Here’s a sampling of what some of our featured guests and participants shared:

Inclusive Strategies

• Develop Tier I RtI interventions in all lessons
• Ensure all students have personalized, independent, and collaborative work time
• Provide access to the same challenging work for all students and scaffold access for those who need it
• Identify and build from learners’ strengths
• Provide opportunities for multiple learning configurations
• Empower students to drive their learning goals with support as needed