Modern Classroom: Weaving in Learner Variability to Personalize Instruction Online and in the Classroom

Presented by Jessica Jackson, Practitioner Partnerships Director, Learner Variability Project, Digital Promise; Moira Mazzi, Science Teacher, West Potomac High School (VA); and Matthew Hickson, Principal, Ignite! Online Academy, Durham Public Schools (NC)
Moderated by Barbara A. Pape, Senior Director, Learner Variability Project, Digital Promise; and Samantha du Preez, Director of Marketing and Community Engagement, Modern Classrooms Project

Hosted by the Modern Classrooms Project
Sponsored by Digital Promise

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What does a modern classroom look like? It’s inclusive, recognizes each learner’s unique needs and customizes to address them, is mastery based, and easily blends online with in-person teaching and learning. While there are more attributes to a modern classroom, these are a few key characteristics that highlight the partnership between the Modern Classrooms Project and the Learner Variability Project.

In this edWebinar, teachers share examples from their classrooms (virtual and in person) and how they’ve created a self-paced, mastery-based model that weaves in learner variability. Specifically, in this edWebinar the presenters:

• Address the following factors of learning: motivation, self-regulation, and disciplinary literacy
• Explain the concept of learner variability and show how it is used in the classroom
• Demonstrate how the Modern Classroom platform offers robust teaching and learning experiences that are self-paced and incorporates learner variability in its free resources.

This recorded edWebinar is of interest to K-12 teachers and school and district leaders.

About the Presenters

Jessica Jackson is Practitioner Partnerships Director at the Learner Variability Project where she designs professional learning for educators that helps them address the needs of the whole learner through research-based practices. Jessica has over 19 years of experience in education that reflects her passion for creativity, curiosity, leadership, and social justice. As a New Leader alum, she founded an integrated arts elementary school in Memphis, TN where she designed a pathways program that helped students explore their own curiosity and creativity. She has her master’s degree in education from Pace University and her undergraduate degree from the University of Richmond.

Moira Mazzi is a science teacher at West Potomac High School in Alexandria, VA. She is in her 15th year of teaching with experience in earth science, special education, and English as a second language. She received her M.Ed. in curriculum and instruction from George Mason University in 2009. As a co-equity lead at WPHS, she is passionate about reaching every student and providing the best educational experiences possible. Moira loves teaching, innovating, and working with students and teachers.

Matthew Hickson is the 2016 Durham Public Schools (DPS) Beginning Teacher of the Year, current Principal of Ignite! Online Academy, and the founder and director of Bull City Schools United, an organization that advocates on behalf of LGBTQ youth. He started his path in working toward education equity as a teenager volunteering to register voters on the west side of Charlotte, North Carolina. After years of witnessing the deep social and economic inequities of the state and nation as an activist and community organizer, he went to work as a teacher at Neal Middle School. He received his M.A. in school leadership from the North Carolina State Northeast Leadership Academy (NELA) and has served as a school leader for grades K-12. He is a member of the board of directors for both Student U and the Durham Public Schools Foundation. Matt is a passionate advocate for culturally responsive teaching and personalized learning. He is a believer that our schools are centers of opportunity for social transformation and that all teaching and learning should have a purpose rooted in improving human life.

About the Moderators

Barbara A. Pape is the senior director for the Learner Variability Project at Digital Promise. She has 20 years’ experience in strategic communications, writing, and policy analysis, primarily in education. Previously, she served as the executive producer of the award-winning Teaching & Learning conference, sponsored by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, where she developed content and oversaw outreach and communications. As a writer, she has written for numerous publications, including Harvard University, the National Education Goals Panel (U.S. Department of Education), and Parents magazine. Barbara also served as editor and publisher of the first electronically delivered education newsletter, the Daily Report Card. She served on the Advisory Board of the Kennedy Center’s Intersection of Arts Education and Special Education Committee, serves as a judge for the Milken-Penn Graduate School of Education Business Plan competition, and is on the Boards at the Education Writers Association and Potentia. She earned an Ed.M. at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education and launched her career as a middle school language arts teacher.

Samantha du Preez is a former educator with experience teaching in California, Arizona, and South Korea. She earned her bachelor’s in English and journalism from the University of Arizona and her master’s in curriculum and instruction from the American College of Education. Although she has since left the classroom, she continues to empower educators, improve access to quality educational opportunities, and impact education.

Learn more about viewing the live presentation and the recording, earning your CE certificate, and using our new accessibility features.

Join the Personalize Learning for Learner Variability community to network with educators, participate in online discussions, receive invitations to upcoming edWebinars, and view recordings of previous programs to earn CE certificates.

The Modern Classrooms Project empowers educators to implement a self-paced, mastery-based instructional model that leverages technology to foster human connection, authentic learning, and social-emotional growth.

Digital Promise was created with the mission to accelerate innovation in education to improve opportunities to learn.