Learning Modalities

Last year, we had the opportunity to partner with three organizations dedicated to personalized learning.  These include Silicon Schools, Summit Learning, and New Classrooms: Teach to One: Math.  We continue to partner with the first two, and for a multitude of reasons decided to carve our own path with the latter.  And, before we parted ways this year, we decided to retain the learning modalities approach that was an essential component of the New Classrooms approach.  

We know that students can learn in a variety of ways.  They can learn directly from a teacher, they can learn from a colleague, classmate, or small group, and they can also learn independently with a learning management platform.  We leverage the use of these learning modalities to ensure that students get what they need, when they need it, and how they need it.  

Guided Learning is the traditional direct instruction approach where teachers, for a limited time, may engage in a lecture about a topic.  

Collaborative Learning is the learning modality assigned to students who work together in a small group setting to practice, to learn, or to explore a particular topic.

Leveled Learning is where students may work directly with a technology-assisted platform in order to learn about a topic.  

Informed by data, teachers can use these modalities in a myriad of ways.  All three modalities could be happening simultaneously in a classroom setting as necessary depending upon the objective for the day's lesson.  

New Language

Part of our new "way of doing school" involves retiring old language.  Old language handcuffs us to old ways of doing things.  This is not to say that traditional approaches to education aren't without merit.  We are simply committing to approaching schooling in a new way.  New language allows us to unlock new possibilities.  

For instance, we've reframed "proctoring" and "prefecting" assignments.  Rather than thinking of them as mere supervision of certain spaces, we've rechristened them "RBO" or "Relationship Building Opportunities."  Truly, they are opportunities for our faculty, administration, and staff to bond with our students during those time periods between classes.

New language also permeates our curriculum and instruction practices.  For instance, we've retired our "Religion" and "Theology" classes and we now call them "Catholic Studies" as a way of attending to our unique Lasallian Catholic identity within the Cristo Rey Network.  

Our classroom spaces are reflective of the instructional modality that happens most frequently.  So, traditional direct instruction is called "Guided Learning," while group work is called "Collaborative Learning."  Finally, "Leveled Learning" is where students can work independently with our personalized learning platforms to "level up" in the same way that video game players "level up" their characters in their games.  

Three Draft Versions of Schoolwide Student Learning Outcomes

Version 1:

A Cristo Rey De La Salle East Bay High School graduate is a person who …

… witnesses with authenticity to the Holy Presence of God in the world.

… perseveres in the face of adversity, and through a Quality Education is academically prepared to pursue a lifetime of learning.

… shows mercy, compassion, a Concern for Those in Poverty, and for Social Justice through contemplation and action.

… Respects All Persons by caring and advocating for self, for our communities, and for our environment with sincerity.

… understands the value of an Inclusive Community by showing an appreciation for the creative potential that sees unity within diversity.

Version 2:

(1) … is academically prepared, is self-directed in their learning, and is empowered with the cognitive skills, the content knowledge, the sense of purpose, and the habits of success to persevere through life’s challenges.

(2) … demonstrates a concern for the marginalized and disenfranchised, for social justice, and for the environment, and participates in the co-creation of a more just, verdant, and peaceful world.  

(3) … understands the value of healthy relationships as fundamental building blocks of human coexistence.


Version 3:

A Cristo Rey De La Salle East Bay High School graduate is a person who …

(1) … Develops Academic Excellence and Intellectual Agency

Masters the cognitive skills, content knowledge, and habits of success needed to pursue a college education and a lifetime of learning.

Works diligently with our corporate partners, faculty, and classmates to respond productively to constructive feedback.

Practices self-direction, resiliency, and agency.

(2) … Contributes to the Common Good Through Social Justice

Communicates with knowledge and awareness of socio-political and economic issues through a Lasallian Catholic worldview.  

Exhibits cultural competency, builds socio-political capital, and leverages both for the common good.

Examines the structural injustices of our world, particularly the needs of Oakland and the San Francisco Bay Area, and takes right action.

(3) … Leads with Integrity and Respect

Builds community through the development of authentic relationships.

Maintains a lifestyle dedicated to wholeness through healthy mindsets and choices.

Utilizes restorative justice tools to heal interpersonal harm.

(4) … Pursues a Life of Faith, Purpose, and Service

Appreciates our Lasallian Catholic heritage and tradition, and respects religious plurality.

Discerns personal gifts and talents and cultivates a sense of spiritual purpose.

Manifests compassion for self, our communities, and our environment.

Our Personalized Learning Approach

As a Lasallian Catholic learning community, we at Cristo Rey De La Salle East Bay High School believe in the power of a progressive, transformative, and relevant education.  We have partnered with Summit Learning and New Classrooms Teach To One: Math to enhance our student centered personalized learning experience. The basic tenets of our model are aligned with the Core Principles of a Lasallian Education.   

Respect For All Persons: One-on-one mentoring for every student associate.

Every student associate has a mentor at school.  Students work closely with their mentors to set goals and to realize a sense of purpose through their work.  Teachers develop strong relationships with students to understand their passions, interests, and aspirations and how they can work to achieve those learning goals.  

Concern For Poor and Social Justice: A focus on real-world projects that build cognitive skills and core knowledge.

The Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity identified 36 cognitive skills as most critical for college and career readiness.  Our student associates develop those cognitive skills and core knowledge through real-world projects whose focus is on making our local and global communities a better place while contributing to the common good.   

Inclusive Community: Multiple learning modalities that allow students to learn in different ways.

We embrace three learning modalities that give students and teachers the flexible learning environment they require in order to meet their learning goals.  The Leveled Learning modality is an independent learning zone where students work on skill proficiency or lesson reinforcement through practice.  The Guided Learning modality is where teachers help to guide students through new skills or knowledge acquisition.  The Collaborative Learning modality is where students engage in peer-to-peer or small group learning.

Quality Education: Qualified teachers along with relevant and rigorous content that meet our student associates’s needs.

All of our teachers are highly qualified and trained in personalized learning and bring a diversity of experiences to bear in the classroom.  In addition, our course content is relevant, rigorous, and designed with the best pedagogical practices in mind.

Faith In The Presence of God: Each student associate is made in the image and likeness of God and is a unique individual with their own gifts and talents that need nurturing.  

The personalized learning experience is a way for us to nurture a student’s individuality within a community of learners who strive for competence and mastery.  We acknowledge that each student learns at different speeds and in different ways and what works for one may not work for another. We know that what students learn has to be important to them.

Summit Learning Platform and Personalized Learning

At Cristo Rey De La Salle, we are using the Summit Learning Platform as our personalized learning instructional system and model.  The decision to use this system and model was made after extensive conversations between our President and Principal which involved ending the 20th century factory model of high school education.  When I was appointed Assistant Principal, I had a fairly steep learning curve as I had to get acquainted with the platform as soon as I could in order to support our teachers.

Personalized learning has been a buzz phrase for some time in educational circles.  By leveraging the use of technology, it is entirely possible to meet the individualized educational needs of the young people entrusted to our care.  But, it's not entirely about the technology.  The entire system is predicated on positive relationships between teachers and students, or, mentors and mentees.  Through the use of check-ins, teachers are able to support students by coaching and giving feedback in addition to offering scaffolds to ensure student success in meeting their goals.  The whole system, then, highly encourages students to become agents of their own learning and to become self-directed in the process. 

The Summit Learning Platform has four pillars: (1) Cognitive Skills; (2) Content Knowledge; (3) Habits of Success; and, (4) Sense of Purpose.  All four of these areas needs to be developed, but at the top of the pyramid are the development of 36 cognitive skills that are at the apex of so-called 21st century learning.  Content Knowledge is personalized depending upon student interests and aptitudes.  Habits of Success push students to acquire the necessary strategies to become successful in college and in life.  Finally, students acquire a Sense of Purpose which give students an opportunity to become self-efficacious.  These four pillars are research-based, teacher-tested, and student-centered.

We are the first Cristo Rey Network School and Lasallian Institution in North America to adopt the Summit Learning Platform.  Properly deployed, this system and model has the capacity to even the playing field for young people from economically disadvantaged circumstances.  Somehow, I think Saint La Salle smiling upon us from somewhere with a wink and nod of approval.