Blended & Personalized Learning

Transformative Classrooms

Student engagement is a current and growing challenge in today’s classrooms. Research supports the idea that student engagement leads to students who are more invested in their learning. However, activating your learners can feel insurmountable. Transformative Classrooms address this need by providing tools and strategies to help build a more collaborative learning community through engaging instruction. 

Transformative Classrooms is organized into three large tenets: 

• Collaborative Learning Communities
• Engaging Instruction
• Self-Directed Learners

A copy of the tenets of Transformative Classrooms in a Google Doc format can be found here.

Each tenet is further demonstrated through teacher practices and accompanying classroom outcomes. Each teacher practice is supported by research and includes instructional strategies and digital tools to move classrooms to a more student-centered approach. 

Transformative Classrooms grew out of more than five years of supporting teachers moving toward Blended and Personalized Learning. We found that adding blended learning moves like station rotation, playlists and choice boards to the classroom was not enough to move the classroom from traditional to learner centered. 

Transformative Classrooms training works to personalize professional development for teachers.  Building on the existing classroom foundation, teachers use the tenets of Transformative Classrooms to self-assess and identify a specific problem in their classroom. To solve this problem, teachers collaborate with GWAEA Transformative Classrooms coaches to explore strategies and begin a goal setting and reflection cycle. 

By tailoring learning to meet teachers’ strengths and needs, teachers experience the power of personalized learning while applying the process to their own classroom. Transformative Classrooms training works to shift the focus to the learners by providing choice in the ways that learning occurs and elevating the learners voice throughout the process. 

We offer several options for school districts, buildings or small groups of teachers. Recertification credit options are available for each of these options.

Building Wide Support

• Three after school or weekend learning sessions each focusing on one of the tenets
• Sessions spaced out over three months to provide time for participants to apply learning and gather data
• Coaching support from GWAEA Transformative Classroom coaches in tandem with in-district instructional coaches
• Observation walk-throughs with feedback
• Follow-up sessions as needed
• Recertification credit available - for 15 contact hours

Individual Self-Paced Online Course

Please email Mindy Cairney or Beth Swantz with questions or requests for Transformative Classrooms at Grant Wood AEA.