Beyond Grades. |
Not everything that can be counted counts; and not everything that counts can be counted." ~William Bruce Cameron
Beyond Grades: Telling Stories of Success and Learning
In the months preceding the health crisis, the Nipmuc community of lead leaders turned its focus to “New Measures of Success”, exploring new ways to tell stories of success in learning beyond traditional grades. Now, as we bring back our Lead Learner Workshops for the current school year, we’re excited to continue to explore how schools can tell stories of success and learning beyond grades.
Telling Stories of Success
Think of the people who you consider to be successful. Consider your role models, people who inspire you, and those who possess the qualities you hope to demonstrate in your own life.
In a moment we will move you to break-out rooms. When in the room, take one minute to share that person’s story of success. What led to them being successful? What does success mean to you? Be sure to leave enough time for each person in your group to share their story.
In a moment we will move you to break-out rooms. When in the room, take one minute to share that person’s story of success. What led to them being successful? What does success mean to you? Be sure to leave enough time for each person in your group to share their story.
As we return from the breakout room discussions, think about the powerful success stories that you just shared or learned about. Now, think about what words come to mind when you consider the stories of success you shared or were told by others. Add those words or phrases to the poll below. Then watch everyone’s responses to see the types of themes that emerge.
Reflecting on Success Stories
Review the answers above and consider the themes that emerge from everyone’s answers. How many of the success stories shared today included challenges, struggles, or moments of failure? What were the milestones or achievements that are shared by the people we highlighted? How did it feel to tell this “success story” to another person? What types of stories did we not hear today?
How Schools Tell Stories of Success
If we tell stories of success in a personally meaningful way, they are powerful. We believe that schools can do that for every one of their students. We also believe that this is already happening in many ways. It happens when a teacher makes a phone call home to a parent to share positive feedback. It occurs in presentations and showcases of learning. It comes to life through letters of recommendation. It even happens when we applaud for students performing in a play, congratulate teams for sportsmanship awards, or post their work for others to see.
While we value the stories that our students have to tell, we also recognize that students' narrative of success is often linked primarily to grades. Report cards, transcripts, and test scores are still the primary way that we measure success in school.
At last February’s Lead Learner Workshop, we examined the challenge that this presents to schools by looking at the high school transcript and the purposes, pros, and problems it presents. Let's take a look at the ideas that were shared at that workshop. |
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There's More to the Story!
As a school community we agree that grades are only part of the story. With that in mind what can we do as a school community to help students tell individual stories of success? Take a moment to "turn and talk" in your breakout rooms about how schools can tell individual stories of success. As a group, add 2 or 3 ideas to the Mentimeter below.
Exploring New Measures of Success at Nipmuc
There are many ways to celebrate students' stories of success beyond grades. At Nipmuc, two ways we are exploring stories of success are through our membership in The Mastery Transcript Consortium and our second class of the Portrait of a Learner Scholars Program.
The Mastery Transcript Consortium
The Mastery Transcript Consortium (MTC) is a non-profit membership organization of schools that are focused on developing a more robust version of the high school transcript. Led by many of our nation’s most recognizable independent schools, MTC developed a digital, dynamic, and clickable transcript that focuses on skills rather than content. Through this tool, students can highlight their learning in personal ways that showcases their work and reflection.
This powerful tool is building enthusiasm and momentum amongst post-secondary schools across the nation. Its membership now includes 260 private schools and 77 public school members. Nipmuc Regional is excited to join this forward-thinking community of schools as we begin our membership in MTC during the current school year. |
The Portrait of a Learner Scholars Program
The Portrait of a Learner Scholars Program launched in the fall of 2019 as a group of 32 students across all grade levels developed digital profiles that celebrated their curiosities, interests, and unique stories of learning. As part of the process, our PoL Scholars participated in a full-day workshop in which they became experts on our Portrait of a Learner and connected their life experiences to the six competencies that drive our district's work and learning.
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As you can see from the profiles shared below, The Portrait of a Learner Scholars Program aims to provide a powerful way - beyond grades - to recognize and honor the uniqueness of our students. Feel free to click on any of the profiles to explore some of our students' success stories or click on the button below to review all of our Portrait of a Learner Scholar profiles.
As we make our way into the spring of 2021, we are excited to launch the second class of our PoL Scholars Program. We will work with another cohort of scholars, helping them to tap into their success stories as they explore the Portrait of a Learner. We hope not only to recognize our learners but also to explore how Nipmuc can continue to expand its measures of success.
Application Deadline: February 7 @7pm
All students and educators are welcome to apply.
All students and educators are welcome to apply.