As part of the strategic planning process, MURSD has defined a portrait of a graduate. This document outlines the essential skills, knowledge, and dispositions that all students from our district should demonstrate prior to graduating. MURSD’s Portrait of a Graduate is comprised of six aspects including: an inspired innovator, a solution seeker, a mindful learner, an effective communicator, a global citizen, and a skillful collaborator.
The portrait of a graduate provides a description of the capacity of students upon receiving a diploma. Beyond that, the portrait provides a unifying vision for learning in our district, challenges us to create learning experiences that inspire, and encourages us to reimagine our assessment practices. In today's workshop, we'll begin the journey of bringing the portrait of a graduate to life.
Together, we'll explore the portrait, identify the skills that will enable a new form of achievement, create learning experiences that are adventurous, and design a reflective process for students. Thank you for joining us. Let's get busy planning the future of learning at Nipmuc!
The portrait of a graduate provides a description of the capacity of students upon receiving a diploma. Beyond that, the portrait provides a unifying vision for learning in our district, challenges us to create learning experiences that inspire, and encourages us to reimagine our assessment practices. In today's workshop, we'll begin the journey of bringing the portrait of a graduate to life.
Together, we'll explore the portrait, identify the skills that will enable a new form of achievement, create learning experiences that are adventurous, and design a reflective process for students. Thank you for joining us. Let's get busy planning the future of learning at Nipmuc!
Snowball Fight: Exploring the strategic plan and the portrait of a graduate.
Our first challenge for the day is taking a moment to connect with the group to explore the district’s updated strategic plan. We thought the best way to get this done (especially on a chilly December morning) would be a snowball fight! The steps are are simple.
-Review your copy of MURSD’s strategic plan, Inspire. (or review the digital copy here)
-Find an important, stand-out, or thought provoking word from Inspire and write that word on your colorful circle of paper.
-When you’ve written your word, crumple up the paper and throw it to someone across the room.
-Find someone else’s “snowball”, unwrap it, and write a question you have about the word that’s written there.
After a few rounds of our snowball fight, we'll ask everyone to take a moment to share something they are curious about in our strategic plan using the poll below.
Choose a question on your "snowball" to represent our curiosities about MURSD's strategic plan. Add your question to the Mentimeter board below (putting the main word in all CAPS).
-Review your copy of MURSD’s strategic plan, Inspire. (or review the digital copy here)
-Find an important, stand-out, or thought provoking word from Inspire and write that word on your colorful circle of paper.
-When you’ve written your word, crumple up the paper and throw it to someone across the room.
-Find someone else’s “snowball”, unwrap it, and write a question you have about the word that’s written there.
After a few rounds of our snowball fight, we'll ask everyone to take a moment to share something they are curious about in our strategic plan using the poll below.
Choose a question on your "snowball" to represent our curiosities about MURSD's strategic plan. Add your question to the Mentimeter board below (putting the main word in all CAPS).
From the Portrait to Professions
What does the portrait mean to you?
The MURSD Portrait of a Graduate outlines the skills, knowledge, and dispositions that students across all grade levels should have in order to be ready for the world beyond Memorial, Clough, Miscoe, and Nipmuc. Working in your assigned groups take a few minutes to discuss your particular competency and answer the question, “What does this part of the portrait mean to you?” |
Connections to Careers
Now that you’ve explored your competency, let’s make connections between the portrait of a graduate and the real world. Working together, brainstorm as many professions/careers that require your competency. We’ll put three minutes on the clock. Ready… go! Let’s take a minute to answer the reciprocal prompt. Brainstorm the professions/careers that will not require this competency.
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Check out the responses to this activity below:
Identifying the Skills in the Portrait
Let's take a deeper dive into the portrait of a graduate by defining the skills that are embedded in the six competencies. Working with your groups, choose three of the professions on your brainstormed sheet. Use the template to list each profession you chose and skills needed related to your competency. Be ready to share out one of the professions you chose and the skills associated with it with the entire group. Resources If you need some help identifying the skills that are included in the portrait of a graduate, feel free to check this resource to see how faculty members and students have answered this question during meetings and Food for Thought lunches. |
Getting Actionable with the Portrait of a Graduate
Let's recap! You understand the portrait… You’ve connected it careers… You can identify the skills that make up each competency… What’s next? Now it’s time to consider how you would know if you possess these skills. In order to explore this let’s take on the following role play scenario. Choose one of the professions that you just discussed. Assume that you are on an interview committee to hire someone in this profession. What are three - five questions you would ask this person in order to determine if they have the skills needed to do the job? Add your thoughts to the Google Doc linked in the button below. |
If a tree falls in the forest...
Reimagining the role of assessment in learning.
Have you ever heard the riddle, “If a tree falls in the forest but no one is there, does it still make a sound?” For today’s discussion, we have our own version of that question: “If someone learns something but no one is there to see it, give feedback about it, or give it a grade, is it really learning?”
We believe that learning doesn’t need to be measured or graded to be considered learning. This is easy to see when you consider Nipmuc's Definition of Learning that was collaboratively written during the 2017-18 school year. Our definition of learning shows that we believe the following: If learning goes beyond grades, then what really matters is a person’s ability to be reflective and curious enough to make connections between their ideas and their world. |
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As we explore the MURSD Portrait of a Graduate, we encourage you to keep focus on these two important ideas: reflection and curiosity. We’ll use this mindset to create a process that moves beyond traditional assessment practices to focus on what we mean when we say “learning”.
Choose your own adventure!As we consider what the portrait of the graduate will look like at Nipmuc, we’re excited to reimagine the ways we help students explore these competencies. While all of these skills are used in the classroom, they are also used in the adventures we will have beyond our school. As we state in our definition of learning, “Learning can occur throughout all the minutes and moments of our lives.”
With this in mind, we’re exploring how we can create not learning experiences but “learning adventures”. We've taken our first step in helping students to choose their own adventure by linking January's 21st Century Learning Conference to the portrait of a graduate. Help us bring this to life by choosing an "adventure" from the list. Once you've decided upon your adventure, click into your assigned document below so that we can work together to design the adventure and help our students be curious and reflective enough to turn it into a powerful moment of learning. |
Check out the Reflective Tool Created by Workshop Participants
Frequently Asked Questions
It's taken us several hours to gain a deep understanding of this material. As we roll this information out to the community, we need to be as clear as possible. Take a moment to think of the types of questions a student, teacher, or community member might have about this work and add your thoughts to the digital poll below. Don't hesitate to ask more than one question.
Presentation and Gallery Walk
Now that you have spent the day becoming "experts" in your portrait of a graduate competency, the time has come to put together all of the information to share with other students, educators, and administrators from across the district. Through this sharing, we will not only be educating others about the competencies but also be taking feedback to make adjustments to our work. Your teams will set up in the form of a gallery walk around the room. Feedback will be given by participants to expand our ideas by asking "what if?" or responding to the prompt, "I wonder..." As you get ready to share your work, please consider the items below that you have worked on over the course of the day.
Things to post:
Be prepared to explain:
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Check out the Gallery Walk in Action.
Feedback from all participants.
What's next?
Sharing Our Work
We're excited to share your work with other teachers and community members. One of the first opportunities will take place on Nipmuc's January 7 faculty meeting. We expect that there will be additional opportunities to share this information with other district educators and community members. Sign up by clicking the button below if you're interested in being part of the team that shares this information.
We're excited to share your work with other teachers and community members. One of the first opportunities will take place on Nipmuc's January 7 faculty meeting. We expect that there will be additional opportunities to share this information with other district educators and community members. Sign up by clicking the button below if you're interested in being part of the team that shares this information.
Advisory Lesson
On January 9th, all students will have the chance to learn about this workshop and the portrait of a graduate during an advisory lesson plan. Using the presentation below, advisors will guide students through this work and prepare them for the upcoming 21st Century Learning Conference in which students will engage in learning adventures aligned to the portrait of a graduate.
On January 9th, all students will have the chance to learn about this workshop and the portrait of a graduate during an advisory lesson plan. Using the presentation below, advisors will guide students through this work and prepare them for the upcoming 21st Century Learning Conference in which students will engage in learning adventures aligned to the portrait of a graduate.
Portrait of a Graduate Scholar Pilot Program
Today's collaborative work has provided us with the chance to take the idea of the portrait of a graduate and turn it into a reality. In order to take our next steps, we're ready to create a pilot program. Following the January 21st Century Learning Conference, we'll ask all students to reflect on their experiences using the reflective tool we created today. Based on these reflections, we'll select a group of students to serve as profiles of the portrait of the graduate. Each selected student will have the chance to earn .25 credits by creating an online profile of their reflection. The students will have the chance to work with a photographer as part of their work, will be recognized at Awards Day 2019, and will have their profiles published on the school website and the NipmucPrincipals.com.
Today's collaborative work has provided us with the chance to take the idea of the portrait of a graduate and turn it into a reality. In order to take our next steps, we're ready to create a pilot program. Following the January 21st Century Learning Conference, we'll ask all students to reflect on their experiences using the reflective tool we created today. Based on these reflections, we'll select a group of students to serve as profiles of the portrait of the graduate. Each selected student will have the chance to earn .25 credits by creating an online profile of their reflection. The students will have the chance to work with a photographer as part of their work, will be recognized at Awards Day 2019, and will have their profiles published on the school website and the NipmucPrincipals.com.
Feedback
Please take a moment to share your feedback by clicking on the button below and completing the form.