Alex Lancia

It has been a few years since I published this post on living the learner profile in Early Childhood.  Given my professional “upgrade” to teaching grade 2 I decided it was time to also “upgrade” and document what I do with the learner profile in my classroom.

So here we go …

Step 1: I chopped up my learner profile cards from the previous school year (learner profile trait, picture, and definition) and we did a small group match and sort to front-load some of the learner profile language for new students.

Step 2: in small groups brainstorm or mind map what each Learner Profile trait means, have students rotate to add-on or extend as needed, then come to a consensus on a definition for each Learner Profile trait.

Step 3: assign a Learner Profile trait to groups of two or three students and have them act out a “freeze frame” for a picture.  Then put it all together like so …

Step 4: after a lesson on values and worth we created class essential agreements framed around the thinking stem of “we value … so we (match a learner profile trait to it)” and signed them.  By the way, a great idea I got from I don’t remember where is to have the students bring in a toy from home and then have them line up all the toys (think number line) with what their toy is “worth” to them on a scale from 0-10.  Then ask them who wants to trade and why and why not … great conversations!

Step 5: a firm believer in working smarter and not harder, I decided this year to incorporate my essential agreement, learner profile, and classroom management system all into one … so we created the 2D Learner Profile and Essential Agreements Tree (which really looks more like a weeping willow because I am artistically challenged).  The essential agreements form the “trunk” of the tree on red and yellow paper, and the learner profile traits are the leaves.  Every day students start on the yellow and their goal is to be recognized for behavior towards a certain learner profile trait – when this happens we/they move their wooden clip to the respective learner profile “leaf” on the tree.  Clips are moved up or down as necessary and obviously want to avoid moving down into the “red zone” of the tree.

Step 6: at the end of the day, on their way to packing up, students pull out their personal learner profile reflection sheets and fill in the respective learner profile bubble for where they ended the day (as in which learned profile leaf is their wooden clip on).  Every ten bubbles filled (meaning every two weeks of school assuming 5 school days per week) students are rewarded for their positive behavior.  Rewards are based on each students’ individual preference and range from one week with the special red headphones, to a guaranteed spot on the couch, reading by the tree outside, etc.

Reflection: this works for me, though of course there have been teething troubles (like making sure your tree is low enough for kids to access and independently move clips around on) and some students losing their sheets etc., but as a whole I really like it because it forces students to reflect on their choices and actions with respect to the learner profile on a daily basis …

What are your thoughts?  Any changes you would make?  I am always happy to accept constructive criticism …