The MyWays Framework is a dashboard that concisely distills the major frameworks available today for deeper, richer definitions of student success. The 20 competencies are grouped in the four arenas of Content Knowledge, Creative Know-How, Habits of Success, and Wayfinding Abilities. (My ways exercise 2 slides 20151001v3 1)
2. This is the second in a series of Putting MyWays to Work exercise packets.
Exercise 2: Learning Design as Rich as Your Definition of Student Success
Exercise 2a: How Well Do Your Projects Reflect the Principles of Whole Game Learning?
Exercise 2b: How Well Do Your Projects Harness the Benefits of Junior Versions?
Exercise 2c: How Well Do Your Projects Map to the MyWays Competencies?
Quick link to the MyWays Beta Toolbox
Repository for all MyWays overviews, tools, and exercises.
For a detailed listing of Exercise 2 documents, see the last slide in this deck.
Next Packet: Exercise 3 – Assessment Design as Integrated as Your Definition of Student Success
Putting MyWays to Work
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3. Putting MyWays to Work
The MyWays model, tools, and reports provide a
useful framework for design thinking & model building.
The MyWays model provides school designers,
teachers, parents, and students with a synthesis
of 20 student competencies needed for success
in college, career, and life. In addition, it offers a
set of simple, visual tools for mapping progress
towards those competencies. The tools can be
used to support strategic assessment, system
development, and system implementation at the
level of individual students, specific learning
experiences, or overall learning model.
MyWays draws on research across the broad
“student success” landscape to provide a
composite framework applicable to all students
regardless of academic aptitude or
socioeconomic circumstance, including those
students who must overcome the extraordinary
challenges of intergenerational poverty.
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4. The MyWays project is attempting to help grantees and
school designers answer three big questions:
How well are we defining and articulating what success looks like
for students attending our school?
How well does our design for learning and the organization of our
school directly support students' attainment of that richer, deeper
definition of success?
How do we gauge students' progress in developing those
competencies? And: How can we measure and articulate our school’s
overall performance, beyond proficiency in ELA and math?
The exercises in this packet, 2a, 2b, and 2c, address the second of these three
big questions—how well does our learning design support broader and
deeper competencies?
1
2
3
Putting MyWays to Work 4
5. Recap: The MyWays model provides school designers,
teachers, parents, and students with a set of 20 student
competencies needed for success in college, career, and life.
Putting MyWays to Work 5
Please see Putting MyWays To Work
Exercise 1 and the Introducing MyWays
overview for further information.
6. Activating learning for
broader and deeper competencies
[Students] need an education that is deeply rooted in . . . what is
known about the human condition, in its timeless aspects, and
what is known about the pressures, challenges and opportunities
of the contemporary and coming scene. Without this double
anchoring, we are doomed to an education that is dated, partial,
naïve, and inadequate.
Howard Gardner
Two lenses shaped the MyWays model: the timeless aspects
of child and adolescent development on the one hand, and
the pressures and challenges of the contemporary and
coming scene on the other. The first lens is richly informed
by advances in brain and learning science.
The second lens focuses on the need to rekindle upward
mobility in the face of troubling economic pressures for
younger Americans. This new environment combines: a
deepening employment crisis for under-30s; an increasingly
fragmented and risky postsecondary education landscape;
and a widening opportunity gap between lower- and higher-
income students. (For more on both lenses, see the
forthcoming report, The MyWays Model).
In this packet we apply these two lenses to learning design
and the changes that best support students’development of
the broader and deeper competencies needed to succeed in
the world beyond high school.
Putting MyWays to Work 6
7. A substantial majority of the
competencies identified in the
MyWays model require a
combination of thinking skills and
real world abilities. Not surprisingly,
in the arenas of Creative Know How,
Habits of Success, and Wayfinding
Abilities, in particular, “textbook
learning” is insufficient.
This “field of learning” is a useful
visual device for envisioning
learning activities in terms of the
thinking skills and real life abilities
they engender. For example, the
Mayan Community Project
discussed in this packet is at the high
end of the thinking skills axis while
spanning both simulated and
bounded authentic settings.
The following two slides map
traditional student experience and a
broader, deeper student experience,
helping highlight those learning
activities that encompass both
higher-order thinking skills and real
world abilities.
Bloom’s Thinking Skills
The “left field” axis uses Bloom’s taxonomy to
key a familiar progression of thinking skills.
While technically the taxonomy is not a
hierarchy, in our usage here, the skills are
cumulative as one moves out the axis:
Applying, for example, includes Remembering
and Understanding while Creating includes all
five of the “earlier” skills.
Real World Abilities
The “right field” axis indicates growing competence
as the authenticity of the setting increases. For
example, a particular middle schooler might be
competent in Self-Direction or Communication &
Collaboration within “simulated authentic”
settings, such as those within school, but not in
“complex authentic” settings in the adult world.
This progression also allows specific learning
activities to be plotted by degree of authenticity.
Putting MyWays to Work 7
Mapping learning activities along two crucial axes
8. This mapping represents traditional student experience: lots of transmission-
based instruction in the classroom, some labs and research projects focused
on higher-order thinking skills, a smattering of extracurricular activities, and
perhaps some simple minimum wage work with little training.
Putting MyWays to Work 8
9. To develop broader and deeper competencies attuned to today’s real-world
challenges, we need to focus on the situated learning zone where higher-order
thinking skills are interwoven with real world settings that are either bounded or
complex (unbounded).
Putting MyWays to Work 9
10. Next generation learning designs that feature a heavy focus on situated
learning experiences are most likely to develop capability and agency.
Three key learning design constructs are of particular value.
Putting MyWays to Work 10
In our forthcoming practice briefings on learning design,
we highlight three learning constructs that address
capability and agency. (See the Introducing MyWays
overview with Exercise 1 for a brief intro to capability and
agency.) The three constructs are:
• Whole Game Learning
Seven principles of learning design developed
by David Perkins that are the focus of this Exercise 2
• Levers for Capability and Agency
Eight targeted practices
based on learning and developmental science
• Wider Learning Ecosystem
Steps needed to go beyond the school walls toward
a coordinated portfolio of diverse learning experiences
Each construct provides guidance and resources for situated
learning (Lave and Wenger, 1991) which broadly describes
many forms of learning that are embedded in activity,
context, and culture; where knowledge is presented in
situations that would normally involve that knowledge; and
where social interaction and collaboration are essential, with
novices learning from those more expert until they eventually
become expert themselves —all key ingredients, we believe,
for acquiring the competencies in the MyWays model.
11. This Exercise 2 focuses on the first of the three
constructs—whole game learning. Combining
situated learning with other learning science,
David Perkins at Project Zero developed seven
principles for maintaining the essence of the
authentic activity while creating conditions that
support novice advancement. For more on whole
game learning, read the Whole Game Learning
overview. We also recommend Perkins’very
readable book Making Learning Whole. The
following slide maps selected next gen models to
whole game learning.
The slide after that
describes “junior versions,”
Perkins’term for learning
experiences that follow the
seven principles.
Exercises 2a, b, and c
explore how whole game
learning and junior versions
can be used to advance
the MyWays competencies.
Putting MyWays to Work 11
These seven principles of whole game learning integrate the most
important elements of learning and developmental science into a practical
guide for developing broader and deeper competencies.
12. 12Putting MyWays to Work
Here’s how whole game learning aligns with selected next generation models
13. Creating a junior version is like inventing Little League—transforming a real-life
“game” into a developmentally appropriate learning experience by:
• Capturing the basic structural features of the full-scale game
• Throwing out what is not as important to start with, while leaving the spirit
and shape of the game intact
• Swapping in simulations, replicas, or scaled-down versions for elements
that are not developmentally appropriate or practically possible
• Setting and maintaining a reasonable level of challenge for the group and
individual learners. This is essential, and requires educators to know:
– The learners - their prior knowledge, their interests, how agile they are as
learners
– Stages of developmental readiness - “what happens to knowledge,
understanding, and self-awareness as children advance from kindergarten
through high school and beyond.”
• Including all seven of the principles of whole game learning
• Prototyping and tuning to align the experience with student capabilities
“The first time around,” says Perkins, “involves at least as much learning for
you as it does for the learners, because you are almost always wrong in some
ways… Only over two or three cycles of working with real learners in real
situations can we expect to home in on truly well-calibrated junior versions.”
Examples of junior versions
Well-designed project-based, problem-based, inquiry-based, and studio-based
learning; rich simulations; co-curriculars like theater productions, history fairs, and
DECA; service learning, youth development projects, scouting or Odyssey of the
Mind programs, and apprenticeships can all be valuable junior versions—if they
capture a “whole game” and embed the whole game learning principles.
Creating a Junior Version of a Whole Game
“Put it this way: When I was playing [Little
League] I wasn’t playing full-scale, four bases,
nine innings.
But I was playing a perfectly suitable junior
version of the game. A junior version was just
right for my size and stamina and the number
of kids in the neighborhood.
But when I was studying those shards
of math and history, I wasn’t playing
a junior version of anything.
It was kind of like batting practice
without knowing the whole game.
Why would anyone want to do that?”
David Perkins
13Putting MyWays to Work
14. Exercise 2a:
How well do your projects reflect
the principles of whole game learning?
These exercises are designed to help you
use MyWays and whole game learning to
address the second big question:
How well does our design for learning
and the organization of our school
directly support students' attainment of
that richer, deeper definition of success?
Review the Whole Game Learning
overview before tackling the exercises.
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Exercises 2a, b, and c
Learning Design as Rich as Your Definition of Student Success
Exercise 2b:
How well do your projects harness
the benefits of junior versions?
Exercise 2c:
How well do your projects map
to the MyWays competencies?
15. Demonstrating whole game learning
with The Mayan Community Project
We demonstrate whole game learning and
Exercises 2a, b, and c using an experiential
learning project developed at a High Tech High
middle school. After researching Mayan culture,
students wrote, illustrated, published, and
marketed a bilingual alphabet book for younger
students. Proceeds helped send impoverished
Guatemalan children to school.
The tools for 2a, b, and c appear on the next three
slides followed by the filled-in demo worksheets
for the Mayan project.
However, we encourage
you to look at the full
demonstration in the
Whole Game Learning
overview where you
will also find a full
description of the
project as well as links
to an extensive set of
the Mayan project
documents.
Use the tools on the next three slides as checklists to aid you in
evaluating and improving learning experiences with respect to:
• The seven principles of whole game learning
• The characteristics of junior versions
• The 20 MyWays competencies
The goal is to equip your learning design team with a reliable process
for critiquing emerging curricula and instruction—strengthening the
connection to learning and developmental science and encouraging the
development of broader and deeper competencies. Even at a quick,
conceptual level, these tools can flag key issues and “help change the
conversation” within your team with respect to transforming teaching
and learning.
In completing the exercises, pick one of these learning design tasks:
• Evaluate one of your existing projects (learning experiences) to
identify gaps, plan improvements, or adapt the design to change or
add competencies;
• Analyze an existing “exemplar” learning experience (like High Tech
High’s Mayan project, or other projects you’ve been impressed with)
for group workshop, or other development purposes; or
• Develop design parameters for the planning of new projects.
Exercises 2a, b, and c — and a case study demonstration 15
Using the tools in tandem to develop learning design
as rich as your definition of student success
16. 16
Exercise 2a.
How well do your projects reflect
the principles of whole game learning?
Assemble a learning design team to evaluate one of your
existing learning experiences (or pick one of the alternative
tasks listed on the previous slide). For this exercise, we
suggest selecting a multi-faceted experience that runs a
semester or more.
Read and discuss the MyWays Whole Game Learning
overview, including the Mayan Community Project
demonstration.
Download the Whole Game Learning Analysis Tool from
the MyWays Beta Toolbox.
Working individually, map how your learning experience
aligns with each of the seven whole game learning
principles. Record the strengths and weaknesses within
each principle’s row. (See the Mayan demo for guidance.)
Discuss and combine the individual responses. Come up
with a joint analysis and action plan based on that analysis.
Exercise 2a — The Whole Game Learning Analysis Tool
17. 17Exercise 2b — The Junior Version Characteristics Tool
Exercise 2b.
How well do your projects harness
the benefits of junior versions?
Continue working with your team from Exercise 2a to
perform this second analysis of your project.
Read and discuss the junior versions section of the MyWays
Whole Game Learning overview, including the Mayan
Community Project demonstration.
Download the Junior Versions Characteristics Tool from the
MyWays Beta Toolbox.
Working individually, map how well your learning
experience design matches up with the characteristics of
successful junior versions. Record the strengths and
weaknesses within each row of the worksheet. (See the
Mayan demo for guidance.)
Discuss and combine the individual responses. Come up
with a joint analysis and action plan based on that analysis.
18. Junior Version Characteristics Analysis 18Exercise 2c — The Competency Correlation Tool
Exercise 2c.
How well do your projects map
to the MyWays Competencies?
Continue working with your team from Exercises
2a and b to perform this third and final analysis of
your project.
Review the MyWays Whole Game Learning
overview, including the Mayan Community
Project demonstration.
Download the Competency Correlation Tool from
the MyWays Beta Toolbox. You used this tool in
exercise 1a to assess how your entire school
model mapped to the competencies. In the current
exercise, you are invited to drill deeper to assess
which competencies your selected learning
experience project addresses and in what ways
and to what depth.
Record learning details, as well as the strengths
and weaknesses of the project within each row of
the worksheet. (See the Mayan demo for
guidance.)
Discuss and draft a joint analysis and action plan
based on that analysis.
19. 19A case study demonstration of exercises 2a, b, and c
Introducing the
Mayan Community Project
The Whole Game Learning overview demonstrates the
use of these tools in performing a three-part evaluation
of a learning project.
In this slide deck, we have excerpted a brief synopsis
of the Mayan project itself along with the completed
worksheets for 2a, b, and c.
You will also find more extensive information on the
High Tech High Mayan project website.
20. Summary of the Mayan Community Project
An extended, interdisciplinary project with individual & group research
on the Mayan culture and Mayan areas of present-day Guatemala
Application of knowledge to collaborative writing & illustration
of a children’ alphabet book on the Mayan culture
Publication, marketing and sales of copies of the book to fund schooling
for seven Guatemalan students from impoverished families
• Essential questions: Why is it important to learn about the Mayan civilization today? How are books published
and marketed? What is life currently like for people of Mayan descent?
• Learning goals include: knowledge of Mayan culture, the reality of poverty in Central America, skills in writing
and editing for publication, actual experience of job roles in the publishing process, business planning, marketing
& sales, and the empowerment of “how to make a difference in a child’s life”!
• Process is in-depth and over time: 12-week project, with approximately 2 hours class time/day, group and
individual research, 2-3 revisions of book pages, student choice of research topics & job roles.
• Authentic, culminating experiences and assessments: Peer editors wielding the “Changes Needed” or
“Approved” stamps, “Book Signing” (exhibition), and book selling activities in and with the local community.
20A case study demonstration of exercises 2a, b, and c
24. All files associated with these exercises can be found at the MyWays Beta Toolbox.
Related reading
This slide deck
Whole Game Learning overview
The High Tech High Mayan Community Project website
Tools
Whole Game Learning Analysis Tool (for Exercise 2a)
Junior Version Characteristics Tool (for Exercise 2b)
Competency Correlation Tool (for Exercise 1a and 2c)
Forthcoming Reports
The MyWays Model: A Composite of Student Competencies for Success in College, Career, and Life
Foundations of the MyWays Model: A Brief Summary of Student Success Research
MyWays by Design: A Set of Practice Briefings on Learning and Assessment for Broader and Deeper Competencies
Simple Tools for Using MyWays in Your School Community
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Resources for Exercises 2a, b, and c
Learning Design as Rich as Your Definition of Student Success