{"id":152850,"date":"2025-08-10T12:00:49","date_gmt":"2025-08-10T17:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/truthforteachers.com\/?post_type=podcasts&#038;p=152850"},"modified":"2025-11-27T00:13:29","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T05:13:29","slug":"individualized-learning-self-paced-approach","status":"publish","type":"podcasts","link":"https:\/\/truthforteachers.com\/truth-for-teachers-podcast\/individualized-learning-self-paced-approach\/","title":{"rendered":"Want to individualize learning without overwhelm? Try this self-paced approach."},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>How can you meet the needs of every learner in your classroom while keeping your workload manageable?<\/h3>\n<p>In this article + episode of the <i>Truth for Teachers<\/i> podcast, I spoke with Rob Barnett, a former high school math teacher and co-founder of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.modernclassrooms.org\/\">Modern Classrooms Project<\/a>. Modern Classrooms has empowered 80,000+ educators in 180+ countries to meet every learner\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n<p>Before that, he taught math, computer science, English, social studies, and law, from the middle school to university levels, at public and private schools in the U.S. and abroad. He is the author of <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3Xsj6BH\">Meet Every Learner\u2019s Needs: Redesigning Instruction So All Learners Can Succeed<\/a>, and he hopes his children will learn in Modern Classrooms someday! Listen in as Rob and I discuss how self-paced learning can help teachers individualize instruction in a way that\u2019s beneficial for kids AND manageable for the teacher.<\/p>\n<p>In our conversation, Rob shares how self-paced learning can transform your teaching and create a more personalized, effective, and sustainable experience for both you and your students.<\/p>\n<p>We dive into the Modern Classrooms approach, breaking it down into actionable steps that any teacher can take\u2014whether you\u2019re ready to fully embrace self-paced learning or just want to try one small change tomorrow. From recording simple instructional videos to using mastery checks, Rob shares what works, why it works, and how to adapt it for your students\u2019 needs.<\/p>\n<p>You&#8217;ll discover:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">How to get started with self-paced learning by taking small, manageable steps.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">The three core components of a modern classroom lesson: warmups, instructional videos, and mastery-based assessments.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Practical strategies for motivating students, including how to encourage those content with \u201cthe minimum\u201d to push themselves further.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">How to use mastery checks as quick, actionable assessments that inform your next steps without creating a data overload.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Ideas for creating collaborative group work that ensures all students are engaged and appropriately challenged.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Tips for addressing chronic absenteeism and ensuring all students can succeed, no matter their attendance.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">How schools can support teachers in implementing self-paced learning by providing time, autonomy, and collaboration opportunities.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Why relationships are at the heart of any successful approach to personalized learning.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Whether you\u2019re looking for ways to individualize learning, reduce stress, or build stronger connections with your students, this episode is packed with inspiration and practical ideas you can use right away.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-153047 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/truthforteachers.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Want-to-individualize-learning-tall-1-333x500.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"333\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/truthforteachers.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Want-to-individualize-learning-tall-1-333x500.jpg 333w, https:\/\/truthforteachers.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Want-to-individualize-learning-tall-1-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/truthforteachers.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Want-to-individualize-learning-tall-1-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/truthforteachers.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Want-to-individualize-learning-tall-1.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 333px) 100vw, 333px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Listen to episode 331 below,<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>or subscribe in your podcast app<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: none;\" title=\"Libsyn Player\" src=\"\/\/html5-player.libsyn.com\/embed\/episode\/id\/37728290\/height\/90\/theme\/custom\/thumbnail\/yes\/direction\/backward\/render-playlist\/no\/custom-color\/672c5b\/\" width=\"500\" height=\"90\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\"> <\/span><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\"> <\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: center;\">Sponsored by <a href=\"https:\/\/rocketpd.com\/cohorts\/unlocking-teacher-productivity-with-angela-watson\/\">Rocket PD<\/a><\/h5>\n<p><strong>ANGELA: Your new book is called <em>Meet Every Learner&#8217;s Needs: Redesigning Instruction So All Learners Can Succeed<\/em>. And in the beginning, you explained that you never set out to redesign instruction, but your students weren&#8217;t learning.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>And you were miserable as a teacher because you were working all the time. And you were frustrated that there were kids that you still couldn&#8217;t reach.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Tell us about that.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>ROB: Thank you. It\u2019s true. And I certainly never thought I would be writing a book either, but here I am.<\/p>\n<p>About 10 years ago, I was teaching at a big public high school in Washington, DC, and I was struggling every day. In my class, I had some students who were on grade level or ahead.<\/p>\n<p>They wanted a challenge. They needed a challenge. And then I had students with gaps in their learning, sometimes several years behind. They needed more support. They felt lost. And I also had students who weren&#8217;t there at all due to chronic absenteeism. I was standing at the board, trying to give my one lesson per day, and realized I couldn\u2019t meet all of these learners&#8217; needs. My advanced students were bored. My students with learning gaps were lost. My chronically absent students were missing out altogether. And I felt like a failure when I went home because, no matter how hard I worked or how good the lesson was, it wouldn\u2019t work for everyone when some students weren\u2019t there or weren\u2019t prepared for the content.<\/p>\n<p>I had to find a different way. What I did, in short, was stop teaching one lesson to all my students at the same time every day. I digitized my direct instruction by recording very simple videos of myself.<\/p>\n<p>I would give those to my students to watch in class or at home. So I spent class time sitting down with them, getting to know them, building relationships. And then I would require that they actually mastered lesson one before they moved to lesson two. I could sit down with a student and say, &#8220;Show me you understand this before you move on&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>That was so much more fun for me as a teacher. I got to work closely with young people and build relationships. My students felt more relaxed. They felt more comfortable. It really worked.<\/p>\n<p>I ended up sharing that with a colleague, Kareem Farah. He and I started a nonprofit to share this with teachers. Now we&#8217;ve shared this with thousands of teachers all over the world. And we have a whole instructional model that I&#8217;m sure we&#8217;ll talk about. But it started with me just trying to find simple strategies to address that challenge of teaching that was really getting me down, which is that different learners have different needs, and we need ways to meet them all.<\/p>\n<h3>Why teaching to the middle doesn&#8217;t work<\/h3>\n<p><strong>You&#8217;re identifying something really crucial here. Your advanced learners weren&#8217;t being challenged, and your below-grade-level kids were being completely left behind. Often, in those situations, the default response is to try to teach to the middle. That\u2019s something you address in your book\u2014this idea that teaching to the middle can somehow replace individualizing instruction, or that it becomes our default mode when planning lessons. Can you explain the problems with teaching to the middle and what you found that works better?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>When you&#8217;re delivering one lesson per day to all the students in your room, you don\u2019t really have a choice but to teach to the middle. If you\u2019re teaching to your advanced learners, a lot of your class will be totally lost. But if you teach to students who need to fill in gaps, the students who are ready for your lesson will be completely bored.<\/p>\n<p>You try to find somewhere in between, but that doesn\u2019t really serve anyone. Your job as a teacher is to challenge advanced students and support the ones who are behind. So how do you do that? I realized I needed to stop delivering the same lesson to every learner every day. I needed to ensure that advanced learners could move on quickly while struggling learners had the time they needed to achieve mastery. They\u2019re capable of it\u2014they just need more time.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why I started recording videos and sitting down with students in class. This allowed different learners to work on different lessons simultaneously at their own pace, building mastery and confidence. It also helped them develop the self-esteem that comes with learning. When you\u2019re just teaching to the middle, it\u2019s hard to do that.<\/p>\n<p>From a teacher&#8217;s perspective, it\u2019s also incredibly frustrating. You\u2019re standing at the board, explaining something, knowing that some students are bored and others are lost. It\u2019s so stressful. I wanted to move to a place where I could sit down with my students, get to know them, support them, and make sure they were all appropriately challenged and supported every day.<\/p>\n<h3>Creating Flexible, individualized instruction<\/h3>\n<p><strong>So the idea is that you\u2019re creating these short, informal videos for students to watch, and then you\u2019re providing more support or more challenges based on their needs. Is that right?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Exactly right. For short periods\u2014two or three days at a time, not for the whole year\u2014everyone in the class moves at their own pace. I outline tasks that every student must do, which I call the \u201cmust-dos.\u201d Then there are \u201cshould-dos\u201d and \u201caspire-to-dos\u201d for advanced students. During this time, students learn at their own pace but can work with classmates who are moving at similar speeds.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m not standing at the front of the room anymore. Instead, students work together in groups on similar lessons while I sit with them, answer questions, and ensure everyone is appropriately challenged. This lets me figure out who needs what and provide individualized support.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes people think that technology makes learning impersonal and individual. I haven\u2019t found that to be the case. My videos are five to ten minutes long. Students watch them, close their computers, and collaborate with classmates or me. It\u2019s a very collaborative and human process, much more so than standing at the front of the room ever was for me or my students.<\/p>\n<p><strong>So the videos are sort of designed for the middle, but what you\u2019re doing afterward is what provides the accommodations, right?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Exactly. Often, when teachers talk about differentiation, we think about it in terms of content\u2014advanced students get harder content, and struggling students get easier content. I never felt that was fair. I believe every student should have the opportunity to master challenging content.<\/p>\n<p>If I give advanced students hard problems and struggling students easy ones, the struggling students never get the chance to develop a sophisticated understanding. It didn\u2019t feel equitable to me.<\/p>\n<p>In my classroom and in Modern Classrooms, differentiation happens more in terms of how long students take to work on certain things. Advanced students move quickly, while struggling students have more time and support.<\/p>\n<p>I might spend more time with a learner who has gaps, while the student who loves math or reading can take off on their own. For chronically absent students, this approach is a godsend. They don\u2019t come to class feeling like, &#8220;Oh no, I missed Monday and Tuesday, and now I\u2019m totally lost.&#8221; Instead, they feel like they can pick up where they left off. Their classmates can help them catch up, and I can help them catch up.<\/p>\n<p>This model allows every student the time and support they need to reach a high level of understanding.<\/p>\n<p><strong>That\u2019s a really important piece, especially with chronic absenteeism on the rise. This model really addresses that. After students watch the video, they can meet with classmates who are working on the same material. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>I\u2019d like to talk a little about group work and collaboration. Often, we have students who don\u2019t pull their weight, or one student takes over and leaves others out. There are all kinds of issues that come up when humans work together in a group. What advice do you have to make sure every learner is having their needs met and getting to participate?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s a great question, and it definitely rings true from my experience as both a teacher and a student. I think the best group work happens when students are working on a problem where they\u2019re all appropriately challenged and engaged.<\/p>\n<p>If I just give everyone the same group project and say, \u201cGo for it,\u201d the advanced students might take over and do everything, while the students with learning gaps disengage because they don\u2019t feel like they can contribute. I\u2019ve been part of groups like that myself.<\/p>\n<p>On the other hand, if students are moving at their own paces and we create groups of students who are at the same place in their understanding, it\u2019s much more natural for them to work together. They can support each other in a way that\u2019s productive and engaging.<\/p>\n<p>When every student is appropriately challenged, collaboration improves. If you just assign a group project to the whole class without considering their readiness, you won\u2019t get the same level of engagement. Some students will get it, and others won\u2019t, which makes it hard to collaborate effectively.<\/p>\n<p>I also want to mention chronic absenteeism from a teacher workload perspective. Before I started teaching this way, I had to stay after school to help chronically absent students catch up. Sometimes they couldn\u2019t stay after school, which made it even harder. That was a big burden on me.<\/p>\n<p>With this model, it\u2019s much easier to help chronically absent students. When they return to class, they can pick up where they left off. They can access the material outside of class, too. This made it so much easier for me to support those students without burning out.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"4UofMkgA8S\"><p><a href=\"http:\/\/truthforteachers-j2cwlay4.on-forge.com\/18-ways-to-differentiate\/\">18 manageable ways to differentiate when kids have gaps in their learning<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;18 manageable ways to differentiate when kids have gaps in their learning&#8221; &#8212; Truth For Teachers\" src=\"http:\/\/truthforteachers-j2cwlay4.on-forge.com\/18-ways-to-differentiate\/embed\/#?secret=xDK6COYA3n#?secret=4UofMkgA8S\" data-secret=\"4UofMkgA8S\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>Supporting students in self-paced learning<\/h3>\n<p><strong>I also want to talk about self-paced learning. A lot of kids struggle with it, and in your book, you discuss strategies like setting deadlines and creating supports so students aren\u2019t just left to manage their time completely on their own. What strategies have you found useful to help kids succeed in self-paced learning?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This is another concept that sometimes gets a negative reaction. People hear &#8220;self-paced learning&#8221; and think it means letting students go on their own from day one and checking back at the end of the year. That\u2019s not what I mean. Too much freedom doesn\u2019t work well for students.<\/p>\n<p>What I recommend is giving students some freedom and autonomy within reasonable bounds. For example, you might say, &#8220;For the next two days or the next week, you\u2019ll move at your own pace.&#8221; Then, after that interval, the whole class starts fresh on something new.<\/p>\n<p>This approach does a couple of important things. First, it gives students manageable benchmarks\u2014like having two or three lessons to complete on their own\u2014which feels achievable. Second, it keeps the class generally working on the same material. One student might be a lesson ahead and can help another student who\u2019s a lesson behind. Everyone is within the same interval of two to ten lessons, depending on the class.<\/p>\n<p>Within each interval, I encourage teachers to prioritize. In a self-paced classroom, some students will progress faster because of their preparation, attendance, or other factors. You have to ask: What are the essentials that every student must do? What are the optional tasks\u2014things students should do but aren\u2019t absolutely necessary? And what are the aspire-to-do activities\u2014the exciting extensions that advanced students can tackle to push themselves even further?<\/p>\n<p>When I had a self-paced interval, I\u2019d set it for about a week. I\u2019d say, \u201cHere are the two lessons everyone must master. Here\u2019s a lesson that\u2019s really good to do if you get there. And if you really get into it, here\u2019s an interesting extension activity at the end.\u201d That created a nice balance between freedom and structure for students.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Did you ever have kids who were like, \u201cOkay, I did the requirements. I did the must-do. I don\u2019t really want to do the rest of this. Can I just stop there?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yes, of course. That\u2019s how people are, and I think it\u2019s understandable. When that happened, I found motivation often came from relationships. I would talk to the student and say, \u201cLook, you did the minimum. Are you the kind of person who does the minimum, or are you the kind of person who goes farther, who learns more, and challenges themselves?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When students are challenged in a friendly, appropriate way, they often want to succeed. They want to excel. So while I did encounter students who were okay doing just the minimum, I found that once I built relationships with them, I could usually push them to go a little farther.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" style=\"background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DRAxYklEQxW\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\">\n<div style=\"padding: 16px;\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\">\n<div style=\"color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;\">View this post on Instagram<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\">\n<div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: auto;\">\n<div style=\"width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;\"><a style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DRAxYklEQxW\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A post shared by Angela Watson (@angela.watson)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Grading and assessing individualized learning<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Tell me how the grading and assessment piece works. If some students are doing additional assignments or working at a different pace, how can teachers use formative assessments or ongoing feedback to figure out the next steps and inform personalization without feeling buried under data?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Data can be so overwhelming, and part of that is the type of data we collect and the insights it generates. When I was teaching one lesson to all my students every day, I\u2019d give an exit ticket at the end of class. I could predict the outcome\u2014some students would get it, and some wouldn\u2019t. But then what? I had the next lesson to teach the next day. The data wasn\u2019t actionable.<\/p>\n<p>Then we\u2019d get to the test, and I\u2019d have all this data at once, but again, I couldn\u2019t really do much with it because I had to move on to the next unit.<\/p>\n<p>In a Modern Classroom, we encourage teachers to give what we call a \u201cmastery check\u201d at the end of each lesson. It\u2019s just one or two short problems, like an exit ticket, but students only take it when they\u2019re ready. One student might take it at the start of class, and another might take it at the end.<\/p>\n<p>When I review the mastery check, I immediately decide whether a student is ready to move on. If a student hasn\u2019t mastered the content, I sit with them and help them review. If they\u2019ve mastered it, they move on. It\u2019s a small piece of data that\u2019s actionable and gives clear next steps: either revise and try again or proceed to the next lesson.<\/p>\n<p>I carry a clipboard around the room that shows which students have mastered which lessons. This helps me figure out who might need help and who can help others. It\u2019s not overwhelming data\u2014it\u2019s just one or two questions per lesson, but it\u2019s actionable and informs my decisions.<\/p>\n<p>I always encourage teachers to focus on collecting small, actionable pieces of data. Tons of data might seem nice, but it\u2019s not helpful if it doesn\u2019t guide your next steps. Collect one or two pieces of information per lesson and use those to determine seating, grouping, and activities for the day. A self-paced, mastery-based environment thrives on that kind of data.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How many assignments are you giving a formal grade to each week?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>That depends on the teacher and the school district. Some schools require you to grade everything. Some teachers think they have to grade everything. For me, I only graded the mastery checks at the end of each lesson and the unit-end assessments, like projects or tests.<\/p>\n<p>This kept my grading workload manageable and showed students what I really cared about. I didn\u2019t care whether they completed 100 homework problems or three\u2014or even none. What mattered to me was whether they understood the content. Homework and videos were practice and preparation for the mastery checks.<\/p>\n<p>By focusing on understanding, I wasn\u2019t overwhelmed by trying to grade every single thing students worked on each day.<\/p>\n<h3>Using incentives to inspire mastery<\/h3>\n<p><strong>There\u2019s a chapter in your book about inspiring students to excel and using incentives to push all learners toward mastery. I really liked that because so much advice assumes students should develop internal motivation and that using rewards or incentives is somehow \u201ccheating.\u201d But that doesn\u2019t fit with what we know about how humans work. We don\u2019t do things unless there\u2019s something in it for us, unless it meets a need. I\u2019d love to hear what you\u2019ve discovered about incentives and helping students push themselves toward mastery.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a combination. We want students to develop an internal satisfaction in learning, but incentives can be helpful. In my class, I used mastery checks, and when students passed one, I wanted them to feel proud and experience the self-esteem that comes with learning.<\/p>\n<p>I also wanted them to see a tangible benefit\u2014whether that was the grade or something else. For example, some teachers have an \u201cahead-of-pace\u201d area in their classroom. If you\u2019re ahead of the suggested pace, you can sit there, use your phone, or access other perks. Some teachers use badges, like \u201cAngela mastered Lesson 3\u2014she\u2019s the genius of the day. Ask her for help!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>You could also email parents or coaches with data, saying, \u201cYour child did great today, and here\u2019s the evidence to show it.\u201d Those small rewards are meaningful to students. They help them see that if they work hard, they can succeed.<\/p>\n<p>Relationships, small perks, and recognition all contribute to helping students feel capable. But the most important thing is giving each student an appropriately challenging lesson and the support they need to succeed every day.<\/p>\n<p>In a traditional setting, if a student misses Monday and Tuesday, they\u2019re likely to struggle to catch up. In a modern classroom, they have the chance to succeed\u2014with both intrinsic and extrinsic rewards supporting them along the way.<\/p>\n<h3>Small actionable steps to move toward more personalized learning in your classroom<\/h3>\n<p><strong>What are some small practical steps that teachers can take to individualize learning without creating an unmanageable workload?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m so glad you asked this because when teachers hear about our model, they sometimes think, \u201cOh my gosh, this is so complex! I can\u2019t do this.\u201d And it\u2019s true that we present this model as a comprehensive approach to teaching. But when I was doing this in my classroom, it really came down to small steps each day that made my life\u2014and my students\u2019 lives\u2014easier.<\/p>\n<p>One small thing you can do is record an instructional video. You don\u2019t need a professional recording studio for this. Just open a Zoom call, hit record, explain your lesson, stop the recording, and share it with your students. Yes, it takes time initially, but once you\u2019ve created that video, you don\u2019t need to repeat yourself a hundred times. Students can rewatch it, pause it, or even watch it at home with their parents. It becomes a resource that lasts as long as you teach, freeing up your time in class to sit with learners and support them.<\/p>\n<p>Another small step is to create a simple chart on a clipboard. Use it to track when each student masters each lesson. This doesn\u2019t need to be a fancy data dashboard\u2014it can be just a piece of paper. But it gives you valuable, actionable information about your students.<\/p>\n<p>In the book, I emphasized these small, simple things because when you start doing them consistently, they build on each other. One day, you\u2019ll look at your classroom and think, \u201cWow, this is amazing. Look at what\u2019s happening here!\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Let\u2019s say I record one quick lesson. Instead of teaching it tomorrow, I have my kids watch it. What else do I do? How do I prepare them for that? What do I have them do afterward? How would I begin trying this?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>These were exactly the kinds of questions I wrestled with as a teacher. In general, I think of a modern classroom lesson as having three parts.<\/p>\n<p>First, I wouldn\u2019t start class by saying, \u201cCome in and get on your computer.\u201d I\u2019d always start with some kind of whole-class warmup to build community and get students engaged. Then I\u2019d explain that their direct instruction is on a video. They can watch it in class or at home, pause it, and take notes. This part is usually done individually.<\/p>\n<p>After watching the video, students should close their screens and do some kind of practice together to apply what they\u2019ve learned. In a math class, that might mean solving problems. In a social studies class, it could be analyzing a historical document. In a Spanish class, it might mean practicing vocabulary with a partner.<\/p>\n<p>Most of the class time should be spent on this collaborative practice. Then, the last part is an individual mastery check. This ensures that each student has the chance to prove their understanding when they\u2019re ready, and you can determine their next steps.<\/p>\n<p>So, if you\u2019re starting this tomorrow, I\u2019d suggest recording whatever you\u2019d normally share from the board as a video today. In class, begin with a warmup, let students watch the video, and then give them a meaningful activity to apply what they\u2019ve learned together. Finally, create a way for each student to show you when they\u2019re ready that they really understand. Do this enough times, and you\u2019ll start to create a self-paced classroom where students can achieve mastery every day.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How has your thinking about Modern Classrooms changed since you first started?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>One thing that\u2019s changed for me is something I\u2019ve mentioned here: taking small steps toward better lessons. When Kareem and I started the Modern Classrooms Project, we had this big, grand vision for how instruction should look. We imagined all the elements a great modern classroom should include.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m still motivated by that vision, but in writing the book, I realized that when I started as a teacher, I didn\u2019t have that grand vision.<\/p>\n<p>I was just doing small things every day to feel a little happier and to support my students.<\/p>\n<p>And everything that has come after that is a result of having taken those small steps. Whereas I used to pitch modern classrooms as, \u201cThis is the solution\u2014just do all these things and your class will be great,\u201d now I think of it much more as, \u201cHere are some simple things you can do that will make each day better.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If you can make Monday better, then Tuesday a little better, and Wednesday a little better after that, pretty soon you\u2019ll reach a place where you\u2019re really happy with your classroom.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s great to have a comprehensive model, but what\u2019s really valuable about modern classrooms\u2014and what the book helped me see\u2014is that it\u2019s just a series of small steps that lead to a much larger outcome.<\/p>\n<p><strong>It\u2019s interesting you said that, because that\u2019s exactly the impression I had while reading the book. You don\u2019t have to use the whole model to implement what\u2019s in the book. There are lots of actionable, practical things and examples that a teacher could try right away.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>There are so many things in the book that could slowly shift the way you teach over time, rather than requiring a big overhaul. If that was your goal, it definitely came through, because that\u2019s how I felt as a reader.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Well, thank you. And look, if you\u2019re listening to this, you don\u2019t have to do anything I say. You might think my ideas are terrible! But I hope there\u2019s one thing here that helps you use your data better, or use technology better, or maybe develop a better relationship with that chronically absent student.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s really just a collection of techniques. They worked for me, and they\u2019ve worked for other teachers. I hope some of them will work for your listeners, too.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"Nd0nVrqxbC\"><p><a href=\"http:\/\/truthforteachers-j2cwlay4.on-forge.com\/truth-for-teachers-podcast\/modern-classrooms-project\/\">3 practices to give you more one-on-one time with students<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;3 practices to give you more one-on-one time with students&#8221; &#8212; Truth For Teachers\" src=\"http:\/\/truthforteachers-j2cwlay4.on-forge.com\/truth-for-teachers-podcast\/modern-classrooms-project\/embed\/#?secret=WpKJCrh2KP#?secret=Nd0nVrqxbC\" data-secret=\"Nd0nVrqxbC\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>I want to close with a takeaway truth. What\u2019s something you wish every teacher understood about meeting every learner\u2019s needs?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I think what I would say is that you should do what you think is best for you and your students. What works for me may not work for you\u2014or it may work a little differently. Every student has different needs, and every teacher has different needs, strengths, and personalities.<\/p>\n<p>What I\u2019ve learned from my teaching and from speaking with teachers all over the world is that if an approach like this is going to work, you have to make it your own. You need to try it, experience success with it, struggle with it, and adapt it into something that really works for you.<\/p>\n<p>If you listen to this and think, \u201cThis won\u2019t work for me,\u201d you\u2019re right. If you listen to this and think, \u201cThis will work great,\u201d you\u2019re also right. The key is to take this and make it your own, embracing what makes you unique as a person and as a teacher. If you do that\u2014whether you use my methods or something totally different\u2014you and your students will succeed.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Thank you so much, Rob. This was wonderful.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Thank you. And I know I said this before our call, but I\u2019m a huge fan of what you do. I\u2019ve been in the 40-Hour Teacher Workweek. I\u2019ve taken your AI course. I love how you\u2019re helping teachers be more effective and sustainable. So thank you\u2014it\u2019s been an honor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How can you meet the needs of every learner in your classroom while keeping your workload manageable? In this article + episode of the Truth for Teachers podcast, I spoke with Rob Barnett, a former high school math teacher and co-founder of the Modern Classrooms Project. Modern Classrooms has empowered 80,000+ educators in 180+ countries &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/truthforteachers.com\/truth-for-teachers-podcast\/individualized-learning-self-paced-approach\/\">Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":153048,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[11,2458,5,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-152850","podcasts","type-podcasts","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education-trends","category-equity-resources","category-teaching-tips","category-truth-for-teachers-podcast"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Truth For Teachers | Want to individualize learning without overwhelm? 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