will see multiple elements being utilized throughout these stories. In fact, we believe that at least two elements need to be present to extend learning, personalize learning, and design engaging learning activities. The same can be said for the gifted instructional strategies. You may see a blend of various components, and that is OK. The important thing is that you are able to see practical examples of these strategies being implemented. As we authors have worked with educators to implement innovative ideas, one thing we have learned is how beneficial it can be to access specific examples to make the ideas more tangible. That is our intent with these stories, so we are hopeful that readers will be able to make connections between the stories and the work they do in schools.
While some of the examples we provide may seem advanced, be assured that these teachers did not begin teaching in this manner the first day they started. They tried a few activities and ideas, watched how students responded, made some tweaks, expanded some ideas for the next unit, and continually moved forward. That is exactly what we are asking you to do in your teams as well. Not only is it OK to start small, it is also recommended. Before diving in and ultimately trying these ideas in a lesson, an activity, or a unit, we suggest you and your team consider the sample steps to begin your work that we outline in chapter 9 (page 207).
Individual and Collaborative Team Reflections
This book is a hands-on guide and reflection journal you and your team should use while gaining knowledge of personalized learning and how it will help you and your team extend learning for students who have demonstrated competency with the instructional content. As a collaborative team working in a PLC focusing on your own learning, be prepared to engage in thoughtful and meaningful discussion after each chapter. As you read about each element, take time to answer the various questions and participate in the reflection opportunities. At various intervals throughout this book, you will be asked to individually reflect on readings from the text. When you get to these points, you will see the following image.
This will be your cue to stop and reflect on what you just read. At the end of each chapter, you will be asked to look back at what you individually reflected on and have a collaborative team discussion about your findings. For this type of reflection, you will see the following image.
This structure is intentional. The individual reflection allows you to internalize the content and honestly reflect on current practices. Individual reflection also allows for personal creative thinking that is specific to your students and thus most actionable. Additionally, learning is social. So, after you have the opportunity to internalize the content and creatively apply it to your students, the collaborative team discussion occurs in a safe, professional space where you can share your own thinking, receive feedback, and try new approaches with the support of your peers.
With this book, K–12 educators working in collaborative teams can engage in nine collaborative book study meetings. We offer the following sample collaborative team schedule (see table which you may choose to use in addition to your regular norms and ways of operating as a collaborative team.
Table I.1: Sample Collaborative Team Schedule
| Collaborative Meeting | Topic | Items to Complete |
| Premeeting | Addressing critical question 4 of a PLC through personalized learning to extend learning for question 4 students | Prior to first meeting, read the introduction and chapter 1. Complete the reproducible “Individual Reflection: Teaching Approaches” (page 26) while reading. |
| 1 | Review of introduction and chapter 1 | Discuss individual reflections and complete collaborative team discussion. Assign chapter 2. |
| 2 | Review of chapter 2 | Discuss individual reflections and complete collaborative team discussion. Assign chapter 3. |
| 3 | Review of chapter 3 | Discuss individual reflections and complete collaborative team discussion. Assign chapter 4. |
| 4 | Review of chapter 4 | Discuss individual reflections and complete collaborative team discussion. Assign chapter 5. |
| 5 | Review of chapter 5 | Discuss individual reflections and complete collaborative team discussion. Assign chapter 6. |
| 6 | Review of chapter 6 | Discuss individual reflections and complete collaborative team discussion. Assign chapter 7. |
| 7 | Review of chapter 7 | Discuss individual reflections and complete collaborative team discussion. Assign chapter 8. |
| 8 | Review of chapter 8 | Discuss individual reflections and complete collaborative team discussion. |
| 9 and ongoing | Developing plan for implementation | Begin implementation and plan for ongoing use of collaborative time for addressing PLC critical question 4 through personalized learning to extend learning for students who are already proficient. |
Please note that we are not suggesting each topic will take up an entire meeting. We wrote this book to support readers in making individual connections and reflections before meeting with the full team. We encourage you and your team to be thorough and complete this work, but to do so in an efficient manner that does not take away from the other important work you do in your teams. As with all teams, we know time is always a factor.
One Final Thought
