KED Program

Imagine the typical school from 10, 50 or even 100 years ago: a building divided into classrooms, all connected with unlively space of corridors and hallways. The teaching staff allocated to classrooms. One teacher isolated in each room, struggling to find a level of teaching that is neither too high nor too low and at the same time trying to find some time for personalized tutoring for those who need it most. Students divided into groups of some 30-40, each group constituting a class unit separated from the others.

Traditionally, the equation of education starts with the building and ends with the student. That 'tradition' can be turned on its head: start with the student, not some statistical average of a student, but the individual student with all her individual ambitions and needs. Set goals and decide optimal strategies to reach them, dedicate a teacher as a personal coach who supports the student at every step, develop material, infrastructure and processes to support learning, design facilities,

leverage all opportunities, provide real time feedback and implement best practices for personalized learning.

That is education for the 21st century. That is the philosophy behind the KED program.

The KED program is a concept for personalised education : students, with the guidance of their coach, set clear, challenging and reasonable goals and work with the ambition of achieving high final results. Students allocate their study time based on their previous educational experience as well as their individual proficiencies.

The KED educational philosophy is about developing responsible citizens who are aware and take ownership of their process of learning. It is also about maximizing teachers time spent on their most important task - teaching and coaching. Another key element is the strict and comprehensive system for assessment, follow-up and feedback.

In addition, to ordinary teaching sessions all students receive support and direction from a personal coach every week. During these individual sessions the objective is to increase the students desire and ambition to learn more than they thought was possible.

Modern societies are characterized by globalization, a high pace of change in economy, working life, culture, science, and technology and thus require an increasing need for learning and building skills. Academic skills, individual knowledge, flexibility and the ability to take personal responsibility are becoming more important and complex as are interpersonal skills and the ability to collaborate.

This is well entrenched and personified in the KED philosophy.

Personal development at Kunskapsskolan lays the foundation for the student to develop into an intellectually empowered and responsible individual who understands the importance of human interaction, interconnectedness and interdependence.

The foundation for continuous personal development is built on:

• Personal coaching that strengthens endurance, self-confidence and purposefulness
• Having individuals learn to reflect, take responsibility and influence their personal learning process
• Basing learning on the individual attributes
• Collaborating for learning
• Exposing individuals to scenarios that challenge and foster inquiry, stimulate critical, creative and flexible thinking

The KED program puts the individual student at the core. The teacher is the student's personal coach, guiding her in the learning process and in the effort to reach her goals. Resources in the form of time, facilities, curriculum and learning material - are organized to support that process.

Upon entering a KED school, the first meeting is a discussion with the student and her family. Together they identify the students long-term educational goals. What does she want to achieve in school? What does she need to learn? What will it take - from her, her family and the school - to succeed? The long-term goal is then decided and documented in writing. The long term goals are broken down into short term and intermediate goals that are achieved by the student with the help of their learning and working goals overseen by the personal coach

Strategies For Learning

The student is then assessed to determine what level she will start on and accordingly what strategies she will need to reach her long-term goals. The strategies are not only a list of hours that need to be spent or resources that need to be referred. It is also a choice of lectures, lessons, assignments and everything else that can support the learning. This provides everyone with a working plan, which will be divided into mid- term goals for the semester and short-term goals for the week to come. Each step is followed up in the student´s weekly coaching sessions with her personal learning coach. In progress reviews and development discussions - whenever needed or at least every six months - progress is tracked and the goals and their strategies are reviewed. Is she making progress according to the plan? Does the strategy put in need to change, the efforts, or should the goals be revised?

Every goal should be clear, challenging and reasonable. Every strategy should provide a reasonable roadmap for the learning journey. In the beginning is a process of setting goals, choosing strategies and assessing improvements often strongly geared and guided by the teacher. But step- by-step. our students learn their capabilities and how to stretch them. Setting goals, choosing strategies, doing the job, assessing the result and draw the conclusions for next step. It all becomes part of the learning, just as natural as all the facts and knowledge achieved.

The student is then assessed to determine what level she will start on and accordingly what strategies she will need to reach her long-term goals. The strategies are not only a list of hours that need to be spent or resources that need to be referred. It is also a choice of lectures, lessons, assignments and everything else that can support the learning. This provides everyone with a working plan, which will be divided into mid- term goals for the semester and short-term goals for the week to come. Each step is followed up in the student´s weekly coaching sessions with her personal learning coach. In progress reviews and development discussions - whenever needed or at least every six months - progress is tracked and the goals and their strategies are reviewed. Is she making progress according to the plan? Does the strategy put in need to change, the efforts, or should the goals be revised?

Every goal should be clear, challenging and reasonable. Every strategy should provide a reasonable roadmap for the learning journey. In the beginning is a process of setting goals, choosing strategies and assessing improvements often strongly geared and guided by the teacher. But step- by-step. our students learn their capabilities and how to stretch them. Setting goals, choosing strategies, doing the job, assessing the result and draw the conclusions for next step. It all becomes part of the learning, just as natural as all the facts and knowledge achieved.

The personal coaching method is based on thinking from several areas, such as motivational - and developmental psychology, and also from pedagogy and cognitive psychology. The theory of multiple intelligences has inspired our way of working to help students develop personalized learning strategies.

Personal coaching contributes to the student's personal development as the student's learning is structured, supported, assessed, and followed up. Through personal coaching, students learn to set clear and realistic, but still challenging, academic goals to work with a goal-driven approach.

The student's personal coach plays a decisive role in making the learning successful. The personal coach instructs the student in a structured manner that is not based on subject matter. This means that students receive help with defining goals, the strategies to reach them and follow upon their goals and strategies and reflect on their own learning process.

Personal coaching is not limited to scheduled talks to discuss the student's coaching and development - it is a continuous dialogue between the student and the coach. This dialogue is characterized by closeness and concern. The coach is responsible for ensuring that the students assume the responsibility they can manage - and no more.

The content of the one-on-one tutorials varies, as in all coaching, depending on the student's level of maturity and needs. In the beginning, the students receive help and support with procedures - to accomplish their personal planning and understand the working methods. The focus gradually shifts to reflections on the student's own learning process, where the students reflect on their goals, work, strategies and results. As students deepen their learning, they assume greater responsibility and receive additional coaching towards new challenging goals.

In the KED program one-to-one coaching session is a structured session that occurs weekly and if needed daily. It is our way of organizing education and hereby leveraging on teacher's time, the most precious of all resources in school.

To ensure a structured and successful tutoring process, we have developed a number of tools for the teacher/coach, the student and the parents:

• Personal tutorials/coaching sessions: Students have a scheduled discussion with their coach on a weekly basis. This review, which is well-prepared, follows up and assesses each student's performance according to the set goals and strategies by reflecting on their schoolwork, results and strategies. Reviewing and reflecting on their own learning process is a central part of the student's discussion with the coach. As an outcome of the discussion, the goals, strategies and schedule for the next week are established.
• Logbook: Each student has a logbook, containing his/her learning goals, activities/assignments and timetable for the coming week. The logbook is the main tool for the student's planning and reflection process. It is important for monitoring and guiding the student's learning process and is therefore a central tool for personalized learning. The assessment of the past week is also entered into the logbook.
• Progress tracking review/Development discussion: When needed - but at least once every six months - students have a progress tracking review with their personal coaches. During the review, the goals and strategies for the student's course of study are discussed and assessed. The review sheds light on the student's school situation from a personal and social perspective along with the revision goals if necessary.
• Individual study plan: At the first progress tracking review/development discussion, the student, parents and the coach develop the student's curriculum with personal goals and strategies. These are the medium - and long-term goals that should be attained within six months. Ultimate goals are those that the student aims to achieve for her entire educational tenure at the school, the courses the student wants to take, and the quality of the knowledge as expressed in grades. Based on these goals, objectives are set for the next six months. The individual study plan is documented in the EDS. The individual study plan is a living document that is reviewed and revised on a continuous basis.

EDS: With the Educational Documentation System (EDS), the coach, student, and parents can follow the student's learning process. The EDS contains the student's personal curriculum and ultimate goals, and goals and strategies for the school term. The student's grade results as well as their own personal reflections of his/her performance during the term are also documented in the EDS.

In the KED program, the teacher accommodates and leads the students different ways of learning. This demands a different mindset because the teacher is not only teaching and lecturing, but she or he is first and foremost the student's partner and coach in learning

A teacher's role in the KED program consists of four parts: being a personal coach, a general coach, a subject expert, and a team member:

• Personal coach: Each teacher is a personal coach for the students belonging to the teacher's 'base group' Personal coaching includes instructing and counseling the students on their knowledge, personal, and social development.
• General Coach: The teacher serves as a support resource for all students in the school, teaching the students how to learn, mediate and explain general strategies. The teacher also serves as a role model for students.
• Subject teacher: As a subject expert, the teacher, in collaboration with his/her colleagues is responsible for planning and conducting workshops, seminars, lectures and other activities in steps and thematic courses. The collaboration between teachers is done locally at the school as well as with teachers from other schools. The teachers also participate in the joint work to develop and modify the step and thematic courses on the Learning Portal.
• Team member: The teachers in a school are organized into subject specific teams. The teachers in these teams work together to plan, review, develop, and evaluate their work.

The KED program challenges students to stretch their boundaries and construct a solid foundation of knowledge and skills. All subjects in Kunskapsskolan are organized in steps and themes. Subjects such as Math and languages need to be learnt sequentially and are organized in steps while science, humanities, art and computers are integrated theme courses.

Steps

• Subjects that require skills training are learned sequentially in steps.
• Each student progresses through the steps at their own pace.
• Students can join the step course at a starting point corresponding to what they already know.
• Subjects to be studied as steps are mathematics and languages.

The student progresses through the steps at her/his own pace, regardless of the year/grade he or she is in. Students who are fast learners in a particular subject advance quicker through the stairway of a step course. Students who need more time can receive additional support in order to thoroughly understand the concepts before they proceed to the next learning level.

The curriculum of each class is organized into ten steps. The steps are further organized in blocks. Each new block adds a level of complexity and has clear goals to be achieved by the student. At the end of each block each student has to do a project step. In the project step student applies his or her learning included in a block and is tested on it. The project step has to be presented to and approved by the teacher before the student can proceed to the next block of steps.

Theme Courses

• A theme teaches the students how subjects are related in the real world, by integrating them in the same course.
• Different subjects illuminate different perspectives of the theme and visualize the importance and connections of the parts of the world around them.

Each course establishes the learning theme and clarifies how the occurrences of a phenomenon are interconnected, often by integrating several subjects. We emphasize the connections between humanities, natural science and the arts.

Considering the importance of knowledge integration in the real world, we encourage our students to understand the themes of the world through a holistic approach. The objective is to train students to widen their perspectives, identify contexts and see patterns and thereby gain a deeper understanding.

The Learning Portal™ is the KED program's collective and web-based source of wisdom.

Students can find most of the learning material on the portal: the courses, the content, objectives and criteria for every step, assignments, texts, pictures, links and tests. The Learning Portal is an important tool in personalized learning because the content of the Learning Portal provides a wide variety of choices and is accessible to students anywhere and anytime.

In the KED program we do not need to divide assignments into schoolwork or homework. You have work to do, and you can get it done in school, at home or anywhere there is an internet connection. KED Schools have work stations all around the school where students can access the Learning Portal. The Wi-Fi network enables students to continue their work after and between lessons. Thus, learning is not an activity limited to the premises of a classroom.

The web-based Learning Portal is the backbone of the KED Program . It contains state of the art learning resources developed by subject matter experts and is distributed around the participating network of schools.It is under continuous development and review as teachers contribute with new material and feedback. The Learning Portal enables teachers to spend less time preparing lessons, while still being able to use the best material, and leave them with more time to spend with students. From an educational point of view, this way of working assures students, families, and society that what is practised is not solely a prerogative of an individual teacher.

The Learning Portal for teachers

For teachers the portal is also our common knowledge management system. Each subject has its own community and pages. Here teachers collaborate and contribute via presentations and lectures as well as best practices at work. The forum is moderated by some of our most experienced subject experts. This is a way of sharing and enabling the learning process for teachers. Every minute saved for a teacher who does not have to prepare a lesson that has already been developed by colleagues is a minute that could be spent on personal coaching instead of preparation. That is one of the reasons why it is possible for our schools to provide more personal coaching time with the same staff resource as a conventional school. The Learning Portal gives teachers a realistic opportunity to 'meet' each student where they happen to be in terms of their current knowledge development.

The Learning Portal for families

The family can take part in their child's learning through the portal as well, by following the student's timetable and performance through the EDS.

Operating The School

The operation of a Kunskapsskolan school is rooted in processes and policies that ensure a safe learning environment for students.

Like any successful company or organization, the success of a school in its core objective is dependent on running a professional operation with systems and processes in place. Kunskapsskolan has the same approach in developing tools and processes for school operations as we have for the pedagogical development that is evidence-based and well-developed, with a strong foothold in best global practices.

Our processes range from the methodology of setting up a school to performance management systems with areas such as HR, finance, marketing and public relations. The annual parent, student and staff surveys are guidelines that help us continuously develop and ensure quality in school operations.

"We human beings are affected by the rooms we act in. In the traditional school there are always corridors connecting classrooms. These kinds of facilities consume areas without being pedagogically effective. Schools Kunskapsskolan designs, builds and operates have no traditional corridors or classrooms. We have rooms of different sizes and character because we all learn differently. All our premises are for study and learning, not only transportation, of small or bigger groups or for individual studies, and they are all designed to address different individuals different needs. That is my contribution to personalized education."

Kenneth Gardestad, Chief Architect at Kunskapsskolan.

Kenneth Gardestad has been responsible for the designing and reshaping all buildings since the start of Kunskapsskolan. Early in his career he was involved in designing educational institutions in Sweden and other parts of the world. Kenneth Gardestad has a Degree in Architecture from The Royal Institute in Stockholm and a Master of Science degree from MIT in Boston. He has received several awards for his architectural work pursuits.

The architecture in the KED program has been recognized and awarded around the world. Our architectural design space is an important tool in our formula for outstanding education. The purpose of architecture in our philosophy is not just to create an icon or a statement in the society, but to create the optimal environment for learning.

The room as a resource

The room - in the wide sense of the word - is a resource for student's different ways of learning that can be seen in two perspectives. First, all our premises are designed to suit the various needs of different students and learning tasks while in school. Second, students have the option to choose other places in the school to work with their studies - provided this is beneficial to the learning process.

Our premises are modern and innovative in design. They give an open, inviting and spacious impression, characterized by bright colors, aesthetic yet functional light and frequent glass walls. This unique design creates security that provides peace and quiet for working, while at the same time facilitates supervision.

Kunskapsskolan schools have very few corridors and spaces that are not used for learning purposes. Instead, there are a variety of purpose-designed, multi-functional facilities for lectures, group sessions and individual studies. This approach allows the faculty to use the facility optimally for each individual learning task.

Besides being a superior design for pedagogical reasons, this provides a better use of space leading economy to create greater opportunities for teaching - learning. Not the least, it creates a learning environment that resembles that of higher education and modern work life. Just what schools are supposed to be about - a preparation for life beyond and for lifelong learning.

Time:

Time is a resource for the student's learning. In a world where there is a good argument for every knowledge and skill you can learn, it is also the most scarce and limited of resources in school. The way it is utilized should therefore, as far as possible, be based on the student's individual learning style and not be organized according to a traditional collective timetable.

Each student has a personal timetable that directs how time is used, based on the student's personal goals and strategies. The school has a timetable for activities led by the teachers. From this timetable students, in consultation with their coaches, select activities that are relevant to their studies and enter those activities in their logbooks. Students also enter other activities they have planned: the development discussion/progress tracking reviews with their coaches, time for group work, their individual work tasks, etc.

The students are therefore responsible for the way they spend their time and have much influence over it. However, the personal responsibility is never greater than what the individual student can manage. The personal coach is responsible for ensuring this.

Rather than the only option being the traditional classroom format, teaching and time are arranged in various forums: workshops, seminars, communication sessions, and lectures. When planning how to teach the content, the school chooses the format that is optimal for learning, ranging from individual studies to arena lectures, and every format in between. Activities led by teachers, the individual work of the students, and their work with other students is brought together in order to provide a joint foundation for the student's learning.