Ready for MyLC?
We think of school as if it is an economy with a currency. School has always been transactional — a teacher makes the assignment, a student submits the assignment, the teacher gives a grade. The currency in this model is a grade. Time is fixed and all transactions have to begin and end at the same time. The teacher is the banker and starts all transactions.
What MyLC Supports
Readiness Factors & Assumptions
Factors for schools considering the implementation of MyLC.
Standards-Based to Competency-Based
MyLC is suitable for schools with standards in place, ready to move towards evidence-based learning with the students at the front-end of the learning transaction. Schools import their own competencies into the MyLC platform.
Experiences over courses
In MyLC, courses are just buckets of competencies. We assume schools have unique structures in place to provide the context for these course competencies. You might still be teaching in classes and courses, but MyLC hopes you are thinking about more interesting contexts like interdisciplinary seminars, workshops, field study, internships and more. Students can learn anytime, anywhere, and the competencies earned will be aligned to the appropriate subject or course.
Learning communities are cool
While you may still be teaching in course silos, MyLC supports a vision where all teachers support all parts of a learner. In this spirit, MyLC is built so that teachers see all parts of learner progress. We still allow for course permissions for grading rights, but we assume that teachers are collaborating with each other and students and that teachers want to see the progress in all areas for each student.
Grain Size Matters
Successful MyLC schools are moving away from a “a mile wide and inch deep” standards approach and are developing fewer competencies for each credit and require deeper evidence for each competency. Most schools design models with 10-20 competencies per credited course.
Graduate Profiles Are In
MyLC Supports a badging concept that allows schools to collect evidence for a Graduate Profile. In fact, for some schools the main competencies that are credited are just their graduate profile competencies.
Feedback > Score
MyLC is optimized for schools who are collecting at least some evidence outside of the confines of traditional bell and cell structure. We assume you are interested in credit that is awarded when competencies are completed rather than at an arbitrary term.
The Shift To Evidence
MyLC is really designed to build student agency so that they are the ones owning the transaction. Instead of using assessment and assignments to learn what a student didn't know, the shift to evidence requires the learner to own the competency and build evidence until proficiency or mastery is achieved. A test is evidence, and so is task completion, teacher observation, live performance, volunteerism, community engagement and a college acceptance letter. MyLC supports an environment where the job of teachers and students is to align all evidence of learning to your competencies.
It is more than a semantic difference, it is a cultural shift.