Blogpost 9- Community Of Practice at a Charter School

C. Marcellus Griffin Blogpost 9- Community of Practice at a Charter School

 

I recently had the privilege of visiting a charter school that uses the Ingenium Learning System.  Ingenium Learning Systems derives it education plan from the RISC model, created by Mr. Richard Di Lorenzo.  By the end of my visit, I had gained so much practical knowledge about the implementation of this model that I plan to discuss the components of this system with my district’s administrative team in an effort to determine whether this type of competency-based education would be useful in our district. 

 

The beauty of the ILS is that it allows students to progress academically at their own pace.  In other words, students no longer must wait until the end of the year to show mastery of the standards before moving to more challenging standards.  Instead, this model allows students to demonstrate proficiency using the POPs (Proofs of Proficiency).

 

Anytime a school takes on a huge undertaking like this, it is expected that the first year’s results will not be drastic.  However, the school I visited has experienced radical API growth in a relatively short amount of time. 

 

In summary, doctoral candidates in the field of education are always inundated with educational theory. Hence, it is very refreshing to observe the practical application of the theories I have studied, especially when the application is effective.  If you have not already done so, you should make it a priority to go out and visit a school that practices competency-based pedagogy.

 

-C. Marcellus Griffin