This is Jennifer Gonzalez welcoming you to episode 158 of the Cult of Pedagogy podcast.

In this episode we're going to talk about how to create a self-paced classroom.

The phrase reinventing education gets thrown around a lot, and I heard it quite a bit when

the pandemic hit.

First, we all retreated into our homes, school went virtual, and for a while everyone kind of panicked.

Soon though, voices started to emerge, and they said things like, hey wait, maybe this is our chance.

Maybe this is the kick in the pants we need to actually change education, to make it more student-centered,

more authentic, more relevant.

We literally can't conduct business as usual, so let's try something different.

As of now, in November of 2020, I'm not too sure that reinvention has happened.

I think most educators have been too overwhelmed by everything else that's gone down this year

to actually do it.

I also think we're still not totally clear what it is.

Is it more project-based inquiry learning, more work driven by social justice, more collaboration,

less testing?

Yes, to all of that.

But who actually has their Teaching Act together enough under these conditions to implement any of it well?

I have seen one bright light though.

One group that has figured out a piece of this puzzle with a model that solves one of the problems

educators have been wrestling with, literally for generations, honest to goodness differentiation,

where each student is met where they are, is given an appropriate level of challenge,

and grows at a steady pace throughout the school year.

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