Description: Fellows develop expertise in designing learning experiences that center mastery over time, create transparent pathways for growth, and empower learners to progress at personalized paces while demonstrating deep understanding.

Sub-Competencies:

1A: Learning Progression Design

Fellows create clear, sequential learning progressions with explicit success criteria that make the journey to mastery visible and navigable for all learners.

Key Behaviors:

• Deconstructs standards into logical learning progressions with clear milestones

• Designs transparent rubrics that illustrate the path to mastery

• Creates scaffolded learning experiences that build toward complex demonstrations of understanding

• Develops clear success criteria that students can understand and use for self-assessment

1B: Personalized Learning Pathways

Fellows design flexible instructional approaches that honor different learning paces and styles while maintaining high expectations for all.

Key Behaviors:

• Creates multiple entry points for diverse learners to access challenging content

• Designs flexible assessment opportunities that accommodate varied demonstration styles

• Implements systems for tracking individual progress toward competency

• Provides just-in-time support and intervention based on demonstrated needs

1C: Evidence-Based Assessment

Fellows develop innovative assessment approaches that authentically measure competency through meaningful application and demonstration.

Key Behaviors:

• Designs performance assessments that require transfer of learning to new contexts

• Creates opportunities for students to curate and defend evidence of their learning

• Utilizes formative assessment to guide instruction and provide actionable feedback

• Implements systems for students to track and reflect on their own growth

Description: Fellows design learning experiences that break down classroom walls by meaningfully connecting students with their communities, creating authentic audiences for student work, and positioning learning as a vehicle for real-world impact.

Sub-Competencies:

2A: Community-Embedded Project Design

Fellows create learning experiences that leverage community assets and address community needs through authentic problem-solving.

Key Behaviors:

• Maps community assets and needs to identify meaningful learning opportunities

• Designs projects that require student interaction with community experts and stakeholders

• Creates learning experiences that produce value for the broader community

• Develops partnerships that sustain community-connected learning beyond single projects

2B: Authentic Audience Engagement

Fellows design opportunities for students to share their learning with audiences beyond the classroom, creating purpose and relevance.

Key Behaviors:

• Creates publishing opportunities that connect student work with authentic audiences

• Designs exhibitions of learning that invite community feedback and celebration

• Facilitates student preparation for presenting to and engaging with diverse audiences

• Implements systems for collecting and incorporating audience feedback into the learning process

2C: Place-Based Assessment

Fellows develop assessment approaches that measure learning through its application to local contexts and community impact.

Key Behaviors:

• Designs assessments that require students to address local challenges or opportunities

• Creates rubrics that include criteria for community impact and stakeholder feedback

• Implements reflection protocols that help students connect academic learning to community contexts

• Involves community members in the assessment process as authentic evaluators

Description: Fellows cultivate learning environments where joy, play, and authentic engagement drive deep learning. They design experiences that harness curiosity, creativity, and the natural human drive toward play as powerful accelerators of learning and growth.

Sub-Competencies:

3A: Playful Learning Design

Fellows integrate elements of play, games, and joyful discovery to enhance engagement and deepen understanding of content.

Key Behaviors:

• Incorporates game mechanics and playful challenges into learning activities

• Creates opportunities for productive struggle within a supportive environment

• Designs learning experiences that prioritize curiosity and wonder

• Utilizes movement, music, and multisensory approaches in instruction

3B: Joy-Centered Classroom Culture

Fellows intentionally foster classroom environments where joy, humor, and celebration are regular features of the learning experience.

Key Behaviors:

• Uses appropriate humor to build relationships and explain concepts

• Creates meaningful celebrations of learning milestones and student growth

• Models enthusiasm for learning and genuine curiosity

• Establishes traditions and rituals that build community through shared positive experiences

3C: Playful Assessment

Fellows develop assessment approaches that feel meaningful and engaging to students while still yielding valuable data about learning.

Key Behaviors:

• Designs performance tasks that incorporate elements of play and creativity

• Creates formative assessment strategies that feel like games rather than tests

• Provides multiple pathways for students to demonstrate understanding joyfully

• Involves students in creating their own authentic assessments that showcase learning

Description: Fellows design learning experiences that empower students as active architects of a better future, developing the agency, tools, and dispositions to shape the world they will inherit and lead.

Sub-Competencies:

4A: Future-Ready Skill Development

Fellows create learning opportunities that intentionally build the competencies students need to thrive in and shape a rapidly changing world.

Key Behaviors:

• Designs learning experiences that develop critical future-ready skills like collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking

• Creates opportunities for students to engage with emerging technologies and innovations

• Implements strategies for developing adaptability and resilience in the face of change

• Facilitates student reflection on how current learning connects to future possibilities

4B: Empowered Agency

Fellows cultivate student agency through learning experiences that position students as problem-solvers, changemakers, and active citizens.

Key Behaviors:

• Designs projects that require students to identify problems and create solutions

• Creates opportunities for students to take meaningful action on issues they care about

• Implements strategies that help students see themselves as capable of effecting change

• Facilitates student development of advocacy skills and civic engagement

4C: Futures Thinking

Fellows help students develop the ability to imagine, analyze, and work toward preferred futures through structured foresight activities.

Key Behaviors:

• Designs learning experiences that help students identify trends and imagine possible futures

• Creates opportunities for students to envision preferred futures and identify paths toward them

• Implements project work that requires students to create artifacts of possible futures

• Facilitates reflective practices that connect current learning to future impact

In this domain, fellows identify and cultivate their own area of professional growth, rooted deeply in their personal passions, strengths, or classroom needs. This learner-centered competency empowers participants to define meaningful goals aligned to their unique contexts, promoting authentic, personalized, and sustainable growth.