SESSION RECORDING: K-12 Mastery-Based Digital Learner Profile at Australian High School

As part of 1EdTech’s 2023 Digital Credentials Summit in March 2023, Darren Ponman, Deputy Principal at the Hunter School of Performing Arts (HSPA), Margo Griffith, Head of Business Development at Edalex and Nicholas Robert, CEO at Learning Vault presented “K-12 Mastery-Based Digital Learner Profile at an Australian High School” at the Solution Showcase. The innovative Digital Learner Profile solution they showcase, helps create visibility across the learning journey for all stakeholders.

Using open data standards, the complex solution involved extraction of data from multiple Canvas mastery gradebooks, mapped and aligned to credentials in Credentialate, producing a dynamic learner evidence record and digital badge. Credentials can be aligned to national standards and school-based frameworks. Personal Evidence Records showing progress (including artefacts) are displayed in student dashboards. Once the mastery outcome is achieved, it’s represented in a digital badge that can be shared by learners while still at school or after graduation via Learning Vault’s digital wallet.

Developed for Year 7 – 12 students, the focus is on feedback and formative assessment with students playing an active co-design role. Gamification is used to encourage student motivation, self-direction and a growth mindset and parents have real-time access to student progress. The administrative burden on teachers in reporting to parents is significantly reduced.

The human workload required to write performance descriptors for each mastery level, of each outcome/standard was a key challenge. Each descriptor had to comply with multiple levels of regulatory standards (State and National) and needed to be worded such that the mastery pathway was clear and could be easily understood by students and parents. 

During this session, attendees will learn about:

• Innovative solutions to address complex requirements via platform interoperability
• Highly efficient and effective production of a transparent record of student progress and mastery
• Digital badges that are authentic and significant to students, that visually represent the learning of the whole student

Watch the Session Recording

About the Presenters:

Darren Ponman Deputy Principal, Hunter School of the Performing Arts (HSPA) Darren passionately leads the design and implementation of innovative, equitable, and engaging educational opportunities, as well as systems that facilitate these characteristics efficiently. Darren’s extensive educational leadership has resulted in a wide variety of innovative and sustainable initiatives. These are consistently used as examples of best practice in Australian Education. Some of these include – designing and implementing a variety of digital Learning Management and Administration Systems across many schools, co-designing the first greenfield Big Picture Education Campus in NSW, writing and resourcing the State-wide Critical Thinking syllabus, designing, coordinating and implementing vast, technology-based infrastructure, including multimillion-dollar AV and multimedia centres across several public schools. Currently, collaborating with Edalex and Learning Vault to design and implement a scalable, Mastery-based, digital credential system for use in K-12 schools.	LinkedIn Profile
Nicholas Robert Founder, Learning Vault Nicholas is a founder of Learning Vault and loves leveraging technology and education to help build the workforce of the future. He believes completely and unequivocally that learning is a lifelong process. Learning Vault has been designed to enable educational experiences consistently throughout a person’s lifetime, from digitally badging achievements to assisting in the design of educational products.	LinkedIn Profile
Margo Griffith Head of Business Development, Edalex Margo’s in-depth knowledge and experience of micro-credentialing is the result of working in and with higher education providers and edtech leaders, nationally and internationally. She is passionate about the positive impact of technology within education and the enablement of lifelong learning and agility. Margo is a connector at heart and is a strong advocate for diversity and inclusion in all areas of life.	LinkedIn Profile