Enhanced Paper - Personalized Learning

Katelin Daum
EME 5053

In a time where data and standardized tests are driving

education, personalized learning offers a student-centered, more
personalized approach to learning. Personalization was defined "as an
adaption of the learning process and content to the individual
characteristics and preferences of learning", whereas now, it is defined
"as an instruction that tailored learners' learning styles, intelligences,
interest preference..." (Abu, Yahaya & Bailal, 2011)
Content Delaware's video talked with many teachers from
Delaware classrooms about the method of personalized learning.
Greenstein (2015), an English and ASL teacher in Delaware discusses
how teachers get frustrated and she hears them say, 'Kids should
come in, sit down and should listen to me' but the world is different
than 40 years ago. She continues talking about meaningfully adapting
our curriculum to meet the students' interests. The bottom line is
students learn differently and to appeal to each student's individual
way of learning, we must personalize learning. (See Blendspace 1)
Personalized learning is meant to be "student learning
experiences that are tailored to their individual needs, skills and
interests, and that their school enables them to take ownership of their
learning." This approach steers away from the traditional classroom
lesson led by the teacher and focuses on the student following the
path and pace best fit for them through various means such as

differentiated instruction and incorporating instructional software

(Childress & Benson, 2014)
Another approach that personalized learning is replacing is a
one-size-fits-all classroom. Many schools decades ago, and even
today, resemble a factory assembly line; "control was external, the
classes were often repetitious, and many times skills were taught in
isolation. Content coverage prevailed over conceptual understanding."
The idea of students having different learning styles was not a priority
in this type of classroom (Powell & Powell, 2011). The pictures shown
illustrate how the elements of personalized learning are linked
together. (See Blendspace 3 and 4)
Change happens for a reason and education is now focused on a
personalized, more individualistic approach. Educators recognize that
students have different backgrounds and bring different learning styles
to the classroom. Not only do educators recognize these, but also plan
their instruction recognizing these factors. More challenges for
teachers have risen, as they are expected to understand all of their
students needs.
According to Cavanagh (2014), writer and editor for Education
Week, many educators and organizations are still trying to grasp an
understanding of what the concept means. He wrote how obstacles
still persist and school leaders are finding it difficult to find a balance
between protecting student data and using student data to

individualize learning. Other district challenges include evaluating the

impact of various strategies on student achievement and ultimately
making the strategies work in the classroom. (See Blendspace 6)
As with any new theory trying to be implemented, there come
supporters and critics. Personalized learning is no different in that the
model has many supporters wanting to move towards a more
individualistic approach and critics that have their questions and
hesitations.
With such a wide range of methods to personalized learning,
there is much uncertainty as what is expected from personalized
learning. "Some critics charge advocates of personalized learning with
conceptual fuziness...others argue that this approach rests on suspect
ideological underpinnings" (Prain, 2013). The model raises questions
on how much control is to be given to teachers and students. Another
implication is that "to enact a personalized approach to learners and
learning depends on many factors, including school leadership, teacher
skill sets and practices, and learner capacities and goals" (Prain, 2013).
In order to develop a flexible curriculum, teachers need various
resources at their disposable, which in many districts, funding does not
allow. Furthermore, many districts are not on the same level,
financially specifically, therefore, affecting what programs they can
introduce into their school.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 7.7% of

teachers left the profession in 2013, while 8.1% moved to different
schools ("Teacher Attrition and Mobility", 2014). With this turnover and
shuffling of teachers, how are districts supposed to implement new
approaches and models when teachers are leaving. A crucial part of
implementing personalized learning is the expertise of the teacher and
without that would new programs be effectively developed and carried
out.
Many schools and districts have already started gearing their
curriculum towards personalized learning. Supporters believe that this
approach gives more opportunities to students within the classroom
and it allows them to take ownership and self-direct their learning.
When coupled with technology properly, personalized learning could
enhance the learning environments of students and assist them in
understanding concepts in challenging courses. It can also "motivate
them based on their interests and academic level, accelerate their
learning, and prepare them to become true lifelong learners" (Childress
& Benson, 2014).
There are many elements and examples of personalized learning
that make it unique. According to Dreambox Learning, a technology
company that produces learning platforms, personalized learning has
many design elements such as intervention, supporting student needs,
goal setting and tracking and formative assessments. The company

also states that since learning isn't linear, personalization isn't either.
(See Blendspace 9)
Examples of personalizing education in the classroom vary from
teacher to teacher. One way is to make the material conceptual and
relatable. If a student can relate to an experience being taught, they
are more apt to participate, be engaged and ultimately achieve
content mastery. As teacher's it is also important to keep up-to-date
on learning technologies that can be used to supplement lessons.
Having a software that can tailor a students' interests and strengths to
assist them in learning new material will only help them reach new
heights. Another example that fits under the personalizing branch is
implementing stations or rotations. Having students in a small group
setup will make student feel more comfortable. Districts that are
moving to a one to one classroom and utilizing tablets have a much
bigger impact in implementing the model (Walkington, Sherman, &
Howell 2014) Michael and Susan Foundation's Personalized Learning
podcast offers ideas and focuses on how personalized learning is being
implemented in New England schools. (See Blendspace 11)
In San Jose, California, Summit Public Schools partnered with
Khan Academy, a nonprofit organization that provides free online video
lessons. They developed a blended math model that would
personalize learning for students. Furthermore, they adjust their model
based on student and teacher feedback. (Childress & Benson, 2014)

Two other districts, Lindsay Unified in California and Charleston County

in South Caroline won the Race-to-the-Top-District award in 2012. Tom
Rooney, superintendent of Lindsay's Unified "brought into the vision
that students learned at their own pace and had to take ownership of
their learning." The district uses an electronic progress monitoring
system, which will evolve into a digital learning platform. Charleston
County's approach is through the teacher. They are geared towards
"increasing teacher effectiveness, which is crucial to improving student
achievement" (Schaffhauser, 2013).
As a teacher it is challenging to create lessons that meets all of
my students needs. Even though, personalized learning is one of the
many approaches that will vary from teacher to teacher, it will give
students the sense they can learn the most challenging of topics.
Naturally, I am drawn to new methods that I can use in my own
classroom. Seeing students that struggle and others that achieve
mastery in the same class is challenging at times. Personalized
learning should be giving teachers the flexibility I have implemented
many elements of the approach from showing tutorial videos to
utilizing education software. I hope to integrate more of the
technological components of personalized learning as my district
becomes digital. IBM created a great video of predictions of how
education will change in the next five years and I am fully prepared to
change as education does. (Blendspace 13)

I am interested to see the future of personalized learning and

how districts will implement it. Furthermore, I hope more research will
be done, specifically targeting results to lower-level students and
overall mastery of content. I am also looking forward to the new
technological advances and educational software that will be
developed and produced in the near future. Education is changing and
personalized learning seems to be a great approach to carry out that
change. Edutopia provides a great look into how online learning will
soon drive many schools and colleges. (Blendspace 15)

References
Abu Samah, N., Yahaya, N., & Bilal Ali, M. (2011). Individual differences
in online personalized learning environment. Educational
Research and Review, 6, 516-521.
Cavanagh, S. (2014). What Is 'Personalized Learning'? Educators Seek
Clarity.Education Week, 34(9), 2-4. Retrieved September 9, 2015,
from http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/10/22/09ploverview.h34.html
Childress, S., & Benson, S. (2014). Personalized Learning for Every
Student Every Day. Phi Delta Kappan, 33-38.
Content Delaware (2013) What is Personalized Learning? [Video File]
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-rXLV1-9sg
Edutopia (2010) Anytime, Anywhere: Online Learning Shapes the
Future. [Video File] Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhzIYo2e5kY
IBM (2013) Personalized Learning: 5 Future Technology Predictions from
IBM. [Video File] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=hwJc_B9_6sI
Niehaus, Cheryl (2015) New England Secondary School Consortium
facilitates knowledge sharing [Audio Podcast] Retrieved from
http://www.msdf.org/blog/2015/05/personalized-learning-podcast-

episode-3-new-england-secondary-school-consortium-facilitatesknowledge-sharing/
Powell, W., & Powell, O. (2011). How to teach now five keys to
personalized learning in the global classroom. Alexandria, VA:
ASCD.
Prain, V. (2013). Personalised learning: Lessons to be learnt. British
Educational Research Journal, 39(4), 654-676.
Schaffhauser, D. (2013). Using Data to Get to the Top. The Journal, 2934.

Teacher Attrition and Mobility. (2014, September 1). Retrieved

September 13, 2015, from
http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2014/2014077.pdf
Walkington, C., Sherman, M., & Howell, E. (2014). Personalized
Learning in Algebra. The Mathematics Teacher, 108(4), 272-279.

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