FAQs

Personalization vs. Differentiation vs. Individualization

Personalized learning promotes student agency - We know from the science of learning that student ownership and agency promotes learning. We also hear consistently from employers that they look for people who are self-directed. And so, we need to guide students to set their goals and work to achieve them, as well as give them choices so they learn how to make their own decisions.

Personalized learning creates lifelong learners - Our world is ever changing; and challenges will continue to present themselves and evolve. So students cannot simply learn specific solutions, but must be prepared to learn how to learn.

Personalized learning increases student engagement - As students get older, they become increasingly less engaged in typical schools. Personalized learning shifts this in two ways: through making meaningful connections between teachers and students we increase student engagement, and through making learning more relevant we make it more engaging too.

Personalized learning increases student achievement –Through personalized learning, students spend more time in their zone of proximal development and teachers spend more time addressing the needs of each student. With increased understanding of the types of supports students need, teachers can provide more targeted instruction and support, students are more actively engaged, resulting in higher student achievement.

Personalized learning is what our students deserve - Students deserve equitable opportunities and supports to be successful and realize their fullest potential; they deserve opportunities to bring their whole selves to the learning experience. Personalized and competency-based systems have the ability to empower individuals and enable educators to disrupt the historical dynamic of sorting students, and replace it with one that seeks to educate 100 percent of students.