Personalized Learning

Introduction to Personalized Learning

In 1979, noted educational experts Pink Floyd identified a problem with what had become the traditional means of educating students, that it seemed to be an assembly line process intended to force conformity and treated every student the same, regardless of ability or interest. This was clearly a call to action, but apparently the powers that be didn't like good music (or didn't get it), because the education system slogged along, pretty much the same as it has been since the industrial revolution, as noted in the somewhat less incisive but still educational video located below.

Now, though, new technology has made it more possible than ever to personalize learning, which allows variation in a lesson's time, place, pace, and path (Borup, 2018). This means that whereas before, it was necessary (if for no other reason than practicality) for every student to be treated exactly the same, getting the same lesson in the same way at the same time, now it is possible to tailor that experience and hopefully, not just add "another brick in the wall". Below we will take a look at three approaches to keep teachers from being masons.

Mastery Based Learning

In a traditional class, the lesson is presented, the students work on it, and at some fixed point in the future, a test is given. If the student does well, great... he or she moves on. If the student doesn't do well, (not) great... he or she moves on. It doesn't matter if the student is advanced and can finish the lesson in half the time, or takes longer and might need extra time at home to finish... the lesson plows ahead.

Mastery Based Learning, such as can be found at Khan Academy, attempts to address this by changing the time, place, and pace components of the equation. Students are able to work on line, which means that the lessons can be completed from anywhere, any time, as long as they have access to a computer with internet. The lessons allow the students to take as long as they need to master a task, and once they do, then they move on to the next task or skill to be learned. This allows students who get it to move on to a more advanced concept, while students that take longer can spend more time until they get it down pat. In theory, at least, this allows students to take as long as they need to master the material (thus the name "mastery model"). A screenshot to the right shows a screen from one of Khan Academy's courses on coding, where the task is to write code to make a snowman. You can see the code on the left, and a hint for moving the pieces on the top. There is also a snowman in the bottom right, but regardless of enhancement, it's not showing up on this site. Just imagine there's a LOT of snow falling. It's art. Someone call the Tate Modern. Anyway, the program guides the student through the process, and it is always possible to go back and watch videos again if needed, and then move on when ready. The program also provides hints and other scaffolding along the way as supports as tasks are being completed.

The primary disadvantage of this approach is the flip side of its greatest advantage... time. In an ideal world, students could take as long as they need to master a skill and then move on, but in the No Child Left Behind era of high stakes testing, there are fixed points where students have to demonstrate aptitude, given at fixed times. This is also true of most school systems in general, in that students are still grouped by age and expected to move on with their peers at the end of fixed points, usually a school year. This means that even with technology, sometimes students just can't take enough time to master every task.

Snowman in a Blizzard

Adaptive Learning

A Screenshot from Dreambox

A second approach to personalized learning also focuses on time and place, but it also attempts to change the path. In an adaptive learning program, such as the ones offered by Dreambox and Lexia, students again use computers to work through the curriculum. This allows for alterations in time and place, because again, students can access the material anywhere they have a computer with internet. This time, though, there is also a change in path. These programs use continual analysis of student responses to identify areas of weakness, and then tailor the activities to address these areas. Each student gets problems tailored to his or her ability. Both of these specific programs also attempt to make this process fun, and they operate much like games, with levels and celebration screens of success. On either side can be seen a screenshot from each.

A Screenshot from Lexia

The biggest disadvantage to these kinds of programs is that while they seem to be well designed for easily analyzed skills like math, grammar, and vocabulary (such as in the screenshots), with clear, right and wrong answers, they would not have as easy a time teaching necessary skills like communication, collaboration, and creativity (Borup, 2018). This is not a small issue, given that surveys show that employers are looking for communication skills in potential hires. If a candidate is smart and capable, most job specific tasks can be learned/taught on the job, but the ability to communicate and collaborate is key.

Project Based Learning

The last form of personalized learning we're going to take a look at addresses the concern about the need for communication and collaboration skills. In Project Based Learning (also called Problem Based Learning), the change is made to path, rather than time, place, and pace (Borup, 2018). Students are placed into groups, and given real world problems to solve, as seen in the video to the right. As noted by the students in that video, PBL forces students to think, collaborate, and solve real world problems that make for an authentic experience. The students choose the path to get where they need to go, giving them more agency. Teachers become facilitators more than instructors, guiding and providing structure. The standards are still addressed, just in a way that is more meaningful to the students, who can relate their learning to a real world situation.

The primary disadvantages with this approach are time and applicability. Although as the video notes, research shows that students do as well or better on standardized tests than their peers in a traditional model, there is still the issue of time. Projects take a lot of time, so it can be difficult to squeeze in everything the state or locality requires in a given year. Also, while this approach is tailor made for science, it might be difficult to apply this in courses (or parts of courses) that require basic memorization. It might be an excellent learning experience to have the students form their own Constitutional Convention, for example, but that might not be the best way to get them to remember that the real one happened in 1787. It would seem, therefore, that this is an approach that might be best mixed in to the curriculum with other approaches as needed.

Conclusion

There is no panacea in education. All of these approaches have strengths and drawbacks. One advantage they all share that has only been touched upon is that in each case, the students work more independently, which allows the teacher to circulate and target students that need additional assistance. It's important to consider the drawbacks carefully, and look for places where the strengths outweigh them. Hopefully, this can help the current generation of teachers avoid being immortalized in a hit song by a famous progressive rock band forever.

Citations

Borup, Jared (2018) "Personalized Learning Exploration and Reflection" https://mymasonportal.gmu.edu/webapps/blackboard/execute/displayLearningUnit?course_id=_346248_1&content_id=_8347272_1. Accessed 16 Oct. 2018.

"Masonry Facts - Mason Contractors Association of America." https://www.masoncontractors.org/facts/. Accessed 16 Oct. 2018.

"Khan Academy." https://www.khanacademy.org/. Accessed 16 Oct. 2018.

"Tate Modern | Tate." https://www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-modern. Accessed 16 Oct. 2018.

"No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 - OSPI." http://www.k12.wa.us/esea/NCLB.aspx. Accessed 16 Oct. 2018.

"DreamBox Learning." http://www.dreambox.com/. Accessed 16 Oct. 2018.

"Lexia Learning." https://www.lexialearning.com/. Accessed 16 Oct. 2018.

"Employers Seek Communication Skills in New Hires - MBA.com." 1 Jan. 2018, https://www.mba.com/mbas-and-business-masters/articles/your-career-path/employers-seek-communications-skills. Accessed 16 Oct. 2018.

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