Personalized Learning

Ready to reimagine your classroom?

Teachers, do you notice that some of your students are ready to move on, while others do not quite grasp a concept? Do you have trouble helping absent students catch up on what they have missed--all because they could not be present for live activities? Do some of your students struggle to learn because you design instruction as a "one-size-fits-all" approach? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, then a personalized learning design approach may be the solution for you!

Personalized learning experiences are designed learning experiences that leverage student control over time, place, pace, and path of learning.

Learn more about different personalized learning approaches below.

Mastery-Based Learning

Mastery-based learning, which is also called competency-based learning, is when students demonstrate mastery of learning standards before moving on to the next standard. Students access content, learning activities, and assessments based on their mastery level. They receive credit for the knowledge and skills they already have, while being put on a custom path to learn new concepts.

Glows

Mastery-based learning platforms, like Khan Academy, are freely available to the world
Immediate feedback from quick formative assessments
Student-driven path and pace of learning
Teachers can use data to target group or individual interventions

Grows

Same content and assessments are delivered to all students
Requires on-demand content and assessment resources to provide a high level of immediate feedback
Must be contextualized in an authentic problem to promote creativity, collaboration, and communication
Must consider EL, IEP, 504, and 508 accessibility

Mastery-Based Learning in Action*

Khan Academy: Math Lessons

In one "flipped" math classroom, students watch ten minute concept videos at home and complete problem sets at school. The teacher monitors student progress on a dashboard, observes which concepts that students struggle with, and provides just-in-time coaching. Quick formative assessments measure learning. Students advance to the next concept or spend more time until they demonstrate mastery.

Khan Academy: Hour of Code

Code.org uses Khan Academy's platform to engage new coders in code tutorials and challenges. Students apply what they have learned by writing code and observe a visual representation of their code. The visual representation provides immediate feedback about code errors and the platform provides guidance for revision of code. Teachers utilize coding to engage students in problem-solving with a real-world skill.

*While mastery learning can be done off of a computer, the teacher will need to provide individualized content and assessments for a class of 25-30 students at a rate that may not be sustainable. This may or may not be realistic.

Adaptive Learning

Adaptive learning is when students engage with a learning tool that can change deliverable content based on student input and interaction with the tool. This approach works best for skill-based disciplines like math and literacy, where there is a basic foundation that students must master before moving on to the application stage.

Glows

Data points--such as correct or incorrect answers, how long it took to click an answer, where the mouse hovered--used to target instruction and assessment to a student's level
K-8 adaptive learning tools feature highly engaging storylines and animations
Student-driven path and pace of learning
Teachers can use data to target group or individual interventions

Grows

School should be aware of a tool's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
Unmotivated students may struggle to progress in a user-driven experience
Pay-to-use programs (subscription required)
Must be contextualized in an authentic problem to promote creativity, collaboration, and communication
Must consider EL, IEP, 504, and 508 accessibility

Adaptive Learning in Action

Dreambox: K-8 Math Instruction

Dreambox adaptive learning software provides a virtual teaching assistant for every K-8 math student. Students learn concepts while playing games with engaging graphics and scenarios. The program adapts student ability. In a lesson on dividing integers, the student is "Agent Ultra," an expert code breaker who must demonstrate knowledge of division and multiplication to disable a security system.

Knewton: College Remedial Math

Arizona State University provided math remediation for college freshmen via the adaptive learning software, Knewton Alta. Students completed self-paced assessments and remedial instruction, which was tailored based on assessment data. Instructors guided students and provided intervention when needed. A progress dashboard showed student progress towards goals.

Project and Problem Based Learning

Project- and problem-based learning is a learning process in which students determine the path and outcome of learning. PBLs have real world connections, are aligned to learning standards, feature structured collaboration, give students the responsibility in their learning, and have multiple on-going assessment checkpoints throughout the learning process.

Glows

Inquiry-based
Student-driven path of learning
Social peer learning via instructor-provided structures for collaboration
Content is contextualized within an authentic problem to promote critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication

Grows

PBLs have deadlines; students have less control over the pace of learning
A controlled chaos approach, with each student group working independently, yet dependently
Requires a high amount of planning before implementation in the classroom

Examples of Project and Problem Based Learning in Action

Project Based Learning: Community STEM

One teacher challenged his students to design a product that would help their community. Students assumed roles to create their own path towards a solution: project manager, researcher, designer, and builder. Students made decisions, collaborated, and produced a unique item with a real-world application. Their teacher facilitated by asking good questions, but never provided direct answers.

Problem Based Learning: Diagnoses

One high school anatomy teacher presented her students with a scenario of a person with an injury or illness, a list of symptoms, and historical and genetic data. The students used the scientific method to deduce what was wrong with the person and leveraged technology to access information beyond their immediate scope, such as unique medical terminology. The teacher used real data to create an authentic problem for her students.

Ready, Set, Personalize!

Now that you have learned a little about personalized learning, can you see yourself applying any of these approaches in your own classroom? Do you already use a personalized learning approach in any of your lessons? It is highly possible that you are already using a mastery-based, adaptive, or problem-project-based learning approach already. We teachers tailor instruction and assessment to individual students all the time without putting the label "personalized learning" on what we do.

It can be a little overwhelming to think about doing personalized learning all the time. Remember, at its core, personalized learning is about providing students with the opportunity to have influence over factors such as time, place, path, and pace of instruction. Personalized learning is also about using student data to drive our decision making and design of future instruction. What part of one lesson could you revise to incorporate one of the factors? Use the resources on this web page to learn more about how to incorporate personalized learning in your classroom. Happy personalizing!

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