Personal Learning Paths

Image Source: Dallas ISD

A personal learning path is an approach that emphasizes learner-specific goals related to the learning objective, as well as preferences for the kinds of products they produce or they manner in which they demonstrate competency of an objective. It also refers to the path that a learner elects on their own after assessing knowledge on a subject.

Students should have personal learning paths that encourage them to set and manage their individual academic goal. While it is daunting for most students to start personalizing their learning completely, teachers can help by customizing some suggested learning pathways for students that offer students choice in the way they learn and the products they create.

In a classroom of 30 students, how do you as a teacher control this learning and ensure that all your students are successful?

For a personal learning path to be truly successful for students, they must feel as though they are in control of their experiences. The teacher allows them to choose which activities to complete, how they will receive the content and be assessed. The key is to make the learner feel like they have a direct say in the learning process, rather than telling them how, what, and when they are going to learn.

creating personalized LEARNING path

Creating Flexible Learning Paths for students is a step toward personalizing learning. As students spend time in a personalized classroom, they can begin to develop their own learning pathways. For an example of a teacher created Flexible Learning Path, click here. Consider having students develop their own once they become familiar with personalized learning.

Set Learning Goals | Ask questions

Students need to set learning goals for the objectives as well as create periodic milestones for progress. There are several resources for creating plans and checklists. Briefly look at each of the below resources. Students can use these individually, or the teacher can ask the class to identify areas of curiosity and interest using one of these resources. See the Padlet example here.

lino (K-12)

Lino is an online sticky note service that is used to post memos, to-do lists, ideas, and photos anywhere on an online web canvas. It allows you to collaborate with others. Click on Give It A Shot to try this free online tool. You can also see a lino on How To Lino. Lino is available as an app for multiple platforms.

Padlet (3-12)

Padlet is a virtual wall that lets you post ideas and topics like a bulletin board. You can then share the images, videos, documents, and text to and from multiple devices. These can easily be shared on social network sites, by email, or embedded on a webpage or blog. Others can subscribe to your Padlet page.

Trello (K-12)

Trello is a community board you set up where you can put notes, questions, and to-do lists for others to read and to respond. It is available as a web application, an iPad and iPhone app, and an Android app. Many of the features are outlined on this tutorial Trello board.

Choice Boards

One way to give students choices is through learning menus.

Here are 3 different learning menus.
Interactive Learning Menus (Choice Boards) Using Google Docs by Kasey
Diner Menu created in Google Docs
You can make your own Tic-Tac-Toe from this Google Doc Template.
Pinterest is also a great resource for finding learning menus and choice boards.

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE Activities

Choose Your Own Adventure stories offer choices to students.

Video

Students can learn by viewing videos and listening to podcasts. Check out at least two of the resources below. They can also view presentations (e.g. Power Point, Prezi, etc.), read articles or texts you assign, participate in discussion boards online, etc. (Consider using something like Google Classroom or Edmodo to house some of your learning artifacts for students). Many teachers have students participate in station activities to get the information needed to create their learning artifacts.

Teacher Tube (K-12)

A safe educational video community for students, teachers and parents

PBS Learning Media (K-12)

There are thousands of digital resources to choose from here. (Videos, games, audio, photos, lesson plans and more)

YouTube (K-12)

Check out the YouTube for Education page. You can create your own channel and download videos to use in your classroom. Be sure to follow the copyright and fair use rules covered earlier in Be Legal and Fair.

iTunes U (K-12)

iTunesU is a portal of educational content in both audio and video formats available for play using the iTunes media player. Content includes lessons, course materials and more. Over 600 universities have active iTunesU sites, and distribute their content publicly at the iTunes Store. To access iTunesU, launch and search through iTunes.

50 Educational Podcasts (K-12)

This is a listing of 50 educational podcasts from NPR to Grammar Girl.

The Main Goal: Give our students choices of how they learn and how they show their understanding, because not all students learn the same way.

Google Sites

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