Quit teaching to the middle!

Education is an ever-changing environment.  There are always new things available that are supposed to help students learn better or easier.  No matter how hard we try not to, we are all guilty of teaching to the students in the middle, and tend to not give as much attention to the bottom 5% and the top 5%, because there are not as many of them.  

    

One of my biggest takeaways from my technology adventures this Summer is about personalized learning.  I first learned about PL when I was in an edtech chat on Twitter.  I spoke with Jessie Boyce (@jessxbo) online a few times, and then I was privileged enough to attend her session on Personalized Learning and the Coffeeshop Classroom at ISTE in San Antonio a few weeks later.  Let me tell you something, this lady knows her stuff and is not afraid to take chances!  If you get a chance, you should check out her blog here!

  

Now, down to the nitty-gritty.  What is personalized learning?  The answer is simple, this type of learning gives students the freedom to learn in ways that they find most effective for them.  We all know that different people learn in different ways, whether they are aural, visual, read/write, or kinesthetic learners.  Once teachers understand this and know what type of learners their students are, we can make their learning experience much more effective.  “Personalized learning helps learners become intrinsically motivated to learn, so they own and drive their learning to become self-directed, independent learners” (Bray & McClaskey, 2016). “By using personalized learning, learners have a voice in how they learn and a choice in how they engage with content and express what they know…” (Bray & McClaskey, 2016).

    

With this change, we will give ourselves more time to get to know ALL of the students and everyone will be able to work at their own pace.    Personalized learning is student-paced, meaning students learn at their own pace in the way that best fits their needs, whether that entails reading from a book, watching a video, or working in a small group with the teacher.  Learners get instant feedback on their work, and the teacher can also provide reactions to student data in real-time.

    

I plan to use this in my classroom next semester by giving my students a "playlist" so to speak.  I will give them four different problem-based assignments to choose from, and they can present their findings in any way that suits them.  In a core classroom such as math, personalized learning would be highly beneficial, because students can take as much time as they need to learn a certain concept.  Once they are comfortable, they can move onto the next topic.  A variety of activities should be provided when it comes to instructing students.  Some examples would be using a flipped classroom by posting tutorial videos, etc for students to watch; small group instruction and discussions; students collaborating; and even direct instruction when needed.

    

All of that being said, this is not something that can be done over night.  There is a lot of work in it for the teacher on the front-end, but once you get the initial groundwork complete, it will get easier.

Til next time!

BRI

Reference:
Bray, B., & McClaskey, K. (2016). How to Personalize Learning: A Practical Guide for Getting Started and Going Deeper. Corwin Press.