Personalized learning for everyone? Is that even possible?
The Question of Personalized Learning
This is a question that I have been pondering for a number of years. I have seen many students walk through my doors in my 20+ years as a classroom teacher. Each one has a unique personality, preferred style of learning, and outlook on the world. When I was introduced to the Google Innovator Academy, I decided that providing personalized learning experiences for every student was a challenge I wanted to investigate further and develop a plan of attack for. My application video for the Academy gives a brief overview of what today’s blog post discusses.
School Structure
Classrooms have not changed in appearance or function since the industrial age. Sure, technology has been added and teachers have always tried to make it an engaging place, however, no matter what way you look at it, under the surface things haven’t changed much at all. In the majority of classrooms, the teacher shares his/her knowledge to a group of learners. The sage on the stage. In the large majority of North American classrooms, lessons often follow the formula of lecture/presentation followed by scaffolded practice. We essentially attempt to transfer knowledge from teacher to student. Information that students most often memorize, regurgitate on a test, and promptly push from memory.
Additionally, we organize classes into subjects, provide different class periods throughout the day, and group students together by age. Although this is common practice, research does not support it as an effective way of learning. They are great for organizational purposes, but not fantastic for sound pedagogical reasons. What if we could change all that? What if we could have personalized learning for every student? And what if we could do that without adding to an already overwhelmed teacher workload?
We have a significant number of intelligent students walking away from school thinking of themselves as failures. This is unacceptable!
But Doesn't It Already Work?
Now, don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that school, as it is currently structured, doesn’t work for anyone. If it didn’t, I’m sure things would have changed before now. Many students are able to learn and some even thrive with traditional methods. To be honest, I was one of those students. When I think back to my years in school, I have fond memories. I enjoyed learning. I was a quiet and thoughtful student. When I didn’t fully understand the teacher’s lecture, I could find the information I needed in my textbook. School was not a major struggle for me.
But what happens when intelligent students don’t thrive using this traditional model of education? Do we say, “Too bad, that’s the way it has always been done so get used to it.” Or do we recognize the failings of that model and look for a better approach to meet everyone’s needs? The truth is, we have a significant number of intelligent students walking away from school thinking of themselves as failures. They’re not smart enough. They’re not good enough. They feel like they don’t fit in – like a round peg in a square hole. It’s not until they leave the walls of our educational institutions that they begin to understand and see their own worth and intelligence. This is not acceptable.
Identifying A Broken System
I have been a classroom teacher for over 20 years and in that time I have had the privilege of working with middle school students across the globe. My passion is to ignite the fire of curiosity and a desire to learn in my students. However, too often I see that fire snuffed out by a system that was traditionally designed to produce compliant factory workers.
Over the past couple of years, I have spent time talking with current and previous students about their school experience. This is actually an incredibly eye-opening activity. If you haven’t had the chance to have an honest dialogue with students about their experiences in school, I would really encourage you to do so. One particular student, in his senior year, shared how he had struggled with school since early elementary. Mid-way through his grade nine year, his family chose to homeschool him and then transitioned him into an online school for the remainder of high school where he found much more success.
Student Perspectives
During an extensive conversation with this young man, we discussed the differences between traditional schooling, homeschooling, and online schooling, reasons why he felt that he did not thrive in a traditional school setting but did in the other school settings, and challenges that he sees moving forward. We also discussed what the perfect learning environment would look like if he had full reign to create it from the ground up.
Let's engage #StudentVoice as we reevaluate our educational system. Ask them what school would look like if they had full reign to create it from the ground up.
He shared a unique perspective that included his learning challenges and experience with different forms of schooling. He was also able to speak for his friends who have had similar experiences with school.
Above and beyond everything else, this conversation helped to emphasize something I’ve been aware of for quite some time – our education system in North America is ineffective. Many students feel invisible. Like school is something done to them and not for them or with them.
The Case For Personalized Learning
There has been a movement towards accommodating different needs in a classroom through differentiation and individualization. This is a great step and definitely something that is needed, however, it is very much teacher-focused in nature. We are lacking a student-centred approach that gives voice and choice to those that are learning. This lack of agency can be an attributing factor in reduced student creativity, motivation and interest, as well as increased stress/anxiety and absenteeism.
But what if we could change all that? What if we could find a way to make sure all students thrived? What if we could provide a personalized learning experience for each and every student? And what if we could do that without adding even more work to an already overworked classroom teacher?
This is a challenge that I plan to investigate further over the coming months: How might we provide personalized learning for students without overwhelming a classroom teacher’s workload?
