We all remember one of our teachers who took a special interest in us. That teacher who watched over us during the school day and even found out about what sort of person we were outside of school. And based on what that teacher learned about us, he/she tailored his/her instruction to take advantage of our talents or our interests or accommodate our personal challenges, e.g., he/she suggested that we read a particular book or do these specific exercises or think about this particular idea. That teacher nurtured us. THAT is personalized learning.
Sit in front a computer screen; put on a headset; read some text; watch videos; take a 10-item, multiple-choice quiz. If seven questions were answered correctly, start on the next unit, i.e., read some text, watch videos; etc. If seven questions were not answered correctly, repeat the current unit. Do the above for what portion of a school day? “... students spend more than half of each school day in their cubicles, headphones plugged in, learning from an online curriculum, which delivers all of the core content in math, language arts, science and social studies.” That is NOT personalized learning — even if that form of instruction is called “personalized learning.” |
