Personalizing Learning

Most schools have improved significantly over the past ten years. The quality of teaching is better than it has ever been and yet there is a sense that schools are still not meeting the needs of all young people. The answer to this challenge is personalizing learning; a switch from the school to the learner - from the needs of the system to the needs of the person. This book presents both a manifesto and a model for the personalization of learning. It combines emerging theories of learning with best professional practice to support schools in developing their own way of moving from improvement to transformation.

HOW to Personalize Learning This practical follow-up to Bray and McClaskey’s first book, Make Learning Personal: The What, Who, Wow, Where, and Whybrings theory to practice. Teachers will find the tools, skills, and strategies needed to personalize learning and develop self-directed, independent learners with agency. Discover how to get started and go deeper by building a shared vision that supports personalized learning using the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework. Also included are: Tools and templates such as the Learner Profile, Personal Learning Backpack, Personal Learning Plan, as well as tips for lesson design and PBL Lesson and project examples that show how teachers can change instructional practice by encouraging learner voice and choice QR codes and links to the authors’ website for electronic versions of tools, templates, activities, and checklists Create a powerful shift in education by building a culture of learning so every learner is valued. "If you are looking for a step-by-step guide on what personalized learning is and how to implement it, while being inspired and gaining ideas to implement immediately, this is definitely the book to read!" Diana Petschauer, Assistive Technology Professional, CEO AT for Education & Access4Employment, Wolfeboro Falls, NH "Barbara and Kathleen present well-tested strategies for personalization within a coherent framework. This highly practical book forms a reliable foundation for empowering a community striving to make schools work for all learners." John H. Clarke, Professor Emeritus, University of Vermont

Put the person back in personalization with a touch of humanity. It’s a paradox: technology to individualize curriculum has made classrooms less personal. Let’s instead trust educators to make learning personal by supporting student agency, self-awareness, and the intimate personal connections found in authentic learning experiences. In the second edition of this groundbreaking book—newly streamlined, and updated with insights from the pandemic—Paul France presents a vision of humanized personalization that rejects the corporate mindset and instead holds equity and inclusion at its center. France leverages over a decade of experience as a National Board Certified Teacher, education consultant, and education technology developer, sharing the following: Practical guidance on designing inclusive learning environments for diverse groups Sustainable applications for humanized personalization in curriculum design, assessment, and instruction Real-life stories from the author’s experience on both sides of the personalization debate A multitude of classroom tools, adaptable to a variety of instructional contexts Nobody understands the need for humanizing education better than teachers. While educators across the country have learned that inundating students with personalized learning technologies is not the way to go, many don’t know how to personalize learning without them. The time to humanize personalized learning and our classrooms is now—and this book will give you a place to start.

How ed tech was born: Twentieth-century teaching machines--from Sidney Pressey's mechanized test-giver to B. F. Skinner's behaviorist bell-ringing box. Contrary to popular belief, ed tech did not begin with videos on the internet. The idea of technology that would allow students to "go at their own pace" did not originate in Silicon Valley. In Teaching Machines, education writer Audrey Watters offers a lively history of predigital educational technology, from Sidney Pressey's mechanized positive-reinforcement provider to B. F. Skinner's behaviorist bell-ringing box. Watters shows that these machines and the pedagogy that accompanied them sprang from ideas--bite-sized content, individualized instruction--that had legs and were later picked up by textbook publishers and early advocates for computerized learning. Watters pays particular attention to the role of the media--newspapers, magazines, television, and film--in shaping people's perceptions of teaching machines as well as the psychological theories underpinning them. She considers these machines in the context of education reform, the political reverberations of Sputnik, and the rise of the testing and textbook industries. She chronicles Skinner's attempts to bring his teaching machines to market, culminating in the famous behaviorist's efforts to launch Didak 101, the "pre-verbal" machine that taught spelling. (Alternate names proposed by Skinner include "Autodidak," "Instructomat," and "Autostructor.") Telling these somewhat cautionary tales, Watters challenges what she calls "the teleology of ed tech"--the idea that not only is computerized education inevitable, but technological progress is the sole driver of events.

Personalizing Learning in the 21st Century brings together contributions from a wide range of educationalists interested in the idea of personalizing learning. Although the book is intended primarily for teachers and policy makers, it will be of interest to many others, in health education, consultancy, management, research and development, and industrial training. Reading this book should be a personalized learning experience for each and every one of us.

- How effective school partnerships can enhance the quality of teaching and learning, and the creation of more vibrant, cost-effective provision. - How business and industry can take on a more strategic and structured role in the construction of meaningful learning experiences. - How high-quality local authorities can foster personalized provision in their own area. The success of personalizing learning in schools depends on the effective working together of all parties that form the education system. This book examines the roles and responsibilities of the key stakeholders: national government, local authorities, partnerships of schools and the world of business and industry. The authors expose how the current system fails a significant number of young people and the economic well-being of the nation, and present a realistic alternative perspective based upon examples of current practice at local and national level. This growing base of evidence signposts how the learning experiences of students can be truly transformed through innovative and effective teaching and learning.

Lesson Two: We Are a Bridge, Not a Destination -- Lesson Three: The Six P's -- Lesson Four: The Power of the New Student Experience -- Lesson Five: Who before What -- References -- 10: Concluding Remarks -- References -- Advert -- Index -- End User License Agreement

In this powerful new book, James Rickabaugh, former superintendent and current director of the Institute for Personalized Learning (IPL), presents the groundbreaking results of the Institute’s half-decade of research, development, and practice: a simple but powerful model for personalizing students’ learning experiences by building their levels of commitment, ownership, and independence. Tried and rigorously tested in urban, suburban, and rural districts--and in different academic and economic settings--the IPL model has been proven to enhance student engagement and achievement at all levels. Rickabaugh provides principals and other top-level leaders with * Step-by-step guidance for implementing the model; * A detailed overview of the research and work behind the model’s development; * A complete introduction to the heart of the model—a comprehensive, multi-layered framework centered on the three core components of learner profiles, customized learning paths, and proficiency-based progress; * Tools and activities for assessing and adjusting the model to meet the specific needs of students and staff; * Strategies for increasing and reinforcing enthusiasm for the change process among everyone involved, from the classroom to the greater community; and * An abundance of real-life examples and reflections from students, teachers, principals, and superintendents whose schools have flourished in record time and with minimal additional funding or resources. Tapping the Power of Personalized Learning offers a blueprint that dramatically improves student outcomes and prepares today’s learners to meet life’s challenges in college and beyond.