Activity Five: Your Personalized Learning Experience
This is a space to discuss your experience of personalized learning and which tools and activities you have been using? Do they work? Are there any difficulty implementing them?
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tomwhyte1 7:57 pm on October 22, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I would like to say that I have successfully or unsuccessfully implemented a PLE within my classroom, but the answer is no. Tomorrow I will be looking at developing Student Learning Profile’s, which in our district is a first step towards this reality in Alberta. In November, I will be working with a District Representative on developing a program which may meet the needs of many students, and be PLE like, but truly not a PLE.
Please do not think, that I do not value what a PLE has to offer, however I think some of the larger social, financial, and to be honest student/family issues have been forgotten.
Social – in a PLE we are to meet the student where they are at. Which may mean a 13 year old would be learning right along side some 7 year olds. The differences in cognitive strength may be similar, however, maturity, experiences, and at those ages – puberty creates a world of issues that need to be understood and provided for.
Financial – yes technology can facilitate a tremendous amount of tracking and maintaining of records, however these systems I assume are not cheap. We are living in a global economic issue, which has improved, but not by much over the last four years.
Student/Family – Lastly, but most importantly many of our students come with more than cognitive needs. My own son, a bright boy – near the top of his class, but has needed specific behavioural supports to provide him the structure to function within a classroom. Where might he fall in this brave new world – smart enough to be ahead of most of the kids his age, but struggling socially…
Even though I agree that the factory model is slowly dying, I do not think PLE’s are the answer. They might be part of a strategy to try, but education is very complex… We need to instruct the whole child, not just their brain…
Thoughts?
ETEC522grp8 4:30 pm on October 23, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Tom, you always come up with great observations. I agree that personalized learning is not used on a large scale now because it is hard – for ALL the stakeholders in the educational enterprise.
Paula
Suhayl Patel 2:06 pm on October 24, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thats great that you are working on a creating student learning plans. I find in my work that they are truly awesome to look back on that give a good perspective on what type of student you are planning for and is a great step towards PL for each individual. I actually ave a few questions regarding your learning plan creating:
Will your students have any say in their learning plan? Will they even be able to see it? Is it going to be something that you will work on collaboratively? And will it be edited from year to year depending on the teacher or will this be a document that lives only within your school and when the child leaves, they personal learning plan is tossed out?
tomwhyte1 12:09 pm on October 25, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
These are all great questions, and as this is a relatively new process, I can only provide best guesses. As for the development, there are sections where it is necessary to interview students, as well as provide forms for parent feedback to provide more information. These documents are also created with the core teachers in collaboration, and will be revisited from time to time throughout the school year. As for the life of the document beyond this year, I am unsure, as we are not utilizing a formal program.
Thoughts?
adi 8:54 pm on October 22, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I was lucky to experience a Personalized Learning Environment back in 1969 in an experimental primary school in Iowa City called ‘Ernest Horn School’. I now realize this was a unique school for its time, and I was vey lucky to have gone there, if only for 2 years.
It was a mixture of the New York school, in that every day we would work at our own pace. There were files with activities, exercises etc. that had to be done, and we each worked at our own pace. ‘Ernest Horn’ was also like the BC school in that we carried out similar projects, though ‘Experiential Learning’ or ‘Constructivism’ was not yet in vogue. For example, when we learned about Argentina, we cooked Argentinian food, we dressed with clothes used in Argentina, etc. and worked collaboratively on projects that we presented using overhead projectors and other tools. It was also like the Vitra school, in that the architecture was different. Classrooms were set out in a hexagon shape around a work are, and separated by a pull curtain like the type you see in universities to divide auditoriums. Often, the curtains were pulled back, and all the groups worked together. The desks were placed in sets of groups to foment collaborative work. I think architectural and classroom layout is key. There’s a Mexican sociologist (Guevara Niebla) who rightly argues that many schools are designed almost like prisons and contrary to an atmosphere that promotes collaboration and learning; with long corridors for the Head of School to monitor movement. What I loved about the Vitra project was the architecture and their spaces. I think schools all over the world have a long way to go yet.
jhodi 11:34 am on October 24, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
This sounds like a fantastic experience! I am so surprised that you got to experience this in 1969! As I am reading your experience, I can see how they were trying to achieve the same goals that we are trying to achieve now. The main difference being the technologies and tools that were available then versus now.
Thanks for sharing!
ETEC522grp8 3:27 pm on October 25, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hopefully technology can and will offer new ways of progress in education.
Colin 10:32 pm on October 22, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
First I have to agree with everything that Tom mentioned above as problems with the PLE system. I can’t even imagine the cost of the software, creating the content, computers to run the software, technicians to maintain and fix the systems. Not to mention the upgrades that will always be necessary. All of the video’s we watched were great marketing pieces but they didn’t mention how they would deal with all the problems that will arise.
I work at a learning centre where students go through the material at their own pace. You will have motivated students that will finish 11 courses in a year and others that will struggle with 1. Some students when left to learn on their own don’t choose to learn. I have watched many students just sit and stare at the screen for hours. There is something to be said for having a deadline and working together through a course as a class. With this class how many of you would have pushed off submitting Assignment 1 if there wasn’t a deadline? Deadlines and keeping up with the class provides us with the push we need to keep moving forward. This is another issue I see with a PLE system.
ETEC522grp8 3:21 pm on October 23, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thanks Colin for pointing out that the problem for implementing Personalized learning could come from the learners themselves. PL often requires significant self-actualized learning skills on the part of students. Cognitive science research has repeatedly shown that the best predictors of success in learning are motivation and meta-cognitive skill. Yet, they are the essential elements which many learners lack.
frank 3:28 pm on October 28, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Very Interesting Debate!
PLE shows great potential in helping individuals learn in a way that optimizes to their needs and preferences, instead of aggregate social norms. The advantage of this approach is that students can learn more effectively, and learn more content. These are direct gains; there may be indirect ones as well.
The challenge of individualized learning as Colin and Paula have pointed out is that it is fueled by the internal motives of the learner and this can be impacted by all sorts of external factors, as Tom mentioned.
These challenges do not negate PLE as an optimal way forward, in my view.
But it does mean that in considering PLE, we must also consider how students can cultivate greater meta-cognition skills, and as well, the environments that best attenuate to that.
avninder 9:13 am on October 25, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
As a product of a lot of factory-styled education, I would have to agree with you Colin – deadlines are very important. I often set up meetings prior to completing my work as it is the best way to motivate me to get the work done in a timely manner.
Another reason that I believe in the importance of deadlines and structure is because in my real world job, I constantly work with meeting milestones and deliverables. The education system that I went through has been conducive to this set up. I realize that other areas in the job market may be more suitable for individuals who thrive while working at their own pace. Unfortunately it seems that catering to students’ learning needs may or may not adequately prepare them for their future careers as we do not know which path students will choose to follow. However, if PLE may still be advantageous if it gives students more confidence as that is a trait that can be used throughout their lives.
kstackhouse 6:39 am on October 23, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Having worked at Sylvan before becoming a full-time teacher I do recognize the value of PLE in education. It was amazing to see that students coming in reading or writing several grade levels below average were able to “catch up” and finish their program often a level or two above their peers. This came with one or two hour sessions a couple of times a week for varying amounts of time. There was a high cost for assessment and for the tutoring that the parents had to cover. On a bright side though we discovered that there were a few organizations that would help their employees pay for this through their employee benefit programs.
I have not used a full on PLE in the high school setting. I have used Edmodo and their badge system for smaller tasks that students had to complete throughout the semester. They also used it to communicate and get after-school hours questions answered by their peers or by me. As others have mentioned though the cost associated with the PLE projects like Knewton or the School of One would be very high. I am not sure how one can establish a full PLE within a traditional school/district.
A few things I did notice the design of the schools (Vittra and School of One). They were not limited by the fixed walls and space that most schools are stuck with. I also appreciated one of the comments by a teacher in the Vittra school. She basically said that life is not one subject and then another, but it is all of them at the same time. I totally agree with this. Even the work environment most of us experience is nothing like what school establishes. We are usually working with mixed age groups, various experience levels, and different backgrounds. I’m not sure if a shift to PLE is something that can be transferred to a large scale (entire district or province) until there is way more funding and education to politicians, decision makers and parents about the benefits of such programs.
jkotler 8:26 am on October 23, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I have never had the opportunity to teach in a personal learning environment per se, though I have related experience from when I created a training program for elementary teachers in using the Smart Board, and saw the positive response it had with the students in their learning and understanding. This is a resource, similar to that which is used in the Sundale Elementary School case study, that really allows teachers to easily create lessons that are not only interactive and engaging for the entire class but also addresses different learning styles through the combination of text, images and multimedia for print, visual and audio learners.
However even though I am a strong supporter of the Smart Board and other PLE tools, like others in our class, I realize that purchasing, maintaining and training staff to use those tools is quite costly. Thus, from a financial standpoint, it may not be the most realistic solution, at least on a widespread scale.
To that end, I believe there are other simpler strategies that can speak to the same goals as PLE, some of which I experienced myself when I was a young student. More specifically, in elementary and part of high school I attended an alternative school wherein individual desks did not exist and everyone sat at round or square tables; often students worked on the floor (even in grades above kindergarten), class sizes were quite small, the rooms were really big and spacious, group work was always promoted as was hands on lessons that addressed different learning styles. As such, I think that similar changes within other classes can also help to meet the needs of individual students without necessarily spending a great deal of money on it.
ETEC522grp8 5:21 pm on October 23, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I agree with you that the first step in PLE is a shift in philosophy. The additional video on the Role of Technology titled “Ignite Honolulu 4” addresses this. Whatever the tools are that you use, the ideas behind PLE can be implemented in a variety of formats. Technology is just one more way to get there.
joeltremblay 9:28 am on October 23, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Because I teach in a creative medium, (film, animation, website design and photography), personalized learning is actually quite inherent in my approach to course design. This is mainly because the creative process is different for everyone, so one of the changes that I have implemented, (much to the chagrin of my administrators), is that beyond the first couple assignments the due date for all projects is the end of the year. My classes also operate on the philosophy of nothing ever being “done”. These are posted around my room:
http://www.brepettis.com/storage/3327763912_acaf8a6ef6_o.png?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1236190189858
This means that the students can turn projects in as many times as they want as long as they are attempting to improve the work. The majority of the projects in film are based on student created stories about whatever they want to produce and when I do suggest a theme, I am always open to different stories as long as the students prove they have fleshed out the idea.
Similarly, in my website design classes, the entire course is based around producing a website that sells the student’s best qualities. The only guidelines as far as the pages go are requirements for certain types of pages (resume page must be included etc.), but the visual themes are entirely of student design and perfected throughout the year as they are taught the different skillsets they will need for the final product. Would these organic approaches work for other more regimented classes like math or social studies? Possibly, but luckily I don’t have to teach those.
jkotler 2:19 am on October 24, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Joel,
I find your approach to how you set the guidelines for your students assignments to be interesting. I wonder, how this compares to before the changes you made were implemented. Has it had a significant positive impact with the students? Has it effected the quality of the work produced and effort put in?
Julie
ETEC522grp8 3:30 pm on October 25, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Have you found that engagemnet and outcomes/achievement have increased or just one of the two?
ETEC522grp8 2:11 pm on October 23, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I agree that the challenges of implementing PL are immense and varied, and hopefully we have included some examples/ideas that can be implemented that are not too cost prohibitive, such as rearranging work spaces and schedules. Really, this course we are taking right now is an example of personalized learning – we were given a list of potential topics that we could learn about in the first week of class, and the group chose the topics of most interest and relevance to be studied. Your classmates are now in the process of teaching you about these topics that you asked to learn about.
I really like this video that talks about the future of learning and technology that addresses some of these questions – this quote sums up the video nicely:
“Knowing something is probably an obsolete idea. You don’t actually need to know anything. … It’s the teacher’s job to point young minds toward the right kind of questions. The teacher doesn’t need to give any answers, because answers are everywhere.”
http://www.fastcoexist.com/1680776/watch-a-great-short-film-on-the-future-of-technology-and-education?utm_source=twitter
ETEC522grp8 5:49 pm on October 23, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Very interesting that many of us experienced school that was provided in alternative formats. I was part of an alternative stream in my highschool where we were given a lot of freedom for test-taking and project completion. We had hard and fast deadlines and learning outcomes to meet but we could take tests early, and get to our learning outcomes however we chose (projects, videos, sewing costumes, cooking, dramatic performances, etc.).
In this program we had “demands” and then free time to work with multi-age groups on projects (which is maybe similar to what you will be doing next year Tom?). On a side note, our other teachers (for elective courses) always hated having “flex kids” in their classes because we pushed the boundaries on their assignments as we were encouraged to be collaborators with our instructors and ask questions about the “why” and “how”, instead of just falling in line with their program.
Even this program had some of the issues that Colin and Tom point out with respect to addressing ALL student needs. Some students were unsuccessful in their first year and left the program to go to the regular stream. They needed to be provided with more details on what to do and when to do it. I think that personalized learning can address this. Having a framework for these kinds of students to follow should be a part of any PLE.
Additionally, every student comes from their own personal context, as Tom rightly has pointed out. Motivation can be encouraged, but not forced. Some students at times will stare at the screen, their hands, the desk, out the window, no matter what program they are provided with.
jhodi 7:48 pm on October 23, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Although I cannot say that I have personally applied a PLE in my classroom, I could see the benefits in my own teaching career for the Knowledge and Employability students that I teach. Several of these students come to my class with Individual Placement Plans that are designed to support the students learning according to how they learn best, their strengths, and their weaknesses. My classes frequently have a wide variety of skills and learning challenges. Quite often, when the class runs with all students working through the same unit together, several students finish quickly and are bored and several students struggle and do not complete the entire unit.
After reading through the current examples this week, it seems to me that the ‘School of One’ example is quite an interesting alternative. I imagine that setting up such a program would be very costly and require significant maintainance, but in a perfect world, I could see students such as mine being able to benefit from working through material at their own pace with the support and structure of school that assigns them to a station each day based on their current knowledge.
Suhayl Patel 2:02 pm on October 24, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I encountered the exact same problem when teaching the K+E Mathematics at the junior high level. Some students just got it and moved it rather quick, and some didn’t. They needed extra support. I enjoyed ASU’s appraoch. They hand an online program where students could work at their pace (as long as the curriculum objectives were met/completed). It was ubiquitous learning too. Students could take their device anywhere and learn. In my class, when I encountered the same problem where students were working at different levels, I decided to use Khan Academy and became their “coach. I thought it worked out well…..but I made sure that students were working on similar topics but at different levels. This way I could still do practical real life projects with them to deepen their understanding.
visramn 10:07 pm on October 28, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Jodi,
I too do not think school of one is plausible due to cost and logistical reqirents. It is a wonderful initiatives but require a lot of restructuring and the uprooting of age old structures of learning which would cause lot of confusion. Thus, resulting in backlash. If only all learning environments could be that flexible and free flowing.
Nureen
lullings 7:52 am on October 24, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
The nature of my tutoring is by its very nature a PLE. I would have small groups of people coming to learn certain elements (editing, non linear software, transfer options, exports, formats etc). Each person comes with a different background and has skills in different areas so by its very nature they all have to work at their one pace. For example if a journalist comes from a radio background they know how to edit a story together but they need to be able to work with the video formats, where as is a journalist from an online background needs to understand the basics of editing before they can start but will know a lot more about formats.
I usually use a combination of youtube and google documents. Students would put up the assignments on youtube (learning about formats and publishing is a bonus in this process) and then they fill out the live google document as they go through the exercises. There is the same google document for everyone in the group and as a result they can see and learn from others work in relation to their own, add comments and get tips.
When teaching editing there is no right or wrong answer just differences and experience, as a result after the general rules are explained its very personal and rules can be broken and still tell a story well. Working on an exercise is only part of the learning process – seeing how others created their stories with the same footage makes it an invaluable experience.
I usually go around to individuals then and help with specific areas that need clarification and explanation.
This has been the best way I have come up with for this type of group – I would love to hear if anyone has any comments or suggestions for it to be more productive.
Stuart
ETEC522grp8 11:00 pm on October 26, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I think one of the key things that you do is spending time with the individuals, which is great. Having immediate individual feedback is critical in any education setting.
manny 7:53 pm on October 24, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I work in a similar setting as Colin mentioned above in which we have a classroom that is filled with students from grades 10-12 and working on a myriad of subjects. Upon viewing the “school as one” video, I couldn’t help but think how beneficial this could be in our type of setup. However, the sheer logistics of everything (as Tom mentioned) make it something that I can’t see happening in the near future.
There are also a few things about this kind of setup that I found a little troubling. Although the idea seems to be working, the whole environment seemed to sterile for my liking. It appears that students come in and check in with a TV screen which has their name and station listed on it. They make their way to their station and complete the activities listed for the day. It all seems a little to robotic to me and face to face contact seems to be minimal. I am not going to argue the online collaboration that this kind of setup affords but I must maintain my reservations. For instance, these students are exposed to a computer screen all day long and then go home and either continue on with their learning or consume other types of media. I think I would stick to what my mom used to tell me as a child, “anything is good, but only in small doses.”
ETEC522grp8 3:35 pm on October 25, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Blended deliver between online content and face to face or brick and mortar delivery/tutorials may offer solutions to the loss of human interaction.
Jenny Brown 8:00 am on October 25, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I am not a school teacher so I am going to provide a perspective from someone outside of the school system. I would agree with Manny and Tom that I could see this as a logistical nightmare and that the use of sophisticated management systems would be necessary. Another requirement (besides the motivation of the students) would have to be the motivation and training of the teachers – would they embrace this type of learning environment? The change management piece of this could be quite tremendous for many, I would imagine.
In the short term, I could see the feasibility of many teachers using the methods that many of you mentioned including providing a lot of choice for assignments, providing many opportunities for improvement on work and instilling collaborative work environments.
I am left with one thought: Do you think that having students all working at different levels (so potentially not completing the same work) as potentially limiting interactions and discussions between students?
pcollins 2:22 pm on October 25, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Jenny,
Great perspective – Finding students with the kind of instrinsic motivation to really guide themselves and stay on task below the age of about 15 is certainly a bit rare depending on your school. I wonder about the kids keeping themselves on track a bit too –
A second comment related to your final thought about limiting interactions and discussions would be that there are two sides to this coin. On one hand, the students may not be collaborating together to complete the same assignment as much, but on the other hand, the variety of projects and research can serve as inspiration to other students. Or even to have some kind of interdisciplinary collaboraiton between grades. I have seen this first hand in my own elementary situation. Our school had all 7 grades in two classrooms and every Friday afternoon was a collaboration afternoon where the older students had to plan an activity for a younger “buddy student” to participate in with them. It was really great – I don’t remember thinking that it was wierd, or below me, to have to invite a grade 1 to work on something with me. It was actually something that I really looked forward too :]
PC
Jenny Brown 3:07 pm on October 25, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi PC,
That does seem like a cool idea to have a collaboration day – the older I get, the more I realize how much I learn from those much younger than me 🙂 And providing a leadership role for older students is never a bad thing.
ETEC522grp8 11:06 pm on October 26, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Good points so far. I have found the same thing to be true. When students share what they are working on with other students who may be working in different areas it forces them to think about their material in a variety of ways. They have to work on summarizing, providing support for arguments or ideas, offering their conclusions on material, and answering questions. If done correctly, it can actually open the door to some incredibly powerful interactions.
avninder 8:55 am on October 25, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I enjoyed viewing current examples of how personalized learning can be used in an academic setting on the OER but I have not used or plan on using personalized learning in the corporate training I develop. I think that it is a great way for students to explore what interests them in some academic situations but most of the training I develop is mandatory and must be completed before employees are able to access certain IT systems or perform specific job duties because of safety and security concerns. So there is not much room for personalization.
In a world of deadlines and checking boxes it would be very difficult to implement PLE in a corporate setting. Although the organization I work for does have some optional courses that can be launched through our LMS, I do not think qualifies as true PLE as it is rare that individuals have the time to search for and complete these courses.
pcollins 2:15 pm on October 25, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I am currently working with a grade 6 student who is in a fabulous PLE with an online school. We had a meeting with his guidance teacher last night, just so that his parents and I can still have help wrapping our head around the idea that at report card time – there are no hard and fast “measurements” that need to be achieved by this date. His guidance teacher simply looks at the work that has been done so far – provides relevant and constructive feedback that includes ideas and resources for what he can consider doing for the next term and off we go.
In this particular situation however, the parents chose to hire a tutor to provide some extra guidance and structure that seemed to be missing. This PLE program is soooo open ended that it’s a bit disconcerting to those who are familiar with the bricks and mortar model of education.
Sometimes personalized learning requires for the individual to have some experience in doing the actual “personalization”. I often wonder about the other students who don’t have in house educational support – and how they create their structures.
PC
ETEC522grp8 3:39 pm on October 25, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Blended delivery or the flipped classroom model may add the personal/human interactions and face to face support needed for increased success.
visramn 4:57 pm on October 26, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I work in a Paced Learning Program (PLP) which is a program created especially for students who are developmentally delayed. All of my students are at different academic levels and they all have varying emotional needs. There placement in this program is not based on grade per say because students are all mixed together even though the students are labelled as grade 7, 8 or 9. Their age does not dictate their level. Rather, their level is based on where they are at. Differentiation is the only means of reaching these students. PLE is a practice that is very important in the program I teach. I practice this by having a common topic for all students but allowing student to work on tasks at their own pace or letting them move in a direction with the content that is best suited for them. I am present as a guide to assist them all and help them with their needs. I have a lot of flexibility in my classroom because we are not tied to curriculum. Rather, learning and content is more flexible and can be catered to each child and their interests and needs. The emphasis in the PLP program is life skills and this is taught through the explorations of content and curriculum in various areas and is based on student engagement and interest.
A resource I use that helps with PLE is PRISM Math books. These books do not go by grade level. They go by color. Students work through the textbooks based on the level they are at. A digital tool I use is Khan Academy. Both of these tools allow my students to work on content that is accurate for their current learning needs and levels.
Nureen
Patrick Pichette 7:26 pm on October 26, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I’m still in the process of defining as well as refining various areas of a PLE within my own school board. As I teach information technology courses, I think that PLE is quite suited to this material. I often search for tutorials that can help guide students along and provide them with the opportunity to choose the videos that they’d like to view as opposed to a rigid pace following a particular pattern. I tend to give students pointers on what they should attack next to ensure a higher degree of success and lower some of the frustrations that might be felt if they view content that is ahead of their zone of proximal development. Having said that, there are still quite a few challenges in this approach. For one, assessment can be very tricky as some may provide details of an assessment to their peer to increase their results. To counter this, I’ve setup an end of year one on one interview with each student to discuss knowledge construction and verify that their test scores match up with the knowledge they have gained throughout the semester. One of the main benefits of a PLE is its ability to provide me with more time with students as opposed to more time in front of students. Rather than teaching students and trying to capture and provide stimulation for the varied level of experience within my classroom, I’m able to provide them with resources that will give them the exact pace they are looking to follow. When they hit a roadblock with content, I’m able to answer to their particular needs.
Eva Ziemsen 1:42 pm on October 27, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Upon viewing the current examples of PL, I was very inspired and wished that I could have taken part in something like the School of One in my schooling history. While I have not been part of such a PLE myself, I will comment on why and how I think it would be very useful.
Foremost, I work in post-secondary education in a highly creative field, of film production. In this context, I feel that I am often ‘inventing’ PLE’s because not all students are able to learn in the prescribed curriculum we have, due to 1. disabilities 2. social skill-related issues 3. finances. There may actually be more reasons, but these are the most common. Since our curriculum has little flexibility, since it is based on group work that are under strict deadlines (as we are preparing them for an industry that works this way), it is almost impossible to accommodate anyone who cannot function in it. However, when the reasons are disability, certain social issues and finances, our faculty often ‘invents’ independent assignments depending on the nature of the learning outcomes. However, I wish there was a PLE in place, that was more standardized. I could see how this would be much easier to implement for other subjects, such as Math. It is however, more complex for our film courses, but I believe there is a place for it. Perhaps, there will one day be a system that allows us to input PLE’s with any regular course outline. This way, the student can ‘choose their own adventure’ and progress through a course differently, if needed.
In terms of my own learning experiences, I have always thrived when instructors gave me choices as to how I wished to submit the proof of my learning. For example, sometimes I would approach a teacher during my undergraduate years, and request that I make a film instead of write an essay. I was usually approved. I soon realized that it would have been easier to just write something, but I wanted to make a film, as it allowed me to employ multiple skills in learning something. The resulting artifact was also much more valuable to my portfolio.
One shocking, but interesting fact that I learned from a course I took at UBC this summer, was that a fellow student (who was a BC elementary teacher) allowed his students to submit their work up until June (the end of the school year). This means, that if a student was assigned something in November, he/she was able to submit in June, without penalty. He said to me, that the assignment was to learn points ABC, but not to be on time with it. He said that this is a phenomenon that was going on in BC. I still have trouble wrapping my head around this, since I believe this would harm a student in future years and even in the rest of life, but I suppose this is part of PL.
Peggy Lawson 4:28 pm on October 27, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
It’s been several years since I’ve been a classroom teacher, and while there didn’t have any real experience with personalized learning. I now work at the school division level. A priority in our division is math performance – it’s clear that the status quo, for years, has not been effective at improving student performance. Our division often performs below provincial levels in some areas, and the province typically scores below national levels. Going back to your introductory video, I personally suspect a large part of the problem has been treating all the students the same, with the result that teachers generally teach towards the theoretical middle. Unfortunately this makes it more difficult for the weaker students to rise up, and often has a tendency to disengage those at the higher end. I see great potential in individualized programs such as Knewton or Khan Academy. Students can move forward more at their own individual pace, but the presence of a skilled teacher who can monitor individual student progress and continue to help motivate students to move forward and provide individual support at those critical time is essential. I suspect some teachers have some trepidation about computer-mediated instruction that places them more in a supportive role, but as I see it, it is the only way one teacher can successfully support today’s diverse classrooms.
Peggy
teacherben 4:56 pm on October 27, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
It seems to me that personalized learning gets used a lot in lower primary but peters out as students get older. My students had personalized spelling lists, where they chose the words that were most important to them, personalized behavior programs, where studente identified things they wanted to work on (i.e. raising your hand in class rather than shouting out your answers) and center time where they got to choose what activities they would do through the week. I was surprised when I moved in to middle and high school teaching at how little say the students have in what they learn. That being said, I teach a subject that lends itself well to personalized learning. For example, I did a unit on game design with my students. I gave them a single lesson for each of a half-dozen tools for making games. Then, it was up to the students to decide what sort of game they wanted to make, for whom, and what sort of technology they would learn to do it with. Some chose tools that emphasize design aspects while the most of the programming was done for you and you would drag-and-drop stuff, while others who wanted more control over the inner workings of the game chose to get more into the programming.
As for myself, I have always done my best learning on my own. I learned computer programming from a series of videos. I learned how to cook from downloading 10 seasons of Good Eats. I am now learning about electronics from various tutorials and videos. I learned handyman stuff by doing, and whenever I ran into a snag, i looked online for solutions. The problem I have is sticking with stuff. With so much to learn on the Internet, it is easy to get sidetracked by other stuff. And the possibilities are practically endless. I am trying to get my programming to the next level now, and I have done the first 2 or 3 lessons from a ton of different sources and different languages. It is easy to spend more time searching for new material and gathering resources than it is actually learning to use them. You can see how many edtech bloggers have the same problem–they spend all their time locating resources to review and share, but when you meet these people at a conference, they don’t actually know anything beyond a superficial level (except sharing, which they know a great deal about.)
I have started the program to become a Certified Google Apps for Education Instructor 3 times and can never get past the first couple lessons, even though I know it’s great for my resume, it’s free and it will be really useful. In fact, there is a course being offered at another school here where you just go through the free online tutorials together as a group and it costs 350 bucks! It doesn’t even include the certification. You still have to take the tests online yourself. But I am tempted to do it anyways because that way I may actually complete it. Left on my own, I may just continue to put it off over and over.
C. Ranson 8:25 am on October 28, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
This has been a very interesting conversation with many views about Personalized Learning, my experience is with teaching adult learners in an environment where the number of students is approximately 85, and therefore, delivering didactic curriculum face to face through personalized learning is limited. The class is very diverse in age, culture, socio-economic status and learning styles. There is a clinical component in the program where the student/faculty ratio is 1:10 in a simulation environment and then a 1:5 ratio in the clinical client care environment and in this setting personalized learning does take place; there is very specific and different teaching/learning interactions with each student depending on where they are along the competency continuum and what type of skills they are implementing.
As I navigated through the content and examples of the schools that offered Personalized Learning it is apparent that at a young age this type of environment would be a positive learning environment, especially for the student that does not fall into the “Factory Model” of learning. It does appear that this type of philosophy would be easier to implement at a young age and with a regulated number of students, and this seems to be offered typically in the private sector of education.
For the adult learner as mentioned, I do believe they create their own personalized learning strategies regardless of how the content is delivered. In most clinical type programs, such as dentistry, nursing, medicine the learning model is competency based where learners move along the competency continuum at different rates with the end goal being that the student can demonstrate they are safe and competent. The mastery level of the competency continuum occurs with practice and beyond their initial educational training.
I would assume that Personalized Learning is linked to learning outcomes and within the model there would be various evaluative methodologies that might have flexible deadlines. This model can be very effective as it offers both one-on-one interaction and collaborative interaction where various levels of learners will learn from one another. The student that fosters that natural intrinsic motivation will excel and the less motivated learner will require more direction and support through their learning. This is a very interesting philosophy and would be beneficial for our current learners and the learner that the future is creating, very different from our experience.
Catherine
jenbarker 9:41 am on October 28, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Wow… this topic has generated outstanding discussions. When I think of PLE I do not always connect it with technology per se. I believe that I have offered my students PLE through posing open ended questions in Mathematics. Some may refer to this as Problem Based Learning. Each student is able to feel successful and is given the choice of how to respond. Some students use iPads to help them solve a problem. Others use hands-on manipulatives and others choose to draw pictures. Really their options are endless. I believe that this allows each student the ability to personalize and choose a learning style that best suits them. In Science I use a Gradual Release Model, beginning the school year inquiring into what is Science, and what do Scientist do through doing some teacher directed activities. Once they are able to answer these questions and understand the process of inquiry, students choose their own big questions or wonders and explore them through the inquiry process. Like I said earlier, it may or may not include the use of technology but allowing for individual choice, it is personal. Students also chose whether or not to work alone, with a partner, or in a small group. I hope that I have understood PLE as you meant it. I like the examples you shared but found that many still were founded on a “banking model” of education where the student needs to be filled with specific facts or knowledge and although I feel that students need the basics, I don’t agree with this structure and testing. To me, the New York School is not reflective of the Educational Paradigm shift we desperately need.
sophiabb 9:17 pm on October 28, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I too am intrigued by the concept of PLEs. With the affordances of Web 2.0, Cloud, Smartphones maybe this is tomorrow’s learning happening today. Educators have been talking about learner centred approaches for decades; for the last 20 that I have been an educator, this seemed at times to be more of a theoretical construct. At last, it seems very possible, through these technological affordances. I however wonder about the practical issues and their impact of the feasibility of PLEs – class size, standardized assessment expectations and issues of curricula, teacher training/preparation, technical support and the availability of technological resources. How feasible is this for schools in developing countries? What would be the impact of culture on how we ‘customize’.
Sophia