Unit 10 - Customized Learning

What did you learn from this website?

Customized learning is not an overnight change. There needs to be a great deal of thought, planning and professional development before implementing. It is alright to start out slow and take baby steps to achieve the full degree of customized learning that some schools are at. The website pointed out those baby steps, plans, and resource for school districts that were interested in going to distance learning. They also provide interviews from students, teachers, and administrators that have implemented customized learning. These interviews help show the benefits and pitfalls to customized learning. The videos make it more real and an approachable topic. The website also provides professional development and degree opportunities for teachers and administrators. School stakeholders that are interested in customized learning should checkout this website.  

Describe the benefits and pitfalls to implementing personalized learning?

The videos highlighted numerous benefits and pitfalls to personalized learning. As with most things, if done correctly and with efficacy, personalized learning can be a great thing for a school. However, if not done correctly, it could be a disaster.

Customized learning really personalizes the students content and speed of that content. It transforms them from a passive learner to an active learner. Customized learning helps ensure that grades/marks were based on standards and that they were in fact covered. No longer are students given one grade in a class that covers multiple standards. These standards are allowed to be covered at deeper levels and with different kinds of assessments. This benefits the numerous learning styles and interest of our students. Some of these lessons also allow for increased collaboration. It forces the teacher to make more contact with the students at their level. It also increases the vital feedback from teachers to students. In this system, traditional lecturing does not go away, it transforms and focuses.

The three largest pitfalls of customized learning are time, money, and letting go. As mentioned above, customized learning does not happen overnight. It takes time to setup this program and to change a culture at a school. Some of our less motivated students are not ready or do not want the culture/program to change because they like being spoon fed information and not being responsible for their education. Another issue with time is scheduling and professional development. It is not easy to build a flexible schedule or to find time in a day for teachers to meet as a team. Money is always a pitfall. It will cost the district money to purchase technology, personnel to fix/manage technology, software, and professional development time. Customized learning might also require additional staffing. One of the toughest pitfalls is the ability to let go. Parents have to let go of the idea of the traditional classroom and lecturing. Students need to let go of the idea of passive learning and take responsibility for their education. Teachers and administrators have to let go of the idea that not everything has to have a deadline and be on a schedule. Teachers need to let go of the idea of being the sage on the stage and build relationships and trust that allow customized learning to take place.

What questions do you still have about customized learning?

As I was watching the videos, a few questions came to mind. How does it look when students jump from level to level? What does the grading look like? How is it setup in Infinite Campus? How is it handled if a student does not make it? Does work carry over from year to year? What is done to encourage these students that are responsible for their education, but making bad decisions? These questions are really the nuts and bolts of customized learning. The over-arching question that came to mind was how does this work in a small school? Some teachers in small schools have six or seven preps? Time for students and staff is scheduled down to the minute. Electives are a luxury in many of the small schools. Many small schools have to make do with a social studies teacher and not a department of five or six teachers. I would be interested to see examples of small schools making this work effectively.