Are you looking to change how you teach your students? Do you want to ensure that each and every student is able to succeed and get the most out of their education? While there are all kinds of ways to ensure this, creating a personalized learning experience can certainly be the way to accomplish just that.
It’s becoming a trend that educators and parents alike are starting to see the benefits in, and are looking at ways to incorporate it into their child’s education path. But what exactly is a personalized learning experience and how can it be introduced into the schools? Let’s take a closer look.
What is a Personalized Learning Experience?
As its name implies, this is a learning experience and method that has been tailored for each specific student. It’s meant to appeal to each child’s specific needs, strengths, interests, and skills. Rather than generalize the educational approach, it is a customized plan.
The way it would work is that each student gets their own learning plan. Now, it should also be noted this isn’t meant to replace a 504 or IEP plan for students, rather it works in conjunction with them as it takes those needs into account.
How Would That Look in a Classroom?
So, taking that approach, you can then start to conceptualize how it would look in a classroom. Rather than the standard lesson that is taught to all students by the teacher at the same time, there is an individual approach. The teacher would construct the lesson based on each child’s needs.
That could mean the lesson is taught with a different approach, at a different pace, or with different resources. Whatever best speaks to that student.
Obviously, it can be hard to see how a classroom would convert to this style of learning completely, but that’s why the introduction of small personalized lessons or personalized projects can be used. Even if a small segment of the day can be personalized, it is still giving students the benefits of an individualized approach.
How Do You Identify a Child’s Needs and Interests?
Of course, a big part of these personalized lessons is identifying each child’s specific needs and interests, as well as where they stand academically. The more information you can gather, the easier it will be to craft that personalized lesson, project, or task.
Teachers can take advantage of CAT4 sample tests, which are one of the most-used tests in the UK that looks at cognitive abilities in students. This test can help determine a student’s academic potential and their developed abilities. It typically is made up of different parts, which are Spatial Awareness (SA), Quantitative Reasoning (QR), Verbal Reasoning (VR), and Non Verbal Reasoning (NVR).
The results of this kind of testing and assessment can certainly make it easier to craft a personalized lesson or project.
What If You Want to Set Up This Learning Experience?
So, what happens if you’re a teacher that wants to integrate at least small parts of personalized learning into your classroom? What would be the essential steps?
First you’d need to create learner profiles of each student, which essentially breaks down each child’s needs, goals, progress, motivations, and strengths. You would also need to be in a school that supports this kind of learning/teaching method. Even if the school uses what’s called a flexible learning environment, it will have a huge impact on how kids learn.
An Approach Worth Looking Into
At the end of the day, as we continue to learn more about how kids learn, and how important their individual needs are, personalized learning experiences in school make more and more sense.
Founder Dinis Guarda
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