Unpacking the definition further: What is personalised learning?
I think definitions are always inadequate and subject to interpretation, and misinterpretation. Experts have viewed personalised learning based on their own understanding. However, in the examination of several definitions, I found three critical characteristics of personalised learning:
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- Tailoring learning to suit individual needs, interests, skills, and strengths: Learner & learning identities to ensure learning is grounded by identifying students’ strengths, interests, needs, and passions to allow all students to have a choice and voice in their learning, etc.
- Creating positive classroom/school culture (a broader awareness and competence of critical consciousness)
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Providing flexible pathways to allow all learners opportunities to engage through various means - such as learner-directed passion projects, service learning, or any other authentic learning.
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Knowledge of assistive technologies is an underlying phenomenon that influences a personalised system of education (affordances within technology help the learning to be flexible)
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Multiple ways of assessment including proficiency-based or competency-based assessment - to ensure assessment is fair, rigorous, engaging, authentic, and more meaningful to both students and teachers.
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I wanted to know more about the perspectives of experts on the definitions and rationale for implementing this approach. In the United States, I interviewed Dr. John Downs, a renowned scholar in the field of Personalised learning. He is the Director of the Tarrent Institute of innovations for Education; Listen to John, he is articulate in the video below:
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Personalised learning is complex, so it is easy for people to have misconceptions about it; Dr John Downs expanded on this (see the video about it)
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I also wanted to explore how people describe the difference between personalised learning and differentiation. I asked Dr. Carol Tomlinson about it. You may listen to my discussion with Carol here (apologies for the quality of video and it is the unedited version of my meeting with Carol via Teams) https://youtu.be/9tqlPlrr4wo.
People have a lot of questions about personalised learning. ABC radio asked me a lot of questions. You may listen to them through this link. Please also see my article for the Conversation here:
Advocates of personalised learning say that there are significant benefits of this approach:
Some Useful Resources
Bishop, P. A., Downes, J. M., & Farber, K. (2019). Personalized learning in the middle grades: A guide for classroom teachers and school leaders. Harvard Education Press.
Bray, B., & McClaskey, K.
https://kathleenmcclaskey.com/stages-of-personalized-learning-enviroments/
Office for multicultural learning: https://www.scu.edu/oml/about-us/theoretical-framework/
Tomlinson, C. A. (2021). So each may soar: The principles and practices of learner-centered classrooms. ASCD.