After attending
the conference on personalized learning I was left with an abundance of
information, suggestions, and great ideas. Yet, I still find myself having many
questions. How can we use what we learned in those two days and truly apply
them the next day at school/in our teaching? Can we truly allow students
to have the freedom of PBL (project based learning) and still be able
to teach all of the necessary skills?
I think a
good jumping off point is trying to understand the meaning of this
new and widely used educational phrase known as “personalized
learning”. From the conference, I have come to understand that personalized
learning means that the student has ownership and control of their
learning. They are an independent learner where they set their own goals and
make their own decisions. Students take responsibility for constructing their
learning and addressing their own progress. It means more power for the
students in the classroom and the teacher acts more as a guide to get
them on the correct learning path.
I think the
biggest key to making this change successful is to make sure we do not
make this process overwhelming. Students have been sitting in classrooms and
learning by being fed information up until this point. Will they truly be
successful with such a huge flip? The design needs to be effective and
efficient. Most importantly we need to make sure we hear students voice- their
feedback is imperative. If we are to truly personalize learning, even the
structure we come up with on how to personalize, needs to be changing with the
needs of our students. Truly personalizing means giving the students a say in
every part of the classroom: How will it be decorated? What will the syllabus
contain? What will the classroom environment be like? Do we need class meetings
to solve problems? Will all students utilize project-based learning and is that
truly what every student needs/wants?
I sat in one
particular presentation from a school in the Muskego District who has created a
few classes that are completely PB (project based). Students are not given a
project to complete; they make the decisions and learn about topics that
interest them individually. There is no due date set by the teacher, there is
no “your project must contain…”. PBL needs to make each student a
completely independent learner. This presentation was inspiring; they brought
in 8th grade students to speak to us about how their classroom
operates. I was glad to finally hear from those who are important when
designing personalized learning: the students. Do I love the idea of PBL? Yes!
Do I think I can change my classroom tomorrow to become truly PB and
personalized? No, not 100%… This is the problem and something I will continue
to work on in baby steps in order to one day really turn my classroom into a
personalized learning environment.
So, what CAN I
do/change in my classroom and what did I take away from the conference? My
health students will be working with PBL during my next unit. I will need
to work with them more on developing the skills that support PBL but it will be
a learning process for my students and myself. I will set less parameters- no
more “this is what you need to do and this is the end goal” and give them more
of a choice in the entire process. They will be given potential concepts
to cover that still meet the requirements of the course, but they can navigate
their learning to find the answers to the questions they have.
This is where I
CAN start with personalized learning, and as time goes on, change more. I need
student input and feedback through the process and that is how I will know what
my next step is. Will this first attempt be successful? I sure hope so. What if
it isn't? I will work with my students to develop a plan. This plan will
include reaching more of their individual needs, interests and goals. I am
forever a student learning right along side with my own students, trying the
very best I can to make their learning experience personalized.
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