Is personalized learning possible in your classroom? If so, how could/do you manage it?
As I read through the resources, I struggled to see a consistent routine of personalized learning in my class. The two main subjects I teach are basic level technology courses. Students learn basic tools in Google, Microsoft, and a multitude of other programs. I present a tool, students work along with me using the tool, and then student work on a formative assessment practicing using the tool.
In the article Students As Agents and Teachers As Coaches Stefanie Blouin explains: “Differentiation starts with academic goals that are the same for the group. Personalization builds on these common standards but also considers the personal learning goals that are especially meaningful to each student. Furthermore, personalization not only shifts classroom instruction, it also shifts the role of students and teachers.” This shift in mindset is the aha moment for me.
Is it ok for me to not be the ‘Show’ in front of the room?
Can I trust in the students to take ownership in their learning and create their own learning path?
I will try to approach the concept of personalized learning with this new mindset (but still some skepticism). One way I could use personalized learning is by giving student’s choice on what path they want to take in learning the courses required objectives. During the pandemic our team created learning videos for each lesson. I could post the entire semester worth of objectives and Formative assessments in Google classroom. I would divide each unit into a group and number the assignments so the students would still follow a logical learning progression in the given computer program. But the students would be given a choice on which program they want to learn first. Students could work through the various formative exercises to learn to use the tools listed in the objectives of the unit. When ready, they could prove their ability in a specific program by completing a summative activity that shows their mastery.
By taking this approach I would will have transformed my student’s into what Blouin called ‘Active Agents’ that take ownership in “what they learn (content), how and how fast they learn (process and pace), and/or, how they demonstrate their learning (work products).”
What are the toughest struggles you foresee when implementing personalized learning in your classroom?
Here are a couple problems I foresee:
- A certain portion of my student’s would become overwhelmed with the large amount of formative assessments that are given at the beginning of class.
- A different portion of my student’s would work through the formative and summative assessments so fast they would be done way before the end semester. In a utopian world this would be great, except that is not how a school semester works and I still need to keep those students occupied.
- Providing individual critical feedback on formative assessments would be very difficult if my students were turning in different assessments at the same time.
Spring 2022 Experiment
I used a self-paced program this semester with my Microsoft Office Exam Prep course that lead students through tutorials and exercises in Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. Every student was on a different pace. Students completed formative assessments, the program provided feedback on errors. And when they were ready they completed Summative assessments at their own pace. I experienced a wide range of student achievement with this method. Some students could not get out of the Microsoft Word unit while others completed all three programs with 3 weeks to spare. I was OK with this different level of achievement. But the tricky part comes in when I need to assign the dreaded Grade. The one student that barely completed Word worked really hard all semester, learned a lot about the program. It just took him longer. Others that completed all 3 programs worked hard to and learned a lot about all 3 programs.
How do you assign traditional grades to this?
I think the concept of “Badging” would be a great tool in this situation. Students earn badges by showing mastery of a tool. My 1 student would receive a Microsoft Word Associate badge while other students could earn Associate badges in Word, PowerPoint and Excel.
Creating Digital Badge board with Google Docs as shown in the Sean JunkinsYoutube Video
Minimize Videocould be used to visually give ‘credit’ within my course for objectives learned. Additionally by sharing the Badge Board with the class, Students in the class can see who has earned a badge in a specific unit. As the semester progresses each student could become an expert in that area and could assist students who are getting to that unit at a later date.
How can personalized learning be assessed for your students?
For my students, doing the “tasks” within the formative assessment projects provides them the opportunity to experience the tools that we are trying master. Each project is designed to feature a few old tools for reinforcement and new tools for learning. Timely Feedback would be critical for the student’s learning to continue. I would use Google Classroom to push the formative assessments out to the students. When a student has completed an assessment they would turn it in and place a private comment in the assignment indicating they are ready for it to be assessed. If we are in class I would call the student back to my desk to review the assessment with the student and indicate where they did or did not show their ability to use the tools related to the objectives. If a student completed the assessment outside of class I would use the comment features in Google Classroom to provide feedback.
When a student has shown mastery of a unit’s learning objectives then the student could request the unit summative assessment. If focused on personalized learning, the summative assessment should give students the choice on how they want to show that they have mastered the learning objectives. One student may show his ability to use Google Slides tools by creating a google slide presentation that includes the use of all the tools in the learning objectives. Or another student my create a WeVideo demonstrating himself using all the Google Slide tools in the learning objectives. A third student may create a google doc in which they explain how to use each Google Slide tool in the learning objectives. As the instructor I am looking for mastery of the tools in the learning objectives. If the student has proven their ability to effectively use the tools then they would get “credit” for each learning object that they met.
The use of a class digital badge board would be a motivational tool as well as a way to visually show other students who they can go to for assistance.
RESOURCES
“Digital Badge Boards with Google Docs.” YouTube, 20 Dec. 2016, youtu.be/2G9qEudqTvk.
Stefanie Blouin, “Defining Personalization: Students As Agents and Teachers As Coaches.” NGLC, 31 May 2022, www.nextgenlearning.org/blog/defining-personalization-students-agents-and-teachers-coaches.