I recently had the incredible opportunity to help launch my school district’s new “Personalized Learning Fellowship.” We spent the day exploring the what, why and how of Personalized Learning, while also engaging in deep discussions about the current state of K-12 education. Ultimately we focused on ways that we can shift to create a more relevant and impactful learning experience for our all of our students.
During the midpoint of our day, we explored the instructional strategies that educators (with support of their school/district) can implement to personalize learning most effectively for our students. Much of this is based upon the RI Office of Innovation’s Personalized Learning Whitepaper.
Based upon our initial discussions, here are 10 strategies that we have identified as key to personalize instruction:
Differentiate Instruction
Develop Learner Profiles
Conduct Impactful Formative Assessments
Emphasize Social Emotional Learning
Build Relationships
Leverage Outside Networks and Expertise
Implement Mastery Learning
Create Flexible Learning Environments
Design for Student Agency
Foster Authentic Learning Opportunities
We will be exploring these concepts throughout the year and unpacking each of these strategies in various contexts. As we do, I will be writing about our journey and sharing specific best practices that emerge. You can follow along here, on the EdTechTeacher blog, and on our District’s new #BWRSDReady site to learn directly from each of our Personalized Learning Fellows.
You can also learn more at the upcoming EdTechTeacher Summit. I will be leading the following two sessions, come join us in Boston!
Leading Personalized Learning (Co-Presenting with Dr. Mario Andrade)
