Getting Started with Personalized Learning

You've heard about how important it is to provide voice and choice to our Genertion Alpha students, maybe you've even read my journey, and you are ready to get started. But where do you begin? Fear not, reader, I have five easy steps for you get started with personalized learning.

Let's dig in:

1. Continue to Prioritize Relationship Building

To provide personalized learning experiences, we first need to know our students! Teachers go above and beyond to build relationships with their students at Pittman. We hold daily morning meetings, complete Conscious Discipline relationship building activities, and use Kagan Cooperative Learning structures. Building a classroom community is a priority, and we must continue to work to do so. Knowing that Generation Alpha is already more socially-connected than other generations, we can see just how important that community will be to them.

2. Personal Learning Profiles

Our next step is to begin the important art of metacognition- thinking about our thinking. Guide learners to think about the ways they learn best, as well as the ways they find challenging. Students should list these on their Personal Learning Profile (grab a simplified freebie here). As Barbara Bray notes in her blog, Rethinking Learning, "It is important to focus on our strengths to maximize our learning and to find strategies to reduce any barriers that keep us from learning" (Bray, 2019).

There are lots of different ways to go about creating these profiles. As EdWeek's Amanada Avallone relates, "the goal is to consider who they are, what inspires them, and how they best learn so that they can take the wheel and drive their own learning" (Avalone, 2017).

I tried this with my group last year, and their immediate response was "I don't know." Or, of course, "IDK," which is just how this generation prefers to write! They had never been asked how they like to learn. They didn't know where to begin. 

Once I began throwing out some options, they got really excited. "Do you like to watch videos, or read books? How about playing games or listening to songs?" The room started to buzz as they began recounting their favorite learning experiences and built upon one another's.

3. Classroom Learning Snapshot

Now it's the teacher's turn to have some fun. Each teacher will want to gather all the Personal Learning Profiles and have a good look. They should look for four diverse learners and pull theirs out. The important thing is to find the most different learning preferences in the group.

For our first try, we could choose a learning standard that is pretty simple and has a lot of ready-made resources. I chose multiplication fluency at the end of last year. There are a plethora of ways to practice and develop fluency that were right at my fingertips, so it was an easy choice to get started.

Once the teachers have their learning target and these four different learners in mind, they can begin to gather resources and materials that will meet their needs. The rest of the class will be able to find their happy place somewhere in the mix if we plan with our most diverse students in mind.

4. Let the learning begin!

Once we have all our resources and materials ready to go, the fun can begin! We will rest assured knowing that we have selected great resources that will meet our learning goals. The kids can have fun choosing which ones they will use to learn.

When I tried this, I had some kids gaming online in small groups, some quizzing each other with flashcards, a pair playing school and quizzing each other on the white board, one making lists and charts at her seat, another doing worksheets (bless her!), and some listening to multiplication songs on YouTube. If the principal had walked in, she would have wondered what in the world was this hot mess? It was loud and disorganized looking. But if she would have asked any child, they would have known their exact learning goal and their exact chosen method to learn, and why. I dare say that's more valuable than a quiet, tidy classroom!

5. The Best Part

I didn't expect this, but after the learning came the very best part. I noticed that some kids made some choices that weren't great. Some chose to work with a friend when they knew they would learn better alone. Some found out their favorite game really didn't help them learn. Quick conversations with a few kids brought responses like "I shouldn't choose that next time," or "I think I actually learn better by myself," and "I can tell that what Joshua did really worked for him, and I want to try that next time." 

How amazing that these kids are already thinking about what works for them? I love it! 

Dipping Our Toes In

If we start small by providing personalized learning experiences on our simpler standards, we will be able to gain confidence and become comfortable with this new teaching style. Perhaps after dipping our toes in the water a few times, we'll be ready to jump all the way in!

Curious to read more?

Get tons of ideas for your first 20 days of personalized learning courtesy of Education Elements.

 

Hear more about personal learning profiles:

Getting to Know You: Profiles for Personalization by Education Week

References:

Avalone, A. (2017, September 8). Getting to Know You: Learner Profiles for Personalization. Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/leadership/opinion-getting-to-know-you-learner-profiles-for-personalization/2017/09.

Bray, B. (2019, April 16). Getting to Know YOU with Your Learner Profile.

Rethinking Learning. https://barbarabray.net/2019/08/16/getting-to-know-you-with-your-learner-profile/.