Myths of Personalised Learning

By Nadesan Pillai

No, Personalised Learning is not being left alone to learn at your own pace. No, it is also not being left alone to watch documentaries, videos and other forms of instruction on your own.

Also, importantly, it is not the same as expecting a child to be given a full-time, one-on-one education. Let’s get it right — Personalised Learning takes a whole village to make it come through!

The persons in Personalised Learning

The ‘personal’ in Personalised Learning is still very much in the centre of the education of the student. Aspects of this are already in place in schools. Learner profiles of the student will be required in order for the educator to know and understand their students better and aid them in doing their jobs better.

Technology

The use of technology is key in this form of learning. Yes, there is a reliance on visuals in conveying thoughts, ideas and concepts. These are best conveyed through videos, animated diagrams or even an old-fashioned documentary. Yes, you watch them on a computer or a tablet. But bear in mind that the child is not abandoned to gorge himself on this content on his own.

The teacher, overseeing very closely, will provide group instruction when required. They will engage the students in activities that will be relevant to the topic that is on their students’ curriculum. A first-hand engagement like this stimulates their senses and triggers a spirit of enquiry. Collaboration can be taught at a small-group level on projects. This leads to an excitement in learning, and they pick up valuable skills as they go along on these projects.

Technology here is merely the platform to deliver the content. It is still up to the teacher and the students to use it constructively.

This Independence

Students are always learning and working independently on their completely individualised learning curriculum — not exactly. Students actually drive their learning, focussed on their own knowledge. This must not be mistaken for them being left to work alone on their own learning plan.

These students will actually have to master working in collaboration with their classmates, while developing other competencies. Remember, they cannot do all this alone.

Getting passionate!

As students work on these collaborative projects, there might be a chance that their innate passions are awakened along the way, especially if they work with experts in the field. These passions may include the subject matter, or even a latent talent in project management.

Setting the pace

Students setting their own pace in learning is just one component in Personalised Learning. They will demonstrate a mastery of content in a competency-based system. They set their own goals and plan when and how they learn as they go along. They may even choose their resources or tap experts’ knowledge as they see fit — after teacher approves of course!

A different approach to learning

Personalised Learning is multi-faceted — there are many different aspects that need to be in place for it to work holistically. Simplifying it to just the use of technology or letting the individual decide the pace at which he learns is too simplistic. This approach will need to be tempered and modified as we go along in order for it to be effective over time.

The article was sponsored by SMART (Programmes) — www.avidreaders.com.sg