Personalized Learning Worth Fighting For

These goals and dreams may seem lofty, but they should not be optional. Early implementation evidence and beginning research give us hope, but at the end of the day honoring and leveraging the unique gifts and talents of every child is simply the right thing to do.

Innovation

students and teacher at computer

 

This is the final post in a three-part series by ExcelinEd’s Karla Phillips and the National Center for Learning Disabilities’ Ace Parsi. 

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The goal of college and career readiness for all has been the focus of education reform initiatives and a unifying aspiration, yet attainment eludes us. We can continue to debate how readiness is defined and measured, but time has proven that the traditional, factory-style approach will not suffice. Personalized learning is the next logical step toward the “readiness for all” objective.

Personalized learning is when students are provided flexibility in an environment with simultaneously increased structure and support that aligns with their interests, strengths and skill level. We believe meeting students where they are and providing the individualized supports they need to grow is the desire of all educators, but significant flexibility and system change will be required to reach that vision.

The possibilities of a truly student-centered system seem endless, but the irony is that many coincide perfectly with policies special education advocates have long been fighting for.

Personalized learning has the potential to increase achievement not only through flexibility in pace and instruction but also in how students are able to demonstrate mastery. It has been a long understood principle of special education that students with special needs may require accommodations and/or modifications for assessments, but with personalized and competency-based education all students will be allowed to have voice and choice in how they demonstrate mastery. There is also an opportunity with the Every Student Succeeds Act’s requirement to embed the principles of universal design for learning in state assessments.

These goals and dreams may seem lofty, but they should not be optional. Early implementation evidence and beginning research give us hope, but at the end of the day honoring and leveraging the unique gifts and talents of every child is simply the right thing to do.

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Karla Phillips is the Policy Director for Competency-Based Education at the Foundation for Excellence in Education. 

Ace Parsi is the Personalized Learning Partnership Manager at the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD). 

Solution Areas:

Next Generation Learning

Topics:

Personalized Learning

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