Personalized learning is a pretty well-known term, but educators have different definitions for personalized learning, making for a sometimes-confusing approach to its implementation.
Now, a new report seeks to apply a common definition to personalized learning and outline best practices for educators to advocate for the practice in their districts.
The report comes from Education Elements and the Foundation for Excellence in Education, and it defines personalized learning as “tailoring learning for each student’s strengths, needs, and interests—including enabling student voice and choice in what, how, when, and where they learn—to provide flexibility and supports to ensure mastery of the highest standards possible.”
According to the report, the four core elements of personalized learning include:
- Flexible content and tools: Instructional materials allow for differentiated path, pace, and performance tasks
- Targeted instruction: Instruction aligns to specific student needs and learning goals
- Student reflection and ownership: Ongoing student reflection promotes ownership of learning
- Data driven decisions: Frequent data collection informs instructional decisions and groupings
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