Opinion
Classroom Technology Opinion

Personalized Learning Isn’t About Isolation

By Jennifer Carolan — February 23, 2016 4 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Two thousand fifteen was a big year for personalized learning. Nearly every ed-tech pitch to my venture capital fund opened with a black-and-white image of a 1950s one-size-fits-all classroom, and proceeded to tell the story of how Startup X would fix schools through personalization. In a world where we expect our Starbucks drinks customized, gifts recommended by Amazon.com, and music playlists tailored to our tastes, why should our education be any different? Personalization seems like a natural target for the educational pendulum to swing to after decades of factory-model schooling.

With all the investment hype and entrepreneurial frenzy, I worry that some might view personalization as yet another silver bullet for education. Or worse, if we mistake personalization as the ultimate goal and combine it with the (over)promise of adaptive technology, we risk transforming our classrooms from the outmoded factory model into tech-supported cubicles where kids sit alone for a majority of the day.

This image may seem extreme, but we see similar things all around us, like families out to dinner with faces in their phones rather than looking at each other. I, too, struggle to find quality, tech-free family time. Technology is immersive, and all the more so when personalized. However, when applied thoughtfully, it is a powerful strategy for connection, integration, and growth. In fact, the impetus behind the personalization movement was inclusion, not isolation.

BRIC ARCHIVE

Despite claims to the contrary, the shift from one-size-fits-all to a more personalized approach to learning began with teachers, not techies. Personalization has its roots in gifted and special-needs classrooms where educators had to get creative and innovate beyond traditional teaching methods in order to teach unconventional learners. Some of these students had learning disabilities like dyslexia or dyscalculia, while others were advanced or bored by content learned years earlier. These extreme cases demanded new, personalized teaching strategies and were then often codified into a child’s individualized education program.

Soon, differentiation became “a thing” and was further popularized in the 1990s by University of Virginia researcher Carol Ann Tomlinson. Its popularity among educators really took off as various court rulings throughout the 1990s fleshed out the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act’s core principle of “least restrictive environment” that requires schools to make every possible effort to integrate students with special needs into the mainstream classroom.

What happened next was exciting: With the inclusion of these students in the regular education classroom came their innovative and personalized strategies, breaking the calcified mold of the one-size-fits-all class. As it turned out, these strategies proved promising for all students by enabling more access points for learning. So began the shift toward greater personalization.

In a world where we expect our Starbucks drinks customized, ... why should our education be any different?

To this day, differentiation is among the most requested topics of interest by teachers for professional development, according to ASCD’s Educational Leadership 2015 Readers Survey. Great teachers know that instruction designed around the individual ought not be isolating but engaging, purposeful, and multimodal. The personal interaction and idea-sharing that drives greater understanding and empathy offers more-powerful learning. A great example is the ed-tech startup Newsela—in which my fund invests—which enables all children in a class to engage in a debate around a single news article. Instead of dividing children into groups based on their reading levels, which is stigmatizing to struggling readers, or keeping students together but giving them different reading material, the tool provides five versions of the same article, allowing the whole class to join in one conversation.

This type of integration is important not only because it enables deeper learning and collaboration, but also because our schools were founded with an important civic function, and a democratic society expects much more than individual achievement. It asks us to prepare graduates who exhibit sound character, social conscience, and critical-thinking skills; a willingness to make commitments; and an awareness of global problems. If our schools are truly microcosms of our society, as

John Dewey articulated, then our classrooms must foster caring relationships between students. This necessitates teaching children how to interact in a kind and empathetic manner, while still giving them an education tailored to their needs.

The most promising new school models use personalization to help achieve a constellation of goals aimed at serving the larger democratic society.

Keeping these goals in mind, I’m as excited as anyone about personalization. The old model left far too many kids behind.

But personalization does not mean isolation, and it doesn’t mean sitting our students down in front of laptops all day. Personalization is a strategy that allows us to adapt to the needs of all children, preferably after giving them a powerful, shared learning experience that motivates them to dive deeper. The best schools and ed-tech companies understand that technology and personalization are not the ends of education, but that they are merely means to help achieve higher goals—goals on which the health of our society and democracy depend.

A version of this article appeared in the February 24, 2016 edition of Education Week as Personalization Isn’t About Isolation

Events

School & District Management Webinar Fostering Productive Relationships Between Principals and Teachers
Strong principal-teacher relationships = happier teachers & thriving schools. Join our webinar for practical strategies.
Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and K-12 education jubs at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Artificial Intelligence Webinar
Promoting Integrity and AI Readiness in High Schools
Learn how to update school academic integrity guidelines and prepare students for the age of AI.
Content provided by Turnitin

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Classroom Technology Q&A The Steps Schools Should Take So All Students Can Use Ed Tech
An expert outlines what schools need to do to ensure that ed tech is accessible for students with special needs.
4 min read
Image of a laptop with icons for accessibility: translation, sound, magnification, etc.
Collage via iStock/Getty
Classroom Technology How Playing Minecraft Can Help Students Learn Coding Skills
Washington and other states have partnered with Minecraft Education to teach coding and other computer science skills.
3 min read
Photo illustration of a blue screen full of code with the icon of a gaming control overlaying the code.
DigitalVision Vectors
Classroom Technology Here's How Many Elementary Students Have Their Own Cellphones and Tablets
The use of cellphones and tablets by young children in school raises concerns about too much screen time.
5 min read
A duotone photograph of a group of elementary students sitting together and looking at their cellphones
Canva
Classroom Technology What Are the Best Ways to Manage Cellphones in Schools?
Teaching kids responsible use of their devices is important regardless of the level of restrictions.
3 min read
Image of someone holding a cellphone.
Deagreez/iStock/Getty