The COVID-19 pandemic鈥攚hich had the effect of rapidly expanding the number of digital devices used by schools and forced teachers to learn online instruction on the fly鈥攈as been a big boost for personalized learning, most educators say. But that approach to customize instruction to individual students鈥� academic strengths and weaknesses and personal interests鈥攊s still likely to be more teacher-directed than student driven, and parents and students still aren鈥檛 sold on it.
That鈥檚 according to a released this month and commissioned by the Qatar Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on education, research, and community development.
Here are some of the report鈥檚 top takeaways:
Personalized learning must be about way more than technology
The current discussion around personalized learning is too focused on technology, according to a whopping 98 percent of the 300 principals and vice-principals surveyed for the report.
People outside of K-12 education sometimes see technology as 鈥渢he panacea to all of society鈥檚 ills, particularly around issues related to education,鈥� said Antonia Kerle, the policy & insights research manager for technology, media & education at Economist Impact, which published the report. 鈥淎nd I think one of the key takeaways is that technology can help in some way, but really the culture, the school that they鈥檙e operating in, the buy-in from all the various stakeholders, just even the quality of a teacher, all of that is going to have a way bigger impact.鈥�
(That鈥檚 also been a consistent theme in Education Week鈥檚 reporting on the approach.)
The pandemic has provided a big boost for personalized learning
Nearly all of the educators surveyed鈥�99 percent鈥攕aid that COVID-19 accelerated their schools鈥� adoption of personalized learning, with 51 percent strongly agreeing with that statement. (The other 48 percent 鈥渟omewhat鈥� agreed.) Nearly a third鈥�30 percent鈥攕trongly agreed with the statement that the pandemic 鈥渕ade personalized learning more relevant than ever.鈥�
But an 澳门跑狗论坛 Research Center survey, taken in the fall of 2020, showed something different: Educators teaching during the pandemic felt they and their colleagues weren鈥檛 as able to assess students鈥� academic strengths, weaknesses, and interests as well as before, weakening a key tenant of personalized learning. In fact, more than half of educators said this ability was diminished, with 11 percent saying they were 鈥渕uch less鈥� able to personalize learning.
Parents and students aren鈥檛 as enthused about personalized learning as teachers, principals say
The vast majority of school leaders surveyed鈥�87 percent鈥攄escribed teachers as 鈥渧ery supportive鈥� of personalized learning. But only about a quarter of school leaders would say the same of parents, and only 8 percent would say the same of students. The best way to get parents and kids on board with the strategy, according to the experts the researchers talked to? Put personalized programs in place and let them experience it for themselves.
Why the big difference in opinion between parents and teachers? Parents may be more reluctant to try something that鈥檚 so different from their own K-12 experience, Kerle said. 鈥淢y guess is that there may be some concern that there鈥檚 a risk around experimenting with your child鈥檚 education,鈥� she said. 鈥淭eachers have a better understanding of the overall landscape.鈥�
The results of the Qatar Foundation鈥檚 survey conveys a lot more teacher support for personalized learning than an 澳门跑狗论坛 Research Center survey conducted in in 2019. In that survey, about half of educators said they viewed personalized learning as one tool available to them or as a 鈥減romising idea.鈥� Only about a fifth of educators saw it as potentially transformational.
Personalized learning can be 鈥渢eacher-led鈥� or employ a 鈥渕ore radical student-led鈥� strategy. Most of the technology in K-12鈥攁nd the teachers themselves鈥� support the teacher-led approach.
There鈥檚 a real range of possibilities with personalized learning, the report says. On one end of the spectrum is a 鈥渢eacher-led鈥� approach, in which teachers are most likely to craft the lesson and drive the pace of instruction. On the other end, some schools have gone to a much more 鈥渓earner-led鈥� approach, where teachers serve more as mentors, helping students explore their interests.
Most of the educators who participated in the Qatar Foundation鈥檚 survey seem to lean toward the teacher-directed approach. Only 14 percent of the school leaders surveyed said their teachers give students a say in what they learn. And just over a quarter said that learning is paced according to students鈥� individual needs.
The survey included 300 鈥渆ducators鈥濃�� principals and vice-principals鈥攁t primary and secondary schools in both the United States and the United Kingdom. The authors also conducted extensive interviews with a dozen experts.
