Personalized learning is something that almost all teachers strive for or have thought about implementing. Sadly, it is not always so easy to implement if the curriculum doesn’t account for it. We as educators are always up for new challenges, so why should we let curriculum stand in the way of adding additional strategies to improve the education of our students? Luckily for us, we don’t have to.
Learn Through Projects
Project-based learning is a great way to provide structure, but ultimately let the students decide how they are going to present their ideas. Projects require a lot of work from the student and they learn many different skills and lessons in the process. By creating a project a student will learn time management, grapple with high-level thinking, and use their creativity to incorporate multimedia into their work. Overall, the process gives students a lot of choice and freedom to do things the way that makes the most sense to their learning styles.
Keep on Writing
Writing is the ultimate personalized experience. All students may not love writing, but writing in general is a personal journey. Plus, the more practice your students have, the better their writing will become. Use tools like daily writing prompts to get students centered and putting their thoughts on paper. Another great tool to use is blogging. Marry technology and writing into a year long project. Students will be able to track web traffic, see engagement, and promote their writing when and where they see fit. By writing a blog, students get to become experts in a field of their choice and share their information with the world.
Go Mobile
The use of mobile devices in the classroom opens the door for exploration and personalized learning. Simply handing a student a mobile device will not automatically make it a personalized experience. With the correct guidance, students will be able to find tools, multimedia, and applications that work they way they think- sparking engagement.
Give ‘em Choices
Personalized learning is all about choices and flexibility. Having choices put the power in the student’s hands of how they want their classroom experience to be that day. Of course, you will always need to be there for guidance and support, but allowing students to have options will create more engagement in their learning. We all work better when we get to do something we feel confident in and want to achieve. It’s all about choices.