April 4, 2013

Preparing Students for Life Beyond Graduation with Personalized Learning

Apr. 4, 2013 at 07:29 AM | By Todd Bloom, Ph.D. | Comment Count

Personalized learning is nothing new, but the challenges of how to shape instruction and curriculum to accommodate different learning needs still remain. To get a better idea of where we are in terms of preparing students for life beyond high school graduation, let’s briefly examine some of the numbers:

Only 43% of college-bound seniors are prepared for college. 28% of the high school graduates who took the ACT in 2012 failed to meet any of the ACT College Readiness Benchmarks.
“at the current rate of improvement [of entrance exam results], it will take 60 years for 80% of U.S. students to reach levels that indicate a readiness to succeed in college”
Only 30% of American adults have a college degree. The Obama Administration aspires to have all American adults with at least one year of higher education or career training by 2020. Currently, 68% of high school graduates enroll in college the next year and 42% of who start college full-time don’t graduate within six years.

These data should not lead one to say that personalized learning alone can remedy college- and career-readiness shortfalls, but it can aid our current education system in meeting the broad range of needs of our students. Thus, through student centered, scalable instruction; facilitating student ownership over one’s educational journey; mastery-based and blended learning; formative assessments to maximize instruction; and by concentrating on the real role non-cognitive attributes, like grit and tenacity, play in student engagement and persistence – we can empower students to stay the course on their paths toward successful outcomes.

Mastery-Based and Blended Learning

The concept of mastery learning emerged in the late 1960’s (see Benjamin Bloom) and essentially identified the value of having students progress through content only as they master each learning objective – social promotion is the antithesis. When implemented well in today’s classrooms, a mastery-based instructional model requires well-defined learning objectives, frequent assessment, and a variety of instructional modalities.

Often referred to as the flipped classroom, the popular blended learning model of instruction is aligned with a mastery model as it capitalizes on using technology to deliver the most appropriate content (e.g. what content a student is ready for) at the right time and at the student’s pace. This technology-driven content is also often delivered at home or in a computer lab setting. Meanwhile, class time is reserved for application and extension of learning as well as re-teaching in a more fluid and and interactive environment. Blended learning environments offer students with more one-on-one time with instructors, opportunities to both teach and learn from other students.

The Engaged Student

Mastery and blended learning are complementary. However, neither can motivate all students all of the time. So how can we properly serve our students who are unmotivated? To begin, we need to identify what factors affect student engagement. Carol Dweck, Lewis and Virginia Eaton professor of Psychology at Stanford University, and Angela Duckworth, assistant professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, have each stressed the importance non-cognitive attributes, like grit and tenacity, possess in driving student engagement and, ultimately, student achievement.

“Academics are only part of the equation*.” Today, students are faced with a whirlwind of academic, emotional, and financial challenges. Whatever the cards dealt, we need to begin understanding the importance of non-cognitive factors as key ingredients in a student’s ability to overcome life’s setbacks. How we choose to engage with students facing these challenges can determine their capacity to excel. By exploring the “potential of non-cognitive factors —attributes, dispositions, social skills, attitudes, and intrapersonal resources, independent of intellectual ability—that high-achieving individuals draw upon to succeed,” education systems will not only meet student needs but also empower students to take control of their own futures.

*Rotherham, Andy. Grit Matters. Washington, D.C.: Whiteboard Advisors, 2013.