The Buzz Words

Personalized Education

Personalized learning has multiple interpretations  The first interpretation is that of a student self-directing their own education.  One student may want to study more computer science, another more about ancient history.  Schools of all levels respond to the demand for self-directed learning with electives.  Students may choose from a limited set of approved courses which allow students to pursue their interests.

The second way we can interpret personalized learning is a learning experience that is specifically tailored to the unique needs of the students.  In this case, an Individualized Education PPlan (IEP) may be developed for just that student.  Obviously the administration of IEPs adds a significant layer of bureaucracy onto any educational organization.  Managing all those individual plans is far more complex than just assigning all students "Freshmen English."

Another interpretation of personalized learning is to teach specifically to a student's learning gaps.  Learning gaps are assessed with various tests, identified, and remedied.

And yet another interpretation of personalized learning is the learning styles idea. The idea is that student learn very different form one another, some are audio learning, some visual learners and so on.  In this interpretation of personalized learning, the curricula must be adapted in style to how each student learns.

Master-Based Education

Mastery-based education is an approach where students have to demonstrate a high level of proficiency in each topical area.  This idea is a reaction to students being moved from one grade level to the next, approaching more difficult information, without having mastered the fundamentals.