Personalized Education – This is how you can do it today

Over the course of your life, you have surely encountered two similar people. Most of you probably even know identical twins. Would you be able to say that those people, who are externally similar to one another, and were even created from the same fertilized egg, are similar or identical in their personality and abilities? Are their interests identical? Do they have similar goals in life? Even when they have identical genetic material, it is impossible to find two identical children. Add to that the different environments our students are exposed to, which affect them throughout their lives, and we discover that each child is unique in their various qualities and abilities.

Now let’s look at the model of the school in which we teach. The school format was created in the 19th century and was based on the humanist principles and technological advancements of that era. The goal of education for all originated both from the principle of equality and from the need for a skilled and literate workforce. Thus there arose a challenge for the country – admitting and sorting masses of students. The quick and easy solution which was found and fit the spirit of equality included sorting student by age and learning in large groups – everyone learns the same thing at the same time and in the same way.

It is easy to see the contradiction between the philosophy on which the school model is based and our perception today that every person is unique and requires different things in order to develop in an optimal way. The perception and interpretation of the idea of equality by people in the 19th century, which arose out of thousands of years of fundamental inequality between different groups in society, led to the school model. Today, living in a society in which the idea of equality between people is not up for debate, there is a need to create a current interpretation of the term “equality”. Equality in education today must relate to equal opportunity. It must appropriately address the specific needs of each person, in view of the uniqueness of the individual. In this way, we can enable each person to realize his or her potential.

What happened to the motivation to learn in school?

As humans, we all naturally tend to learn throughout our lives, and especially during our childhood years. In view of these findings, validated by researchers in various fields such as psychology, sociology, medicine, and neurology, the question arises – what is happening in classrooms? How is it that, over the years, children are gradually losing their motivation to learn and to develop?

There is a lot of research on motivation for learning. Almost all of it agrees on one thing – motivation is something unique to each person, which depends on who the person is, on the environment, and on the timing. If so, from the motivational aspect, one can also see the importance of creating a unique solution for each learner - personalized learning.

What is Personalized Learning

Personalized learning is the process of adapting the content, the educational philosophy, the means of learning, the teaching methods, and if possible even the mentor for a specific learner.

I believe that personalized learning is the answer to creating students’ motivation to learn as, in my experience, at the basis of our ability as teachers to maintain students’ motivation to learn is a deep and essential knowledge of each learner for which we are responsible and a creation of a unique learning program for each of them. Just as a personal trainer has in-depth knowledge of the person they work with, teachers and mentors have the same responsibility towards each of their learners.

Is Personalized Learning possible in schools nowadays?

How can we make personalized learning possible in the existing school model? How can one teacher see and get to know 30 (or more) students in each class? When in a teacher’s busy school day is there time to get to know each student in depth, and above all, how can one teacher teach each of their students in a unique and personalized way?

In the following lines, I will attempt to address two of the central obstacles to implementing a personalized model in a school. This is also the place to note that personalized learning does not mean learning individually, but a way of learning that is adapted to each learner and incorporates both individualized and group learning.

The secret to success in Personalized Learning lies in familiarity and diagnosis

The basis of success in personalized learning is in getting to know each learner in depth. Here are some tips in this area:

- Before the school year begins, spend time on gathering and organizing the information about each student.

- Try to gather as much information as possible from educators who have known and educated the student in the past – of course it is better to do this in person but, in light of the times constraints and the number of students, it is recommended to prepare short and succinct forms and to ask the relevant people to fill them out via e-mail or any other medium.

- Talk to the people who surround the student today – parent, classmates, leaders in youth movements, athletic coaches, etc.

- Don’t underestimate the importance of information from the student. You must have a personal conversation and it is recommended to ask the student to fill out an in-depth form containing relevant questions.

- For the beginning of the year, plan a challenging activity for the class (O.D.T) in which you can get a further impression of the students.

Organize all of the information you have on each student in an organized document, which summarizes the child’s areas of interest, their style of learning, academic difficulties, existing knowledge, social challenges, what they like to do, etc.

Now you need to sit down and prepare the personalized learning program for each student – which subject they will learn individually, which subjects they will learn in a group, which subjects they will learn with a mentor, which subjects they won’t learn, and which subject they will learn at an advanced level. It is important to note that this learning program must be continually updated by the teacher and the student throughout the year and it is a good idea to schedule periodic meetings for this purpose.

For those who teach 1st-4th grade, as a direct continuation of kindergarten in which the children were free to roam about and choose what to play with according to what interested and attracted them, you can expose your young students to a variety of topics and try to help them find the field they are passionate about and through which you can create and maintain their motivation.

Learning with Mentors

Personalized learning would require private sessions in which the student would be guided by an older mentor. It is the teacher’s job to manage this with creativity and recruit different people for the role of mentor:

· Students from older age groups can mentor younger students. This initiative will benefit both parties – the learner and the mentor.

· People outside of school – parents, guest lecturers and so on can also be good mentors.

Build up a varied group of mentors with the goal of finding the right fit between the student and the mentor, in order to enable the student to develop well, while being supported and guided but not led. It is important that every student has a mentor to guide him or her – it could be anyone from the school, a youth movement group leader, an athletic coach, or even an older student from school.

Use Technology

At first glance, the personalized learning model seems impossible and requiring difficult and endless work. However, there is a big difference between our situation today and the situations of 19th-century teachers, or even between us and our colleagues from 30 years ago. The technology available to us makes all the difference in the world. We need to approach learning out of principles of equal opportunity and providing each student with their unique needs, and we must harness technology for this purpose. A good combination of new existing ways of organizing information, learning applications, and knowledge existing on the internet can be a key element in creating a different learning program for each student while giving the teacher in-depth and comprehensive individualized monitoring on all of their students.

Personalized Instructions – You can do it yourself

Personalized learning is not a dream, nor is it beyond our reach. It is based on acknowledging each student’s uniqueness and the need to help them find their way in the world. The idea is to connect to the student’s inner motivation and to add external motivation if necessary – thus learning by choice strengthens the motivation to learn. It is right that every child has the opportunity to choose their own life-path by experiencing, experimenting, examining, and learning what they love and what they are passionate about. Through it all, the position of the teacher (who has lost the advantage of knowledge nowadays) changes to that of a mentor who guides and supports the student and is there to offer advice, perspective, assistance, direction, to open more worlds to the student, and finally to offer life lessons.

The basis for personalized learning is getting to know each and every student in the system in depth.

The mobilization of a municipal education system from kindergartens through high schools, including educational systems outside of the school walls, would enable the implementation of personalized education. That said, a creative and innovative educator can also create a database of educational information on his or her students and, using technology and recruiting outside mentors, can fully realize personalized learning. 

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