I’ve just read the futurelab article on personalised learning. I’d really reccomend it as a ‘good read’. In many regards personalised learning seems rather blue sky. However, there are lots of small ways in which we can start to make personalised learning a reality.
Personalised Learning in ICT at Notre Dame
Our ICT Dept has put all our KS3 and AiDA lessons online so that students can access the tasks at school or at home and when appropriate they work through the tasks independently. The templates that we use enable us to deliver differentiated activities when appropriate to tailor the tasks to the students’ ability. For example our lesson 8.3.4
We’re also trying to find ways for students to have a bit more freedom in what they research. For example in the online survey unit 9.2 they decide the questions that we should put up on the survey and it creates a huge data set . They then decide which issues they wish to analyse, rather than everyone creating the same charts. This year over 1200 students in the UK and USA completed their survey!
In 8.2 our students are creating websites about themselves, their interests, but also a serious issue. We’re using the bbc newsround site to enable the students the freedom to choose an issue that they would like to learn more about.
We’ve started to experiment using an edublog called notreblog to enable students to share their opinions on various issues. Lastly we’ve made a unit for our Y9 students to make very simple digital videos in groups. Again they use the newsround site to find a current affairs issue of their choice.
However…
Although the real world use of ICT is becoming increasingly personalised and collaborative, in my opinion our curriculum is moving in the opposite direction. Assessment seems to be playing an increasing role in deciding what and how we teach. The KS3 ICT SAT test is a clear example. We are devoting next term to preparing our Y9 for the test. The limitations of the software mean that the students are being forced to choose between limited options that are either right or wrong. Where’s the creativity in that?
Can’t we have our cake and eat it?
Everything in education is about finding a balance. I think that it is possible to make learning more personalised as long as all students are taught the same basic tool set and knowledge. This will make the subject more relevant and the students more motivated to learn. The question for me is ‘how can we make personalised assessment a reality?’
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