Myths about Personalization of Learing

"The only things that interferes with my learning is my education"
-Albert Einstein

  Personalized Learning is NOT...                 

• Differentiated Instruction & Assessment
• Individualization of Learning 
• Teacher-centred 
• Making education "too easy" for students 
• Student-as-customer approach 
• Focused on instruction only

Personalized Learning IS...

• Learner-centred 
• Learner-paced 
• Making education more accessible to all students 
• Focused on learning 
• Beneficial to all learners
• Based on learning analytics and data 
• A current and future trend in education that utilized digital tools and educational software to achieve its goals 

(Maseleno et al., 2018) 

What is the difference between Differentiated, Individualized, and Personalized Learning? 

Although commonly confused, personalization of learning should not be equated with differentiated instruction or individualized learning. Instead, personalization could be considered the umbrella term that contain both individualization and differentiation, among many other elements of education (Heick, 2015).  As Bray and McClaskey state (n.d.), in "a personalized learning environment, learning starts with the learner" (p.2).  By creating a learner profile and helping understand the learner's goals and how they relate to the overall course goals, instructors can help students learn metacognition and agency, allowing them to truly understand how they learn best so they can be involved in the planning and designing of their learning experience (Bray & McClaskey, n.d.). 

For a more thorough and detailed summary of personalized learning, check out the infographic below from McGraw Hill Education, retrieved from elearninginfographics.com (McGraw Hill Education, 2017). 

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References

Braym B. & McClaskey, K. (N.D.) Personalization vs Differentiation vs Individualization. Retrieved from https://education.alberta.ca/media/3069745/personalizationvsdifferentiationvsindividualization.pdf

Heick, T. (2015). The Difference Between Differentiation and Personalized Learning. Teachthought. Retrieved from https://www.teachthought.com/learning/the-difference-between-differentiation-and-personalized-learning/

Maseleno, A., Sabani, N., Huda, M., Ahmad, R., Jasmi, K.A., & Basiron, B. (2018). Demystifying Learning Analytics in Personalised Learning. International Journal of Engineering and Technology, 7 (10). Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326007589_Demystifying_Learning_Analytics_in_Personalised_Learning

McGraw Hill Education. (2017). Personalized Learning: Essential for Every K-12 Classroom. Elearning Infographics. Retrieved from https://elearninginfographics.com/personalized-learning-action-proof-infographic/