School, university, society… all of them are subject to the multiple changes our globalized world is experiencing. In today’s society, learning goes beyond attending school and taking notes in classes; it is about cooperative and personalized learning where learners play an important and much more active role than usual. What happens when we apply this way of acquiring knowledge in the classroom?
Personalized Education
When we talk about personalized learning, there are no learning goals for all students; instead, the learning objectives and methods and the pace are adapted to the individual. Group and personal motivation are fundamental, so children should be encouraged, as needed, and made to understand the importance of cooperation among group members. Students acquire content not only through the delivery of work material but also learn along the way, with personal responsibility and self-management.
This objective is achieved at various levels. Students are free to choose the topics they want to learn or repeat from a wide range of digital formats: they can get an overview of the topic in summaries, watch short videos, instructional videos, etc. In this sense, students work connected in a network to check their performance based on various analyses and statistics. Different types of tasks that go beyond the book, Wikipedia, and summaries can be presented as a didactic game (both individual and collective to promote cooperation) on a specific topic, thus promoting student motivation.
Teachers must develop skills to fulfill the role of “coaches, learning companions” and, in this way, integrate with blended learning based on the web and in the classroom; all this requires the support and collaboration of schools and parents. Educational coaching training programs contribute to new generations being better prepared and having more resources adapted to their needs.
For the educational approach of personalized learning, therefore, the following emerge:
– The respectful treatment of freedom with responsibility and commitment of individuals.
– The promotion of the ability to communicate and interact.
– The need for personal and comprehensive training with the aim of fostering responsible personalities and promoting social interaction.
It is about competency-based education rather than the fulfillment of an academic curriculum, which means that the individuality and personality of students will be the core of the educational work, emphasizing the principles of individualization, heterogeneity, diversity and sustainability, and the tension between individualism and social cooperation.
Characteristics of Personalized Learning
Personalized learning fundamentally depends on the individual and their personal needs. It must be important to the student; oriented to their own interests and by their own initiative. The speed at which this occurs depends mainly on the learner who, in the long run, becomes their own coach and others give them what he/she needs.
This, however, should not be confused with indifference or a hands-off approach. Skill, knowledge, and specific technical content are, therefore, a right and a necessity, so they will be continuously reviewed with the learner as the main responsible party and teachers as facilitators and/or companions. To correctly carry out this process, educators need to train with programs such as the Master’s in Educational Coaching, which allows you to obtain the necessary knowledge for the development of an educational project and how to carry it out.
This personalized learning can be successful; however, a series of factors must be met: it must be open, inclusive, and generalizable; otherwise, it is almost impossible.
The achievement of each student’s objectives must be periodically reviewed, either through tests, evidence of learning, or simply through dialogue with the student. Of course, it must be complemented by the standard curriculum evaluation structure.
However, personalized learning is a more active, conscious way of learning that promotes student autonomy and self-motivation. In this sense, personalized learning is no longer a utopia; it is a reality and a necessity.