Online classes and personalized learning programs

“All students can learn and succeed, but not in the same way and not in the same day.” 

– William G. Spady 

Indeed, every student is different and so is their way of perception and pace of learning. If only the “one size fits all” structure worked, the educators across the world would have stopped striving on upgrading the pedagogy and curriculum. With all the research done over the years collectively, the educators have concluded that more personalized the learning experience the more beneficial is the academic life. Although the schools were steadily moving towards the personalized teaching method, the online classes popularized the concept to everyone even better. 

The schools, as they have been conducting online classes for more than a year now owing to the pandemic, realized that textbooks alone will not suffice the gaps and personalized learning is as essential in the virtual classrooms as they are in the physical ones. Thus, just like online classes; online school admissions and blended teaching methods becoming the 'new normal' in the education sector; personalized learning has also become an indispensable part. 

 

What is personalized learning?

Personalized learning implies tailoring the teaching methods to match the pace and perception of each student. In simple terms, the instruction involved in the teaching and learning process is focused to address the need of each student. It is sensitive to the interest and preferences of the students and has the potential to increase the student's engagement and learning capabilities in the class. 

Online classes from the very beginning have had the reputation of offering flexibility in the pace of learning for the students, as such it gave the schools an advantage to mold the classes and curriculum for the young learners in a similar manner. However, there are many aspects of personalized learning and it would be interesting to see how those aspects are worked upon by the educators in the online classes as long as remote schooling continues and how later it is implemented in the traditional classrooms. 

 

How does personalized learning benefit the K12 education?

The education environment and curriculum in personalized learning revolves around each student’s needs and abilities. When schools implement such customized learning programs the progress of the students tend to speed up and improves the overall performance. 

If we take into consideration the online classes, the students can access recorded lectures and other resources at their convenience and can clear out their doubts without feeling anxious and stressed. Online classes give the students the privilege to connect to the teachers better than they would as they would in a traditional classroom, particularly the students who tend to shy out in communicating. 

Not just the students the teachers are benefitted equally, adopting customized teaching-learning methods allows the teachers to be able to focus their time even better and more effectively. The personalized learning programs very often include solo or collaborative activities, this, in turn, allows a more targeted teaching. 

 

How are schools working on customizing the educational experience? 

If you are a parent and have recently wrapped up the online school admission of your child preceded or followed by a teacher-parent connect program, you might have come across the term experiential learning; skill-based learning, personalized teaching and personal attention to each and every student. But have you wondered how the schools are actually going to make these concepts work in real particularly when schools have been moved to the screens with a physical distance between the teacher and the learners? 

 

·         Train the teachers:

The sudden shift to online classes has pressed schools and educators to assess the students and customize their learning experience. The first step in this process has been to train and educate the teachers which came as a crucial step to shift the school to the virtual space. The personalized programs designed and implemented are based upon the complete understanding of methods, process, assessment, technology involved etc. With the teachers being trained they can assess the interest, strengths and weaknesses of the students and place them in their own learning process. 

·         Usage of technology

Schools are using technology to connect and create an improved learning environment. The online classes for sure have made technology a part and parcel of education which will be an important feature ahead as well. Educators are now making use of the potential of ed-tech to engage and connect with the students and allowing the students to discover their potential. For example, many schools are including game-based learning which intrigues the students to learn and participate better in the class. 

·         Greater engagement of the students

The students are offered multiple opportunities to showcase their caliber. Yes, online classes and virtual learning programs have broadened the horizon of measuring the knowledge and caliber of the students. The involvement of the students is now not restricted or determined to the projects or test results but are also based on how they take responsibility for their learning process. 

Personalized learning has become one of the important characteristics of modern-day schooling. Also, it is important to understand that not all schools will use personalized teaching in the same way. If we take for example Edify School one of the best CBSE schools in Bangalore, the programs in the schools are designed both to challenge and facilitate the growth of the students. Also, the students are encouraged to develop a close interpersonal relationship with the teachers, which in turn allows the teachers to recognize students’ individual needs and learning styles. 

The school have always rooted in the fact that students learn best when they can have complete trust in their teachers and whether it is the traditional classes or online classes the learning space is a haven for all questions and ideas. 

Similarly, starting from the online school admissions to covering the end goals of the academic sessions the schools are now becoming more inclusive, focused to make the students comfortable and the parents confident, that they are indeed choosing the best educational experience for their children. 

  

Reference link:  https://www.prodigygame.com/in-en/blog/personalized-learning/

https://www.understood.org/articles/en/personalized-learning-what-you-need-to-know