By Jami Metcalf Personalized Learning is a strategy that is in the process of being implemented into the high schools of the Fairbanks Northstar Borough. It started in elementary schools in 2016 and moved into middle schools last year. This year it was introduced to high schools. The school district spent $1.6 million on the program in the last three years. Also in the last few years the district has cut classes, teachers, and other important factors at West Valley. Personalized Learning is supposed to allow students to move at their own pace and work with peers, which will give more time between teachers and students who need extra help. Heather Johnson, principal of West Valley, says that with PL, “Bigger classes are managed differently because there are different stations and centers set up.” which allows students to learn how they want to, in an effort to use their skills to their advantage. The district has decided to invest in PL because, as Mel Hadaway, Director of Teaching and Learning, says, “We haven’t seen success in students, so we have to change something.” Because there are so many methods to PL there isn’t one certain way to know if it is effective and beneficial to students. Many students still don’t know what Personalized Learning is, so it seems the money wasn’t spent in the best interest of students. The money was spent on training for staff, yet some teachers are still unsure of how to implement Personalized Learning because there are so many different strategies and methods that could be used. As Sarah Gillam, West Valley Principal says that, “every teacher will interpret PL differently.” Hadaway explained that, “the ‘what’ isn’t changing it’s the ‘why’ and the ‘how’.” Teachers are still going to teach the way they feel most comfortable. Forcing them to change would be the same as forcing students to adapt to teaching methods for various classes and teachers. Hadaway also thinks that, “All teachers should do what’s best for students, even if that means changing preferred methods.” A large part of PL will include technology and Heather Johnson, West Valley Assistant Principal, says one main concern for using technology is that it will, “further isolate students”. There is also nation-wide concern about the connection between increased technology use and rates of depression and suicide among teens. This approach, which increases technology use, is dangerous and schools need to be careful about how technology is being used in the classroom. The money could’ve been spent on other things that students and staff could benefit from. Since Personalized Learning is more of an approach and a method, why couldn’t it be done without paying Ed Elements a large sum of money? I agree that something needs to change in the classroom but it could be done in a cheaper and more effective way.
0 Comments
“All major changes are like death. You can't see to the other side until you are there.” ― Michael Crichton, Jurassic Park By R.J. Sullivan Salutations, today I’ll be taking a break from my normal sphere of topics to discuss an upcoming change that is seeping into our classes. Personalized learning (PL), undoubtedly you’ve heard someone bring it up in a conversation, after all it's the “next big change in education” or the “future of education”. Both nauseatingly optimistic phrases seem almost voluntarily ignorant to an untested education system that, according to the Daily News Miner, the district pumped $1.6 million into. The district definition of PL is fittingly vague, “Personalized learning is the structuring of schools, classrooms, and instruction so we can better respond to the individual needs of students. Personalized learning shifts from a one-size-fits-all model of education to one which better prepares students for the jobs and needs of the future.” Now, don’t let my pessimism fool you into thinking I’m on the extremes against personalized learning, I am not. I am, however, noticing a distinct carelessness in the way the district has brought personalized learning to our schools. It almost as if they got a new puppy, and in their rush of excitement about a new canine, they forgot to get the essentials to care for such a fragile life. Likewise, we’ve been told that we’re getting personalized learning but have not been told how to use it, much less what it is. Rather worryingly, students who are in the firing line if this goes poorly, appear to have been cut out of a lot of the planning that’s gone into bringing personalized learning to our school. In the words of Mrs. Gallaway, student input has been “woefully inadequate”. The district’s timeline for implementation of Personalized Learning according to the school district website (https://www.k12northstar.org/personalized-learning) is currently:
If any of y'all know what that means then congratulations, because I sure don’t. The problem with that? This is the public information release, for both parents and students! How is anyone supposed to understand personalized learning when they can’t even understand the press release? And I haven't even gotten to the other “phases” yet! Now to keep this short I’ll end with Launch next, and this one is good. “Share focus areas with schools during Academies”, “Survey teachers and students”, “Confirm plan to capture and share data related to outcomes and focus areas”. If anyone has more questions or wants to see the presentation for themselves you can find it at https://www.k12northstar.org/Page/6543. Now, before you go on and say “of course there’s no student involvement we haven’t reached that stage!” to that I’ll reply, why is student involvement limited just one section? the smallest section might I add, and why don’t students get more say overall? I am not using this article to attack personalized learning or person(s) involved with it. I am, however bringing the flaws of how personalized learning is being implemented to your attention so that you, the student, can ask more questions and make sure that this new “education revolution” will go smoothly. Even more glaringly important, is that it will take perhaps until the class of 2023 before personalized learning will be fully implemented. So while the upperclassmen (myself included) will be long gone before things get topsy-turvy, there will still be newer students coming to this school, which means it’s imperative that we, the students of here and now, make sure that personalized learning will work effectively. I can write on and on about the pros and cons of personalized learning but that’s not what’s important, what is important is that personalized learning affects all of us, and we need to act like it.
By Madi Fisher Personalized Learning is a program that is supposed to focus on the needs of a student, while finding a way to implement a teaching style that can accommodate the majority of the class. The Fairbanks North Star Borough School District hired Education Elements, a personalized learning assistance firm, to examine the ways that the schools in the district function, and guide teachers as they tailor each class to fit the general and individual needs of students at the same time. The school district paid Ed Elements $1.6 million for their assistance in implementing PL, as opposed to taking any kind of input from those that are directly affected by any changes made by this firm, namely students. In my experience the program and ideas of the Personalized Learning (PL)program have had no effect in my classes. One of my teachers has tried to apply PL to their class, and seems to have been met with very little change in the performance of their students. Many students who had grades lower than a B to begin with, still report having a C average, or lower, performance in that class. PL has yet to bring anything productive and advantageous to my classes. All of the teachers that I have genuinely enjoyed, were made to be teachers. They enjoyed teaching and guiding students to be the best that they could be. These teachers were also willing to change their teaching routine if it didn’t benefit their current class. These teachers were enthusiastic, happy to be in the classroom, and happy to be with their students. Most importantly, these teachers have chosen communication to be one of the most important factors in their classroom. Personalized Learning, presented differently by each teacher, is always present in the classroom. Every example of PL that I have found in my research divides the class into small groups that the teacher would visit throughout the week. The same can be achieved with more teachers and smaller class sizes. A student should be able to ask for help or ask a question whenever they need. It is a privilege that students shouldn’t be deprived of because of a routine, and the fact that they are sectioned off from their teacher. There are teachers that are too stubborn and set in their teaching styles to change for the better of their students. They lack not only the necessary communication skills, but also lack the ability to adapt to students’ needs over their own. The district doesn't need outside advice. The district needs to take advice from the students that are attending classes, and enact change from there. Smaller class sizes have been proven to be more effective and improve student's performance. The district knows what needs to be fixed. By taking advice from people on the inside who are involved in class every day, the district can take action for the better and invest in future of their students, instead of undermining them. |
EditorWolfpack Editorial Board Categories
All
Archives
October 2020
|