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.
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