The Why And The What Of Personalised Learning

The why and the what of Personalised Learning

John Pallister

Objectives to:

Consider the drivers for Personalised learning;

Explore the characteristics of Personalised Learning;

Explore how the ePortfolio process can support Personalised Learning;

Describe work-in-progress that is investigating the potential of Online Curriculum Mapping to supporting Personalised Learning.

Why should we personalise learning?

The Dcsf expect schools to:

“ put personalising learning at the heart of their vision for transforming teaching and learning” http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/personalisedlearning/about/

We want

“ world class schools providing excellent, personalised teaching and learning, to help all children and young people to progress in their education and wider development.”

The Children’s Plan - a vision http://publications.teachernet.gov.uk/eOrderingDownload/00844-2008DOM-EN.pdf

Educational agendas

(Children’s Plan, 2007; Every Child Matters, 2004; Gilbert Review, 2006; Further Education White Paper, 2006; Leitch Review of Skills, 2006 and World Class Skills, 2007) all endorse the concepts of personalisation and the learner’s right to have a voice.”

Using digital technologies to promote inclusive practices in education – www.futurelab.org.uk/handbooks

No learner ‘left behind’

“ There is an emerging view that we need more tailored approaches for learners to take us to the next level and achieve excellence, addressing better disparities that see so many groups of learners, often the most vulnerable, fail to thrive and succeed in FE.”

Personalising Further Education: Developing a Vision – Des 2006 ISBN: 978-1-84478-858-3 http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/consultations/downloadableDocs/DfES%20Personalisation.pdf

Equality for all learners

“ Developing personalised learning in schools is critical in working towards a society where a child’s chances of success are not limited by their socio-economic background, gender, ethnicity or any disability.”

http://publications.teachernet.gov.uk/eOrderingDownload/00844-2008DOM-EN.pdf

a vision for a ‘system’ that:

delivers success;

removes barriers and delivers increased success rates/progression;

supports employability and personal development;

responds to the needs of hard-to-reach groups and those who currently fail to thrive and achieve;

Enables learners to make informed, challenging and achievable choices;

develops the learner’s ability to negotiate with the teacher/trainer and achieve at the highest possible level;

improves services available to learner in their learning environment.

Personalising Further Education: Developing a Vision – Des 2006 ISBN: 978-1-84478-858-3

Designed for Learners who want:

“ the service to be organised around them, not them around it. They want high quality service, tailored to their specific needs and at a time and place convenient for them…” Tony Blair

Designed for Learners who have ‘expectations’

‘ A new generation of self confident, independent students is of course a challenge. But it is also a genuine opportunity significantly to raise the productivity of the education system – by tailoring teaching and learning to individual need, and developing students as more active partners in effective learning.’ (November 2003)

www.clusterweb.org.uk/docs/HargreavesPersonalisedLearning.pdf

Learners who want to:

Access, watch and work with visual information;

obtain instant results from their searches and requests;

use a game-style interface ;

network with others , and use ICT to communicate with them;

use fashionable tools and technology;

using tools and technology when and how they want to;

skip from task to task, emulating their experience of fast and furious games and their lifestyle;

The drivers - personalised learning

Aspiration to provide the best ‘education’ for all learners regardless of ability, interest, background or location;

The Skills agenda – need to equip learners with the skills that they need/employers want;

changing employment demands - need to prepare learners for continuous personal and professional development - everyone a lifelong learning;

Increasing value given to non-planned, informal learning

Changing expectations of learners;

Need to equip/prepare learners to operate and function as independently - need to develop Personal Learning and Thinking skills;

Aspiration to harness new technologies and tools.

Already happening?

“ In the best schools in the country excellent classroom practice has already established a pedagogy and culture of personalised teaching and learning..”

The Children’s Plan - Personalised Learning a Practical Guide h ttp://publications.teachernet.gov.uk/eOrderingDownload/00844-2008DOM-EN.pdf

Many ‘Drivers’ for Personalised Learning, but what is it?

Learning is ‘personal’

Done a lot of learning recently myself

not been ‘taught’ ;

used whatever sources that I had access to, and communities that I belonged to;

Validated my thinking by sharing with communities

I Do not understand learning – ask 100 teachers what they understand by Personalised Learning, likely to get 100 different answers

What is personalised learning?

education tailored to fit each individual

“ ...taking a highly structured and responsive approach to each child’s and young person’s learning, in order that all are able to progress, achieve and participate. It means strengthening the link between learning and teaching by engaging pupils - and their parents - as partners in learning.” DCSF publication ‘Personalised Learning - A Practical Guide’ produced in 2008 defines personalisation as:

<http://www.futurelab.org.uk/resources/documents/handbooks/curriculum_and_teaching_innovation2.pdf>

Building on interests, aptitudes and learning styles

“ It means building the organisation of schooling around the needs, interests and aptitudes of individual pupils; it means shaping teaching around the way different youngsters learn; it means taking the care to nurture the unique talents of every pupil.”

http:// www.dcsf.gov.uk/speeches/speech.cfm?SpeechID =118 Choice and Voice in Personalised Learning - Speech by Miliband, D 2006

Learner involvement

“ For learners it means being engaged not just with the content of what is being taught but being involved with the learning process, understanding what they need to do to improve and taking responsibility for furthering their own progress .” http://curriculum.qca.org.uk/organising-your-curriculum/personalisation/?return =http%3A//curriculum.qca.org.uk/search/index.aspx%3FfldSiteSearch%3Dpersonalised+learning

Learners working at their pace

“ .. personalisation is distinguished by the way it expects all children and young people to reach or exceed national expectations, to fulfil their early promise and develop latent potential. …”

“ … . teaching and learning is characterised by ambitious objectives, challenging personal targets, rapid intervention to keep pupils on trajectory “

“… . clear plans to support those who are struggling to maintain trajectory . “ Personalised Learning – A Practical Guide

Personalisation in FE – moving from good to Excellent

Working in partnership with the learner – to tailor their learning experience and pathways, according to their needs and personal objectives

Responding to the needs of the whole person . Anticipating, identifying and addressing each and every learner’s needs and responding with personalised support Creating an ethos of seeking and responding to the views of the learner in ways that deliver an excellent, social learning experience in the subject(s)

Responding to the needs of the local community and employers through flexibility in course choices, location and timetabling, innovative and appropriate uses of ICT and tailored approaches,

Raising the ambitions of all learners . Enabling them to make informed, challenging

and achievable choices

Supporting every learner to become expert . Teaching and fostering the development of

the learner’s ability to negotiate with the teacher/trainer

Fostering openness and trust , supported by robust systems where learners help shape services

Learner control and choice

A Customised programme

“ personalisation, where training programmes are customised to individual learners, based on an analysis of the learners’ objectives, current status of skills/knowledge, learning style preferences, as well as constant monitoring of progress. “ http://www.ub.edu/multimedia/iem/down/c4/Personalised_Learning.pdf

But customised by the learner NOT teacher

responsive and engaging

“ Taking a highly structured and responsive approach to each child's and young person's learning, in order that all are able to progress, achieve and participate. It means strengthening the link between learning and teaching by engaging pupils – and their parents – as partners in learning.” Teaching and Learning in 2020 Review http://nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/personalisedlearning/

tailoring learning experiences to meet need

“ personalisation means working in partnership with the learner and employer to tailor their learning experience and pathways, according to their needs and personal objectives in a way which delivers success.” Personalising Further Education: Developing a Vision – Des 2006 ISBN: 978-1-84478-858-3

Supporting anywhere, anytime learning

“ instruction should not be restricted by time, place or any other barriers, and should be tailored to the continuously modified individual learner’s requirements, abilities, preferences, background knowledge, interests, skills, etc” http://www.ub.edu/multimedia/iem/down/c4/Personalised_Learning.pdf

Personal Learning and Thinking skills; the skills learners need to for Personalised Learning:

Personal Learning and Thinking skills

independent enquirers

creative thinkers

reflective learners

team workers

self-managers

effective participators.

Along with functional English, mathematics and ICT The PLTS are defined as six groups of skills

Reflective learners are expected to "evaluate their strengths and limitations, setting themselves realistic goals with criteria for success”. They have to “monitor their own performance and progress, inviting feedback from others".

As Self-managers the same learners

will be expected to "organise themselves, showing personal responsibility, initiative, creativity and enterprise with a commitment to learning and self-improvement"

Reflective learners and Self-managers will need to use a Plan, Do and Review cycle

Independent enquirers ?

"process and evaluate information in their investigations,"

To do that they need to plan "what to do and how to go about it."

Effective participators

Must be able to "propose practical ways forward, breaking these down into manageable steps"

To do this they will need to engage in some analysis and employ some problem solving strategies.

If they are to "identify improvements that would benefit others as well as themselves" they will need to review and reflect on what they, or others have done or proposed.

an Effective participator must also be a reflective learner

Team workers

are expected to "collaborate with others to work towards common goals“

working towards a common goal will involve some element of problem solving (collaborative)

Problem solving relies on the Plan, Do and Review process

Team workers will need to use the Plan, Do, Review process

Creative thinkers

"try different ways to tackle a problem, working with others to find imaginative solutions"

they will need to solve problems

Problem Solving will require them to follow the Plan, Do, Review cycle

components of Personalised Learning

It needs assessment for learning and use of data and dialogue to diagnose every students learning needs

It calls for the development of the competence and confidence of each learner through teaching and learning strategies which build on individual needs

It presupposes curriculum choice which engages and respects students

It demands a radical approach to school organisation and class organisation based on student progress

Personalised Learning means the community, local institutions and social services supporting schools to drive forward progress in the classroom

http:// www.dcsf.gov.uk/speeches/speech.cfm?SpeechID =118 Choice and Voice in Personalised Learning - Speech by Miliband, D 2006)

Personalised Learning, where the Learner:

has a ‘say’ in what, when and how they learn;

is supported by ‘teaching’ that recognises their needs, interests, aspirations and preferred way of working;

has access to a learning environment that provides them with:

that encourages the learner to recognise, reflect on, share and celebrate their achievements;

access to Parents, Carers, Teachers, Mentors or any appropriate person who would support or extend their learning or development.

access to information sources and storage/publishing space that have common interfaces for communication/exchange and collaboration with others;

Access to a range of appropriate tools (that they are familiar with OR want to use) that use common standards for information interchange;

has access to their ‘personal learning environment’ wherever they are, and whenever they want;

a Personal Learning Environment:

where learners take more control of their own learning and, by taking more responsibility for the management of their own learning, become more independent learners;

where learners set their own learning goals, manage their learning and communicate with others;

that provides learners with access to information sources and a common interface for communication and collaboration with others;

that encourages the learner to explore, develop and learn;

that encourages the learner to recognise, reflect on, share and celebrate their achievements;

that is centred around the interests of the learner, their learning needs and provides the learner with opportunities to learn by ‘doing’;

that will enable learners to develop plans in terms of their competencies, skills and progression routes;

that supports any where any time learning + lifelong learning;

Helps learners to find things (information and things they have created) and other learners;

That supports a way of learning that gives greater value to the individual as a learner and moves the focus away from what is being taught towards what is being learnt.

That enables access to Parents, Carers, Other Adults including Mentors and Experts in order to extend understanding.

http://groups.google.com/group/eportfolios-and-plts/browse_thread/thread/cbc130c69f61f249/e3d23c55ebc21654?hl=en&lnk=gst&q=personalisation#e3d23c55ebc21654

Teaching and Learning

“.. not done to the learner but with the learner and that active engagement is critical to success.” Personalising Further Education: Developing a Vision – Des 2006 ISBN: 978-1-84478-858-3

A lever for change

“… .. both personalisation and learner voice are current popular levers for change in educational practice.” Using digital technologies to promote inclusive practices in education – www.futurelab.org.uk/handbooks

Creating a learning environment

“ Personalisation involves creating a coherent learning environment where children and young people will experience the range of approaches and opportunities that will enable them to increase their competence as self-motivated learners.” http://nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/node/85123

PLTS Functional Skills Project Principal Learning ASL Work Experience Specialised Theoretical Practical How do all the elements fit together? Broad Employer & Economy Individual & Society Sandra Stalker January 2008 Start with the Personal Learning and Thinking Skills

Technology

“ Technology is the key to personalised learning. And imaginative use of ICT should help engage more learners in the excitement of learning. Borrowing ideas from the world of interactive games, we can motivate even reluctant learners to practice complex skills and achieve much more than they would through traditional means. New technologies can attract new kinds of learners into lifelong learning.”

<http://www.futurelab.org.uk/resources/documents/handbooks/digital_inclusion3.pdf>

link to ePortfolio

Present the curriculum – link to CM

“ Schools have a responsibility to provide a broad and balanced curriculum for all pupils. This statutory inclusion statement sets out three principles for developing an inclusive curriculum which provides all pupils with relevant and challenging learning.