Personalized learning may seem like a grand idea and one that many people believe is necessary in order to produce the most well-rounded and educated citizens to improve our future. But is this even an actual possibility? There are thousands and thousands of students across the country, being able to formulate individualized plans for each is quite unrealistic and nearly impossible.
The challenge of "advancing personalized learning" is one of the National Academy of Engineering's 14 engineering grand challenges that the engineers of tomorrow (those of us studying to be engineers now and those following in our footsteps) will have to create solutions for. I agree that the education system is in need of reform and that teaching styles need to be tailored more to individual student learning. However, I do not think teachers should be responsible for coming up with separate plans for each and every student. Perhaps the most realistic and best way to approach this challenge right now may be providing opportunities for students to choose different pathways by providing options within the classroom or by grouping students with similar learning styles (I.e. visual, oral, hands-on, etc.). Teachers should switch up the types of learning activities they do in class that will allow all students to experience methods that work for them.
The education system as it stands has been the same for over one hundred and fifty years. Everything around us has changed with time but it is the one thing that has remained the same. Times have changed, we have easy access to the millions of databases full of knowledge. For both the middle school and the high school, that I attended what is known as a one-to-one school where each student was provided with a device for learning. In middle school, I was provided with a MacBook Pro and in high school, we were provided with iPads. Some of the teachers enjoyed us being able to use these devices, while others never let us use them because of the students who wouldn't pay attention. I think that using such devices can help promote personalized learning in classrooms. Students can use different apps and websites that adjust to the learning styles that they can complete for their assignments.
I think making continual efforts toward individualizing learning will help reform the education system to make it better for both students and the teacher.
