Giving Compass' Take:

· Contrary to common misconception, personalized learning was not created by Silicon Valley to eliminate a need for teachers or replace them with technology. Phyllis Lockett at The Hechinger Report explains that while technology is used in this type of learning, it assist teachers with administrative tasks and frees up time to interact with individual students.

· How does personalized learning involve teachers? How does it incorporate technology into the classroom?

· Check out this article to read more on the evolving world of personalized learning.

In 1907, a teacher from Italy proposed a new vision for the modern classroom.

The age of industrialization was winding down, but schools were still turning out students in the same way that factories were turning out cars: uniform, and en masse. So she designed a teaching style intended to identify and cultivate the unique potential, interests and aspirations of each learner. She named it after herself: the Montessori Method.

Sadly, most schools today grapple with the same instructional models Montessori sought to replace more than a century ago. Students at different levels, with different backgrounds and interests, receive the same lessons. Teachers are boxed in by grades, class sizes, or the invisible hand of assessment nudging them to teach to the average.

In response, a growing number of educators are implementing a modern-day version of Montessori’s method called personalized learning. It empowers students to take ownership over their learning, zeroes in on their social and emotional development, and encourages educators to build relationships with students that are rooted in a deeper understanding of their needs. It allows students — even within the same class — to advance  when they show mastery.

Read the full article about the goals of personalized learning by Phyllis Lockett at The Hechinger Report.