Differentiated VS Personalized VS Individualized Learning

Differentiated VS Personalized VS Individualized Learning

Date: 23/09/2018 Sunday

This blogpost is inspired from my twitter chat today organized by #edchatmena about individualized, personalized and differentiated learning.  It was so good to interact with a very experienced and knowledgeable group of educators who were able to share some amazing resources about the three different learning approaches. I did have some understanding about differentiated learning in classrooms, but the twitter chat helped build a much clearer understanding of the three approaches. 

According to an article by Dale Basye differentiation is a type of learning where instruction is tailored to meet the needs of learners in class, the learning objectives remain the same, but teachers can use different resources, different strategies , providing students different paths to students to achieve their learning goals.

There are different types of differentiation. Lets look at each in detail. Though throughout my 12 year teaching and training time I did try to plan differentiated activities for both teachers and students. During the Twitter chat I was exploring articles and found some interesting strategies used for differentiation in classrooms. So I would like to share those here.

The teachers can differentiate by product where every group comes up with a different end product (a write up, a flyer/poster, a documentary etc about a natural disaster, flooding in cities etc). Teachers basically give students the flexibility to demonstrate understanding in varied formats. Tic Tac Toe is an  interesting method where teachers provide students the choice of the end products. Students can choose either one product from each horizontal line or choose three product options that form a diagonal or horizontal line but all products should link to the skill or concept being taught. Another interesting method is the use of learning menus, such menus offers students various options to produce a product, students might have 4 - 6 options each requiring same time and challenge to complete the task. Examples of choice could be posters, map, photo, essay, video, exhibit, play, debate, brochure, news report etc.

The teacher can also differentiate the process, meaning the way students build understanding about a topic, concept etc by either providing a different level of support to students, grouping students based on skills and abilities, varying the activities (based on students interests, readiness, learning styles etc), varying time for activities.

For this teachers can use a variety of strategies , students can be asked to use graphic organizers to organize, gather , process or present information about a topic (can be a venn diagram , a mind map in bubbl.us ). Teachers could also use learning centers in their classroom to  offer differentiation by process. Learning centers are organized around a theme , topic or skill. Teachers could keep all resources, materials along with instruction cards about the activities in the learning corner. The teachers can also have interest center in the classrooms where they can keep additional resources and extension activities to provide deeper understanding about a topic. Students can visit center when time is available. For example when students are learning about the life cycle of a frog, they could also look into the life cycle of a fish, butterfly etc and compare/contrast the process. Teachers can also use tiered activities to meet the learning needs of students, these activities have a varying challenge based on students readiness. 

Another way teachers can differentiate is by content, which means the same concept is taught to students but the curriculum is different.  This can be done by providing variety of materials to access the information, can be in the form of different textbooks, videos, articles, books, magazines, computer games etc.Teachers can also provide instructional scaffolding to students who need support, they provide support so that the students can master the skill/concepts. For example students who might have difficulty in reading can begin with word cards or cues, draw a picture, do a role play, retell part of a story etc. 

All the above methods and strategies about differentiation seem very effective and definitely aid in enhancing learning outcomes in class. But these are designed for group tasks mostly . To summarize differentiation is a learning process by which students reach the same learning goal using different paths. Jennifer Willougby a free lance writer and technology specialist calls it watering down the curriculum for some students. Its very important that teachers know their student well, their skills, abilities etc before planning differentiated tasks.

Lets move to exploring Individualized learning , here the teacher focuses on an individual, instruction is tailored according to the needs of the learner. In this case the content, use of resources, pace of learning are linked to the readiness/abilities of the learner. The teacher looks for tools, resources for students. Its the when of the learning, meaning students have the same learning goals but they work on those goals on their own pace and time.All students have the same objective, but teachers can set specific objectives for individual learners. This can be effective for students who want to explore additional content, do a little extra, or students who need practice about a topic (slow learners), or students who might have missed classes for various reasons etc. They can cover content at own pace. In this case teachers use data from the assessments to monitor the progress and decide on future steps. Teachers can also use the competency based framework instead of traditional grading scales , whats important is how they master the skill or concept.

Technology in this case can be very handy and lets teachers flip learning in the classrooms. One fit all approach does not work here. Online resources like #ReadingEggs program can be very effective for individualized instructions, the begin by gauging the students current reading level and based on it assign the next levels, with every level the challenge increase.  #Edmentum is another interesting resource which provides individualized learning opportunities, they offer self paced courses for various subjects including algebra, maths, english, science, social studies etc for all levels from elementary, secondary to higher education. Most important students could access the course on mobiles too.  #KhanAcademy is another very useful resource for individualized learning experiences, students can select the subjects they want to work on, complete a test to gauge current understanding level of a topic , based on the test a new unit is assigned. So every student moves on their own pace. The exercises are pretty interactive , questions help move from simple to complex , offer clues and prompts, a number of opportunities to try again. So, students can master a concept at own pace, in own way.

Lets now move on to third approach which is personalized learning. It takes a few elements from both differentiated and personalized instruction. In this case the learner drives the learning process, he participates in the designing of activities, designing of projects, there is more student autonomy. The teacher is merely the facilitator.  According to a research by iNACOL , personalized learning is about tailoring learning for each students strength , needs and interests, including student voice and choice in how, what, when and where they learn to provide support to ensure achievement of the mastery level. iNACOL has identified 10 essential element sof personalized learning these include, agency, differentiated instruction, flexible pacing, individual student paths, learner profiles, immediate student interventions, deeper learning, feedback from both peers and instructors, performance based assessments, anywhere, anytime learning and standard knowledge base and skills.

In this case students and teachers work together and co-design the learning objectives. So each student has a different learning journey driven by their interests, passions, abilities etc. Students build own pool of subject experts, tools, resources, peers who support them through out the learning journey. They monitor own progress and modify along the way. The teachers role here is of a guide/coach,empowering students to become independent learners. They assist in setting goals, teach self assessment skills, assist in providing feedback, create a nurturing environment to try out new things, experiment with new ideas, provide examples of quality work that yields desired curriculum outcomes etc Its a completely changed role all together. Students are taught how to learn not what to learn.

There is still so much more to explore in the three approaches.  My initial study and exploration has definitely led to a lot of clarity.  Individualization and differentiation are teacher centered approaches where as personalization is student centered. 

Bruce Lee once shared that one has to be like water and take the shape of the vessel it is poured in to achieve the goal. Similarly any three of the approaches could be used. Whats more important is to know which approach will help yield enhanced learning outcomes and enable/empower students to become independent learners.

Neither of them can be  successfully implemented in schools till teachers are trained enough , have thorough awareness, are skilled and qualified. And finally all approaches require teachers to know their students well enough. Harvard Garners MI theory can be very handy here. Digital portfolios and leaner profiles are a must in each approach. Good know how of the technology tools would be handy here too.

Your time to explore now :) Good read till my next blog soon Inshallah.

Thank you as always.

Regards and  prayers

Sheeba Ajmal

References:

1. Personalized VS Individualized VS Differentiated Learning, Dale Basye

Weblink: https://www.iste.org/explore/articleDetail?articleid=124

Accessed Online 23 Sep 2018

2.  Differentiating content, process, product, and learning environment

Weblink: http://www.ssgt.nsw.edu.au/documents/3_content_pro_etal.pdf

Accessed Onlie 23 Sep 2018

3. How do teachers differentiate instruction?

Weblink; https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/di/cresource/q2/p06/

Accessed Online 23 Sep 2018

4. What is individualozed learning?

Weblink; http://www.dreambox.com/individualized-learning

Accessed Online 23 Sep 2018

5. Edmentum

Weblink: http://www.edmentum.com/programs/k-8/individualized-learning

Accessed Online 23 Sep 2018

6. The Rodel Teacher Council: Blue print for personalized learning in Delaware

Weblink: http://www.rodelfoundationde.org/blueprint/what-is-personalized-learning/

Accessed Online 23 Sep 2018

7. Khan Academy

Weblink: https://www.khanacademy.org/

Accessed Online 23 Sep 2018

8.3P Learning

Weblink: http://www.3plearning.com/

Accessed Online 23 Sep 2018

9. What is personalized learning

Weblink: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0p-sa3gDqSE

Accessed Online 23rd Sep 2018

10. 7 Principles of Personalized learning

Weblink: https://www.thinglink.com/scene/785128426003496961

Accessed Online 23 Sep 2018

11. Differentiated vs Individualized vs personalized learning explained
Weblink: https://www.schoology.com/blog/differentiated-individualized-and-personalized-learning-explained
Accessed Online 23 Sep 2018

12. Personalize learning - transforming all learners
Weblink: http://www.personalizelearning.com/2013/03/new-personalization-vs-differentiation.html#sthash.MKjFRvbz.dpuf
Accesssed Online 23 Sep 2018