THE FUTURE OF PERSONALIZED LEARNING IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS Results from the Speak Up 2012 National Research Project and Project Tomorrow
Presenters: Julie Evans CEO, Project Tomorrow Chief Researcher, Speak Up National Research Project www.tomorrow.org/speakup Nigel Green Director of Personalization DreamBox Learning www.dreambox.com Dr. Tim Hudson Sr. Director of Curriculum Design DreamBox Learning @DocHudsonMath
Speak Up Findings: our discussion How are elementary students personalizing learning already, both in school and out of school? What are their parents aspirations? How well are today s elementary schools meeting the student & parent aspirations? What is the teacher & principal point of view on personalized learning with new tech tools? What does personalized learning really mean?
Personalized learning means to me that I am teaching a child where they are and what they need in order to be successful. It means that I am not just teaching the curriculum, but teaching a child. Elementary Teacher (NC) Response to Speak Up 2012 Question
Speak Up National Research Project Annual national research project Online surveys + focus groups Open for all K-12 schools and schools of education Institutions receive free report with their own data Collect ideas Stimulate conversations K-12 Students, Teachers, Parents, Administrators Pre-Service Teachers in Schools of Education Inform policies & programs Analysis and reporting of findings and trends Consulting services to help transform teaching and learning + 3 million surveys since 2003
Speak Up survey question themes Learning & Teaching with Technology 21 st Century Skills: Digital Citizenship & Global Awareness Math and Science Instruction Students Career Interests in STEM Professional Development / Teacher Preparation Internet Safety Administrators Challenges Emerging Technologies both in & out of the Classroom Mobile Devices, Online Learning, Digital Content, E-textbooks Educational Games, Social Media tools and applications Flipped Classroom, Print to Digital, Online Assessments Designing the 21st Century School
National Speak Up 2012 Participation: 466,303 K-12 Students 364,233 Teachers & Librarians 56,346 Parents (in English & Spanish) 39,713 School/District Administrators 6,011 About the participating schools & districts o o o 8,020 schools and 2,431 districts 30% urban / 43% rural / 27% suburban All 50 states + DC Honor Roll of States with highest participation: TX, CA, OH, IN, AL, NC, WI, AZ, FL, PA
Speak Up 2012 National Reports www.tomorrow.org/speakup
Digital Conversion K-12 Digital Learner
Digital Conversion Personalized Learning K-12 Digital Learner
Personalized Learning A shift in what we do, but also in our attitudes and values
Personalized Learning Views of K-12 Students, Parents, Teachers & Administrators Speak Up 2012 National Findings
How do you use technology and the Internet at home? Students in grades 3-5: Play online and video games 60% Doing Internet research on things that interest me 47% Watch TV shows online 42% Participate in virtual worlds 30% Text message family and friends 29% Share photos 27% Update a personal online profile 22% Create videos to post online 19% (c) Project Tomorrow 2013
What personal access do you have to these mobile devices? 54% 40% 41% 41% 26% 30% 18% 12% Smartphone Tablet Digital Reader Laptop K-2 Students Gr 3-5 Students (c) Project Tomorrow 2013
How often do you access the Internet from home to help you with your schoolwork? Students in grades 3-5: Every day 17% A few days a week 54% 71% Thru a mobile device? 19% (c) Project Tomorrow 2013
How do you use technology at school for learning? Students in grades 3-5: Play educational games 61% Do Internet research for assignments 58% Take tests online 42% Complete writing assignments 39% Create presentations 34% Check grades 32% Watch online videos 20% Use online textbooks 14% Email or text my teacher 13% (c) Project Tomorrow 2013
How important is the use of technology to your child/student s future? Elementary Schools Middle Schools High Schools Parents Principals Parents Principals Parents Principals Extremely Important 54% 51% 57% 50% 58% 49% Important 34% 42% 32% 42% 32% 43% Somewha t Important 10% 6% 9% 7% 9% 8% Not Important 2% 1% 2% 1% 2% 1% (c) Project Tomorrow 2013
What concerns do you have about technology use at your child s school? Parents of elementary students: Not enough computers for every child to use 41% Technology use is too dependent upon 31% individual teachers Students don t have access to technology 20% (c) Project Tomorrow 2013
Increased interest in digital learning? Growth in mobile device access by parents Cell phone without Internet access Smartphone Tablet computer Parents 2008 90% 32% 5% Parents 2012 35% 73% 49% (c) Project Tomorrow 2013
Use of social media by parents, also. Elementary School Parents Middle School Parents High School Parents Communicating via text 86% 86% 86% messages Maintaining a social 62% 55% 52% networking site Watching online videos 40% 36% 34% Streaming online TV 37% 34% 32% shows Playing online or mobile 30% 28% 25% app games Using Twitter 14% 13% 13% (c) Project Tomorrow 2013
Digital preferences for school to home communications Parents of Students Gr 9-12 13% 23% 38% Parents of Students Gr 6-8 14% 24% 39% Parents of Students K-5 17% 25% 36% Text messaging Facebook Mobile app (c) Project Tomorrow 2013
What s waking up our administrators in the middle of the night? Adequate technology Parent communications Achievement gap Funding Test scores 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% High School Principals Middle School Principals Elementary School Principals (c) Project Tomorrow 2013
Children learn best when they are engaged with the content, can manipulate it so that their learning is flexible, and when learning is social- in that they share and exchange ideas about their learning within real world applications. Technology can bring into the classroom the real world and help learning become alive and real in time. School Principal (NY) Response to Speak Up 2012 Question
What are the benefits of using digital content within instruction? Elementary school principals say: Increases student engagement and motivation 69% Personalizes learning 51% Improves quality of instructional materials 44% Increases relevancy of instructional materials 43% Improves teacher productivity 44% (c) Project Tomorrow 2013
But, why the particular interest in intelligent adaptive software? Elementary school principals say: Providing just right instruction 67% Differentiating instruction within large classes 66% Enabling self-directed learning 65% Supporting teachers with real time reporting 54% Increasing the effectiveness of using technology 46% (c) Project Tomorrow 2013
Looking to the future What experiences/skills do you think pre-service teachers should have within their teacher prep programs? Elementary principals say: How to differentiate instruction using technology 65% How to source and use digital content tools 58% How to implement intelligent adaptive software 55% How to leverage educational games within 41% instruction (c) Project Tomorrow 2013
Teachers use of digital content Type of Digital Content Elementary Teachers Videos found online 48% Games 44% Real time data 24% Online curriculum 21% Online textbooks 19% Animations 19% Self-created videos 6% Intelligent adaptive software 5% (c) Project Tomorrow 2013
Teachers use of digital content Type of Digital Content Elementary Teachers Videos found online 48% Games 44% Real time data 24% Online curriculum 21% Online textbooks 19% Animations 19% Self-created videos 6% Intelligent adaptive software 5% Growth of 69% since 2008 (c) Project Tomorrow 2013
Teachers use of intelligent adaptive software Amongst teachers who are using intelligent adaptive software, what are their goals? Collect meaningful assessment data 71% Create a learning centric classroom 70% Facilitate student collaborations 69% Help student visualize difficult concepts 69% Practice or reinforce skills 68% Introduction of new concepts 66% Address different learning styles 64% Increase student engagement 63% (c) Project Tomorrow 2013
Imagine you are designing the ultimate school for today s students, what digital tools and resources would have the greatest impact on learning? Do we have a shared vision?
Creating more personalized learning environments Intelligent Adaptive Software Schoolwide Internet Tablets Online textbooks Games 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% Elementary Principals Elementary Teachers Elementary Parents Students Gr 3-5 (c) Project Tomorrow 2013
For more Speak Up data and reports Targeted and thematic reports Online learning trends Mobile learning & social media Print to digital migration Social learning Intelligent adaptive software New digital parent series Presentations, podcasts and webinars Research reports: digital content, mobile learning, 21 st century skill development, professional development (c) Project Tomorrow 2013
If I was a teacher, I would make learning fun with smartphones, tablets, and websites by letting everyone bring their own to school. In my class, we would have textbooks on tablets so there would be no cutting down trees. Kids in my class would have everything on their smartphones, tablets, and they could download apps for science, math and reading. It would be a lot of fun if there were smartphones, tablets, and websites at school. The kids in my class would really love it. Fifth Grade Boy (PA) Response to Speak Up 2012 Question
Thank you. Let s continue this conversation. Julie Evans Project Tomorrow jevans@tomorrow.org 949-609-4660 x15 Twitter: JulieEvans_PT Copyright Project Tomorrow 2013 This work is the intellectual property of the author. Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational purposes, provided that this copyright statement appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the author. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written permission from the author.
One View of Personalization Content Delivery: Making recommendations for lessons, videos, readings, or assignments to do next (often crowd-sourced & using big data )
Another View of Personalization Assessment: Giving a student slightly harder or easier problems next
Personalized Learning? Will County, Illinois One-Room Schoolhouse, http://polarbearstale.blogspot.com/
Personalized Learning? Learning to Drive a Manual Transmission
Future of Personalization In the Moment Track, Analyze & Respond to Everything Answers Strategies Specific Mistakes Interactions, Investigations Lessons Built Specifically to be Adaptive Responding Similar to How a Professional Educator would in a 1-1 situation
IMPROVE LEARNING THROUGH PERSONALIZATION. NOT PRESCRIPTION.
Plan Backwards Contemporary school reform efforts typically focus too much on various means: structures, schedules, programs, PD, curriculum, and instructional practices (like cooperative learning). [or personalized learning]. Certainly such reforms serve as the fuel for the school improvement engine, but they must not be mistaken as the destination [which is] improved learning. p. 234-235, Wiggins & McTighe, 2007
LEARNING IS INTENSELY PERSONAL
Goal: Improved Learning Personalization o A strategy to achieve learning goals for all students o Honor each student s ideas o Enable sense-making o Support transfer of learning o Levels of achievable challenge o Curriculum matters o Pedagogy matters o Enhanced by technology
Learning is Not Linear Rovio
Learning is Not Linear
Learning Theory The notion that learning comes about by the accretion of little bits is outmoded learning theory. Current models of learning based on cognitive psychology contend that learners gain understanding when they construct their own knowledge and develop their own cognitive maps of the interconnections among facts and concepts. (pp. 5 6) Shepard, L. A. (1989, April). Why we need better assessments. Educational Leadership, 46(7) quoted in Schooling by Design, Wiggins & McTighe, 2007 p. 46
Personalization shouldn t be linear. DreamBox Learning: Intelligent Adaptive Learning Engine Typical adaptive programs
Personalization Requires Differentiation Teachers have a responsibility to ensure that all of their students master important content. Teachers have to make specific and continually evolving plans to connect each learner with key content. Differences profoundly impact how students learn and the nature of scaffolding they will need at various points in the learning process. Teachers should continually ask, What does this student need at this moment in order to be able to progress with this key content, and what do I need to do to make that happen? Leading and Managing a Differentiated Classroom by C.A. Tomlinson & M.B. Imbeau, ASCD, 2010, pp. 13-14
Formative, Personalized Feedback What incorrect answers would we expect on 29 + 62 =? 19 Student adds all four digits 33 Student believes this is a subtraction problem 81 Student does not regroup to the tens place 92 Arithmetic error in ones place 811 Student adds each column independently 2962 Student combines digits How would you score each error? How would you respond to each error? What lesson(s) need to come before & after? Which of these errors are naturally occurring?
Honoring Students Ideas
Learning Principles An understanding is a learner realization about the power of an idea. Understandings cannot be given; they have to be engineered so that learners see for themselves the power of an idea for making sense of things. p. 113, Schooling by Design, Wiggins & McTighe, 2007
Engineered for exploration
Engineered for realizations
Engineered for understanding
Curriculum & Pedagogy Matter Prescription Single Linear Sequence Learning Objectives Narrow, Behavioral Isolated Knowledge Low-Level Skills Giving Understandings Students as Listeners Weak Progressions Lacking Connections Personalization Millions of Pathways Learning Objectives Big Ideas, Sense-Making Conceptual Frameworks Strategic Skills Authentic Conceptions Students as Doers Consistent Progressions Coherent Connections
What Are Students Doing? Acquire Knowledge Watching & Listening Practicing (problems like the examples they just saw) Make Meaning Manipulating, Exploring Testing Ideas Transfer Independently Strategizing amidst Complexity Solving Open Ended Problems with no Scaffolding
Support educators with real-time data to help personalize instruction
Support educators with real-time data to help personalize instruction
Adapt continuously to individualize the learning path for each unique mind
Q & A
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