A little media clip we made:
Problems with traditional learning:
1. Lack of incentives to continue learning course material after grades are issued.
2. Students that earn the minimum grades needed to pass, even in the absence of substantive learning, are detrimentally effecting their chances of entering college/university and earning scholarships.
3. If a student is to fail a course and the result is a credit deficiency then the chances of leaving high school without a diploma is greater.
Why the problems exist : These problems can be attributed to the one-size fits all approach used in traditional k- 12 learning. Students are very different and live different lives, and have very different learning styles.
Goals : Primary goal is to have a k-12 learning experience that offers a personalized learning plan to ensure that students receive what they need in order to succeed. There are alternative ways of practicing a more personalized learning plan without the accessibility to online technologies. First approach, offer a hybrid model that allows students to engage in the online portion in circumstances that fit the individual. For example, students in underprivileged areas may not have the same access as students in North America thus this hybrid model can take advantage of hybrid methods. Additionally, a hybrid approach can be initiated in order to introduce the idea of online learning and the changes it infuses without the curriculum. The second and last approach would be to not have online learning at all and just incorporate a personalized environment. What the personalized environment will look like is stated below.
According to gatesfoundation.org the ultimate goal will look like this :
"1. Student-teacher bond is the heart of learning
2. Learning happens anywhere, anytime
3. All students are ready for college and career"
What will the online personalized approach/environment look like?
Replace lectures with learning sequences – watch video and then participate in a learning exercise, then repeat the process with the next section. This is called 'active learning' because students are engaged in activity. Traditional learning offers an hour long lecture encapsulated in a closed time frame, but active learning keeps you aware the entirety of the time and allows you to incorporate what you have learned immediately. Also, the active learning method offers no time restrictions and learning can come to the student when they are ready, and they can proceed at their own leisure. Students can, in a sense, master a specific section and then move on. The ability to rewind and speed up is a bonus and a major accolade for self paced learning. Instant feedback marking has been scientifically proven to be a positive stimulus in the learning process. Alternatively, if online methods are not available, teachers can simulate such circumstances like instant feedback, shortened lecture sections followed by activity and allowing each student to be comfortable in the material before progression proceeds.
From edutopia.org personalized learning could look like:
1) Differentiated learning activities 2) Customized course offerings 3) Goal-setting
Solution: To offer a personalized approach to this problem because students have different strengths, interests and needs. The way to reach more students is to incorporate more online classes. A k-12 experience involving online classes, lectures, tutorials, and tutoring. In addition, with the every student succeeds act (ESSA) passed in 2010, there are new opportunities to reintroduce teaching methods of the more flexible and personalized nature. INACOl.org states that policymakers are aware of policy reports that are adhering to a new competence based approach.
But we are proposing a specific solution in order to implement a program that has a mass appeal, they are the four as follow:
Personalized learning - Implement the online personalized approach/learning as stated above.
Student Choices - choice of formative assessment tools, diagnostic testing, and progress tracking
Teaching the teacher - giving teachers more flexibility as leaders along with new parameters in place by "personalized learning". The targeted students will have a more flexible and targeted experience through resources that are necessary to success.
Recovery of credit - this is the greatest tool to self paced learning. The ability to enable a student, who previously had not been up to curriculum standards, the opportunity to work in an environment that they can receive the attention and care needed in order to succeed with the new "personalized experience". Catering to the strength of the student, and to previously learned content in the attempt of the credit, this step is considered a positive adaptation to the standard traditional repeat of the course.
Other Solution Methods
The following table is from a study done by Harvey Singh (2003), it shows the outline of what a hybrid/blended solution would look like. In the study, it was demonstrated that a blended approach was more beneficial than the traditional method.
In the following video 6 advantages are stated to online learning.
Possible Challenges
Content creation and Personalization ( creating a one- one match fitting approach to learning) (Weld et al, 2013). Creating content that is both interesting and formative is a challenge. Also, personalizing towards every individual can be challenging because people have different schedules, strengths, and weaknesses.
Proposal Conclusion: We suggest the further incorporation of the solutions we have posted above in order to replace the traditional learning method and move towards an online personalized learning approach, or hybrid/blended approach or a more personalized approach in general, for k-12 programs. In comparison to traditional learning, the advantages are clear, and the problems to the traditional methods can be remedied with this transition.
References : https://www.ed.gov/essa?src=ft - ESSA,
http://www.inacol.org/about/ - iNACOL ( most info on traditional learning and problems are from this site)
Odysseyware https://www.odysseyware.com/school-transformation
TheEdvocate http://www.theedadvocate.org/how-to-implement-personalized-learning/
Harvey Singh (2003) (p.6) http://www.asianvu.com/bk/UAQ/UAQ_WORKSHOP_PACKAGE/new/Appendix%20B%20-%20blended-learning.pdf
Weld et al,. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/50fc/b0e5f921357b2ec96be9a75bfd3169e8f8da.pdf
Gates foundation - http://k12education.gatesfoundation.org/student-success/personalized-learning/
edtopia.org- https://www.edutopia.org/blog/what-is-personalization-really-mike-martin-adam-bunting
Credits:
Created with images by john_a_ward - "Keyboard" • StartupStockPhotos - "white board startup start-up" • PublicDomainPictures - "blank board business" • Jemimus - "IMG_6323" • PublicDomainPictures - "blowing communication computer"