One of the biggest topics in all education circles involves making learning personalized for each student in the classroom. Talk of differentiation and meeting the needs of every learner are commonplace today. However, personalized learning is not new to the world of education—it’s been around for years in various forms. From its early days in the Victorian era, we have seen personalized learning evolve and grow to its present state, supported by technology.
Educators have been working for decades trying to figure out how to teach students who are the same age but at different learning levels. The history of personalized learning is indicative of the collective growth and evolution of many ideas in education.
Late 1800s and early 1900s
Pueblo Plan
Superintendent Preston Search of Pueblo, Colorado, allows students to move at their own pace in the learning environment. Not every student has to do the same thing at the same time in the classroom. This is one of the first recorded instances of personalized learning being formally introduced in the classroom.
San Francisco Normal School
Students are promoted based on mastery. Once students master a grade level in a subject, they can move on to the next grade level. For example, a student could be in sixth-grade English, ninth-grade science, and seventh-grade math at the same time.
The school also creates worksheets to accompany the given texts, allowing students to practice the material independently. Worrying that too much independent work might affect students’ ability to communicate well with others, the school requires classes that involve interaction, such as “oral expression.”
1916
John Dewey
John Dewey publishes his book Democracy and Education. The book details that learning should center around the student and depart from the traditional curriculum-centered teaching style. He argues that a student needs to be engaged to be able to learn. His mission is to encourage the growth of learners in small learning communities where they can discuss and uphold the American ideals of democracy.
1960s and 1970s
The Keller Plan
Fred Keller creates the Personalized System of Instruction (PSI), where students learn and master content at their own pace and are assessed at the end of each unit. Those who have mastered the material move on to the next unit; others must re-learn the material and retake the test.
Zone of Proximal Development
Lev Vygotsky introduces his theory on the zone of proximal development. This theory states that students need to be challenged just beyond their current level of independent competence. Each student needs to be provided with learning experiences that push them slightly beyond their ability to understand things on their own. According to Vygotsky, this stretching of the mind is necessary for growth.
EHA/IDEA
The Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 (EHA), which was later renamed as part of The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), ensures that students with disabilities legally have a right to free public education that is tailored to their needs. This legislation also provides Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) to students who are eligible for disability accommodations under this law. IDEA also guarantees that all students should be placed in their least restrictive environment (LRE).
The 2000s
Two forms of personalized learning
Dan Buckley is credited with defining personalized learning in two different ways in 2005. “Personalization for the learner” refers to the teacher creating the learning experience for the student. “Personalization by the learner” refers to the student acquiring skills to better adjust his or her own learning. These definitions are originally developed for use in Microsoft’s Practical Guide to Envisioning and Transforming Education. Corporations are becoming more involved in educational theory and development.
School of One
In New York City, schools use technology and data to reform students’ individual learning experiences. Students take a test at the end of every day to see where they stand with the current learning objectives. Based on their daily test performance, an individualized schedule is created for their next day of classes. This is one of the first instances of a school focusing on the use of personalized learning technology to create individualized learning experiences.
2010 to present
School districts
Personalized learning has become a common part of school district learning plans. Funding and professional development opportunities are often focused on the idea of students learning at their own pace.
Influencers
Politicians, lawmakers, academics, teachers, and citizens get more involved in personalized learning. They create state and local agencies that are dedicated to supporting personalized learning in the classroom. New policies are written to help encourage more individualized education plans.
Philanthropists
Many charitable organizations, such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, champion personalized learning. Hoping to inspire discussion and innovation, they create a working definition of personalized learning.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, also invest effort and funding to support the development of more personalized learning experiences. In 2017, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative joins forces with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to pledge 12 million dollars to support ways to tailor education to individual student needs.
Online curriculum
The benefits of personalized learning are numerous and it is one of the greatest advantages online learning has to offer. The digital learning space gives students power over what and how they learn while providing instruction where they need it—it’s almost like having a private tutor to walk you through a subject.
Why is personalized learning important for the future?
Personalized learning has been around for decades and will continue to be a major part of education. People are increasingly looking for ways to make learning more purposeful and specific to each learner. With new technology helping to individualize education on the spot, students can get immediate feedback and adjust their learning paths.
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This article was adapted from a blog post initially developed by the education technology company Classcraft, which was acquired by HMH in 2023. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of HMH.
