Personalising Learning

In 2016, the ICWG started to particularly focus on different approaches to personalising learning. Of course, this is a very wide ranging topic; personalizing learning is still an evolving concept where definitions are something of a moving target and the emphasis on what is needed to personalise learning may differ from country to country.

The starting point for the IGWG is that there is an increasing recognition in most countries that learning needs to: enable students (both individually and within groups) to learn at their own pace; and in a way that suits them - where they can exercise choice over when and how they learn.

Christine Gilbert's 2006 definition and the 2020 Vision report from the UK provides a useful starting point for anyone who is unfamiliar with the sorts of issues that the ICWG is interested in exploring in the next couple of years:

Personalising learning means, in practical terms, focusing in a more structured way on each child's learning in order to enhance progress, achievement and participation. All children and young people have the right to receive support and challenge, tailored to their needs, interests and abilities.

Activities and outcomes

Focus group

In 2016 the ICWG formed a focus group of school leaders and teachers who had developed innovative approaches to personalising learning with their students. This focus group helped inform the ICWG discussion on how to motivate teachers to experiment with different personalized learning approaches and defined requirements for teacher continuing professional development (CPD) materials that would help showcase innovative practice.

See interviews with the focus group members in the following video:

Outcomes 2017

Expert teachers then came together in a Future Classroom Lab workshop in May 2017 to create examples of these CPD resources and to elaborate how this authoring process could be improved. Find all the 2017 outcomes here.

Outcomes 2016

The focus group prepared mini-case studies on their experience and impact of personalizing learning in their classrooms. Some members of the also created learning activities to share their practice and that could be used for teacher professional development. Find all the 2016 outcomes here