The traditional classroom was set up with the framework that there would be multiple learners on one learning path. This model assumed that all students, regardless of abilities, learned and progressed the same way. Learners who did not follow the same path might miss out on information because it was not delivered in a tangible way and/or they would become bored and check out (leading to other issues and distractions) of the lessons.

With added technology, personalized learning allows instructors to change this framework and create more meaningful and significant instruction for each learner in the class. According to Robyn Howton an English Department Chair at Mount Pleasant High School in Wilmington, Delaware, personalized learning “tailors instruction, expression of learning and assessment to each student’s unique needs and preferences… geared toward the strengths and challenges of each student”. Separating the benchmarks from a traditional one-size-fits-all approach affords the students to go beyond cognitive learning where it is more about memorization to metacognitive learning where they take what they have learned and further their understanding by applying it to something more tangible and meaningful to them.

Howton uses the example of a story being told in her classroom. Instead of requiring all students to listen to the story being read out loud, students are given different options during the activity. This is where “technology” comes in. It does not have to be a specific type of technology or something costly. The technical piece comes in by allowing students to have the options of following along in their own books, taking notes about the story (on paper or on something like a tablet), or just listening to the story. Should there be an assessment needed at the end, Howton allows students to have some freedoms. While they all have to write an essay, the essay might be a blog, or a website, or even a traditional essay. This still allows her the ability to provide meaningful feedback and better guide each student.

Having a personalized learning experience may not be as challenging as before by adding technology and freedom to the learners. Personalizing learning allows the learners to have a more intimate relationship with the material and gives the instructor additional ways to assess the learning of each student and better guide the, even of they are all working on the same lessons.

https://www.iste.org/explore/Personalized-learning/Turn-your-classroom-into-a-personalized-learning-environment

This short video helps illustrate how personalized learning works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oLNLCO0vfI