Thoughts on Personalized Learning and PBL

Thoughts on PL & PBL

There seems to be a wide variety in approaches people take when it comes to helping children learn.  If you think about it, we have various forms of STEM, STEAM, Data driven, student driven, teacher centered, the list goes on and we could even make a few up if we like, but that may be for the comments below.  For today though, I want to toss some thoughts out about Personalized Learning and Project Based Learning.  Personalized Learning and PBL have been hot topics and buzz words for a while and it appears that people are beginning to change their opinions and perspectives on how to define them.  

Personalized Learning

I once considered PL as what people would now consider differentiated learning.  Collecting data, organizing students based on skills needed and level, and tailoring a lesson and practice for small groups of students.  Through my personal education and research, I have found that personalized learning means eventually, the student has 100% control of what and how they  learn (even at the sake of missing out on standards and data collection assessments).  Although, many students are not prepared to make his leap, teachers/coaches, will need to scaffold the skills needed for this format of learning so that students become independent agents of their own learning.  

Project or Problem Based Learning  

In a previous version of my career, I believed that PBL was a version of personalized learning. I thought it was a way for students "personalized" what they wanted to learn by focusing on their interests, learning how they learned best, and producing something to prove they learned.  It turns out, what I thought was PBL was actually PL.  I was caching students to ask questions, find their answer, and provide them feedback while on their journey to produce an artifact that they were proud of based on their learning.  

Now, I understand that PL can incorporate PBL, that PBL is the vehicle in which we deliver  the personalization to the students.  Helping them find the skills through the use of scaffolds to answer driving and inquiry questions is the essence of learning.  

Reflections

As a teacher, over the past few years I have evolved from thinking that the curriculum from the school is what the district wants the kids to learn, to a person who believes that no one should ever have the right to tell another human what they should be learning or how they gain the knowledge. I fully believe that students should be allowed to experience and pursue the content and skills they desire in the format and level they wish.  If it is too easy for them, they will adapt, just as they would if it was too difficult. 

Those that are still worried about standards, I would like for you to consider George Carlin's opinion on Rights:  

"Personally when it comes to rights, I think one of two things is true: either we have unlimited rights, or we have no rights at all."