What is personalised learning in schools ?
Personalised learning is a revolutionary strategy adopted by top International Schools in Gurgaon, aiming at empowering students by nurturing their strengths, weaknesses, skills, interests and needs. The learning process revolves around the learner rather than the content, handing them the wheel to their education. Its agenda is to celebrate the uniqueness of every learner and the innumerable different ways we learn and grow. Deviating from the conventional “one for all” approach to learning, personalized learning is built on the verity that different students have different learning paces and absorb information through distinct methods. A system where the student is not simply the output but rather an active participant in all stages of learning is personalised.
What are the benefits of personalising learning in schools?
Top International Schools of Gurgaon use personalised learning as an essential teaching method to provide benefits to students. The students have an increased interest in the subject matter that they are studying. In most classrooms the learning is through a textbook with minimal interaction with the teacher or other students, creating a very disinterested environment and a lack of interest in the concept being taught, as the student will not be invested in the work at all.
personalised learning in schools
Personalised learning encourages more collaborative work helping the student to improve their interactive skills, and work with other people as if in a real-world scenario. It also helps in knowledge retention, as the topic remains longer in a person’s memory, leading to increased understanding.
Personalised learning also hones the student’s creative skills. Since each topic is personalised, there are infinite ways to work on it. For example, some people could learn through videos, while others through games, and some even through projects. Since the platform for learning is wide stretched it has no limits, which means no limits to the student’s creativity. Overall, the Top International Schools promote and work on personalised learning as this is a definite pathway at reaching out to students and exploring their capabilities.
Personalized learning has been shown to be more effective than traditional learning; one of the major causes of falling grades is all of the subjects a child is required to do that they do not enjoy; Finland has been implementing this method since 1968 and it has worked extremely well for them.
Personalized learning adapts to the child rather than the other way around; it collaborates with the child, supports and nurtures them. Top International schools of Gurgaon have adapted personalized learning to boost grades, which is beneficial for everyone. One of the greatest advantages of personalized learning is the depth you can go into giving the student a serious head start on his life.
Students get more support in areas they actually need help in, the curriculum works at their pace. According to a survey personalized learning leads to 70% more student interaction and 22% increased grades and 50% increased performance of staff which is huge.
Personalized learning has also been shown to increase knowledge retention. My verdict on personalized learning is that it is a more organized and modular method of learning.
Universal Design for Learning(UDL)
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a concept that gives attention to the individual. It advocates for distinct education systems rather than a one-size-fits-all approach and not only does it focus on students, but also teachers in an effort to create more accessible classrooms. This method ensures every student can access, learn and apply curriculum without barriers. It is a step ahead of personalized learning as it focuses on more than just the student and their skills, but also teachers to make changes in their teaching methods.
How effective is Universal Design for Learning in schools?
Universal Design for Learning has been shown to be very useful and productive as it focuses on relevant learning with no barriers to access the curriculum or teaching styles being used. Another benefit of the UDL model is its versatility; it requires flexible adjustments based upon the student’s ability and stage of development rather than taking one approach fits all (or close). This method also stabilizes but does not eliminate classroom disruptions. Importantly, it allows people with disabilities and special needs to participate in schooling at educational institutions without any significant additional cost effort.
The UDL model is widely used in America, Canada, the United Kingdom and New Zealand. Top International Schools in Gurgaon has designed individual development plans using the UDL framework. They recognize that UDL identifies different styles of learning for people with different needs. It is a concept that helps the students to think in a new way and strive for perfection in their work, making classrooms accessible for all students.
Written By Ananya Jain, Aarudra Kapur and Samriddh Murgai, IGCSE Year 2 Students
