Episode 05: Starting the Personalized Learning Journey - ft. Drew Schantz, Design Principal at Education Elements

We typically think of the K-12 educational experience as something highly regimented. The state establishes certain milestones for achievement we’re expected to hit along the way. Everything from standardized tests to report cards suggests that the one-size-fits-all approach is the only option, and teachers have limited flexibility to address each student’s individual needs as effectively as possible.

However, if you ask a teacher if he or she feels standardized testing is an effective way to engage students in the learning process, you’re likely to hear quite a bit of feedback on the topic. Standardized testing isn’t going away anytime soon, but today we’re more amenable to the idea that every student learns differently and that test scores or grades might not accurately reflect a student’s real skills and abilities.

The key here, it would seem, would be to increase a teacher’s ability to personalize each student’s experience. It’s a discussion we’ve already had (in a different context) on this blog and in my Illuminate Higher Education podcast. We know that a traditional four-year college degree is not the right choice for many high school graduates. Instead, we encourage them to take ownership of their own futures and choose the path that makes the most sense. Apprenticeships, trade schools, community colleges, and the military are just a few options.

I wanted to learn more about how we could apply some of these ideas to a K-12 education environment, so I invited Drew Schantz, Design Principal at Education Elements, to join me on a podcast episode and teach us a little more about it. Education Elements is a K-12 education consultancy that supports schools as they move to a more student-centered approach to learning by focusing on personalized learning as well as strategic planning and teacher retention initiatives.

In the podcast, Drew explains that personalized learning isn’t about changing the content of what students learn. We still expect them to move from Grade 4 to Grade 5 with certain competencies. Rather, it’s about how teachers can give students more control over their learning journeys and engage them more fully in the process. This transformation is, like most other things, made possible by and driven entirely by technology. Education Elements’ Personalized Learning Playbook says it best: “Students experience technology as personal and use technology in ways that are personal to them (even if the teachers and adults in their lives don’t feel the same way).”

In my career in higher education, one thing I’ve learned is that there is no single technological solution that can address every challenge. I’ve also learned that any technology is only as good as its strategic application. While it’s possible for teachers to begin to implement personalized learning elements into their classrooms for very little financial investment, they will need time for professional development to learn how to do it effectively.

Listen to Episode 005 of Illuminate Higher Education to learn more about personalized learning and Drew’s work with Education Elements. You can find this episode on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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This episode is brought to you by N2N’s Illuminate App, the iPaaS for Higher Education.

About N2N Services

Founded in 2010, N2N is committed to serving educational institutions and helping them figure out how to serve their students, faculty, and staff using the most innovative technologies and solutions available in the marketplace. Over the last decade, N2N has served over 300 academic institutions and enabled their student success journeys.

N2N Services Inc. is a leader in enterprise application integration and strategic advisory services for higher education, At N2N, we are committed to providing the highest quality solutions and collaboratively building student-centric solutions.

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