Personalized Learning

This report details and expands upon the key recommendations from the 2010 Innovate to Educate Symposium, held by the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) in collaboration with ASCD and the Council of Chief State School Officers. The ten recommendations consist of five "essential elements" for personalized learning, as well as five "policy enablers" which would serve to support the development of those essential elements.

This brief uses a model by Jobs for the Future to discuss strategies to get learners on-track to effective educational pathways. The “Back on Track Through College” model indicates three overarching pathway benchmarks: Enriched Preparation, Postsecondary Bridging, and First Year Support. Using these points of entry to organize recommendations, this brief suggests using technology as a tool at all stages so that schools, youth programs, colleges and other organizations may leverage it for off-track students.

This toolkit provides strategies, resources, and partnerships to help students transition successfully to postsecondary education and training. The strategies, resources, and partnerships included are focused around several elements that are instrumental in preparing students for college and careers, such as developing a comprehensive academic plan, developing 21st century skills, emphasizing high expectations, identifying personal learning styles, integrating career-focused courses into academic content, and more.

Many schools, districts, and states are looking for alternatives to the traditional seat time- and credit hour-based system. While mastery- or competency-based education (CBE) principles have a history in vocational settings, CBE models are new to the K-12 setting. The Proficiency-Based Pathways Project, funded by the Nellie Mae Education Foundation in partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, awarded grants to seven projects operating in 11 schools that employ a range of competency-based education models.

This report discusses the efforts to increase personalized learning opportunities with the implantation of the Blended Learning for Alliance School Transformation, or BLAST model at the Alliance Tennenbaum Family Technology High School, a charter school on L.A.’s eastside.