Sharon Seaton

Students would design schools that had no walls, places where they could work on class work while listening to music, and be able to snack when they wanted.  They would want to be able to talk to friends and collaborate more on projects.  There would not be desks but rather tables, couches, and comfy chairs to sit in to do work. Students would do away with grades and be graded on completion of work. They would also have teachers be available to help them understand their class content but not use the lecture method.  Students would want to be able to go to school that fits their schedule and not have a required numbers of seat time to earn credit.  They would also like to have classes they are interested in and not a prescribed set of required classes. Discipline would still be handled by teachers and an administrator but there would be a group of students also involved.

Thanks for sharing your vision. I think that you bring up a great point about how teachers would need to be available to students in a variety of formats...not just lecture. These formats could include individual conferencing and small group learning opportunities. It could also involve digital forms of communication, email, social media, virtual meetings, etc.).

I was also interested in your final comment about discipline. In my learning about personalized learning there are very few references to this issue. It is as if to say that a personalized learning environment will eliminate disciplinary issues. While it is hopeful that this is true, there will always be students who want to test limits. (I have a 2 year-old...he's a rockstar kid, but boy he likes to test). So how does one handle this in personalized learning environment? What are the rules? What are the consequences? If kids are involved in experiential learning outside of school, what are the attendance requirements?  

I think your idea of having students involved is a great place to start.

Hello Debbie,

Discipline in my room while doing this takes a variety of forms.  First each student is required to bring back a parent letter and safety  contract signed by both the parent and the student acknowledging the policies and procedures of the class.  Labs are done always in class due to safety reasons. Assessments are done face to face as well but I also have online assessments too.  A required number of weekly face to face contacts with the teacher is also expected. Any behaviors not appropriate are handled by my administrator.

Hi Sharon -

I definitely agree that students would prefer choosing classes they are most interested in. And I think this would help with discipline issues for the teachers and administrators. In a personalized environment, though, I could see some students quickly going off task with so much freedom. I would say there needs to be clear expectations communicated to the students about responsibilities, behaviors and procedures. And there would also need to be clear consequences if students can't meet the expectations. Probably the most effective way to manage a personalized classroom and reduce discipline issues is to create a classroom culture where students buy into the importance of their participation and effort for themselves, the groups of students they may be working with, and the classroom as a whole. The same could be said for traditional classrooms, too.