What Is Personalised Education And How Will It Change The Classroom?
24 October 2016
Everything from what we wear and what we drive, to how we workout and the medical care we receive is becoming personalised, so why not our education?
It’s no surprise to anyone that traditional pedagogical methods are struggling to produce results in the modern age. For one, the method of relaying and repeating information is no longer effective at keeping kids engaged. But the traditional education system can also repress creativity and experimentation due to rigid structures, put too much space between disciplines, and be prone to failing students thanks to its one dimensional approach to testing.
An overarching theme to all of these issues is that the current model prevents children from learning in the way that suits them best. However, a new era of personalisation is driving big changes in educational thinking and methodology. Teaching is moving away from believing there’s something wrong with the student if the model isn’t working, toward realising the model is likely at fault and exploring other alternatives.
A New Era Of Customised Learning.
Personalisation is largely lead by emerging technology in the fields of Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Big Data. But is also appearing in response to the failing education system and a need for more effective learning.
For years adult literacy in the UK has been worse than any other industrialised country — apart from the US. This wasn’t the case some 40 years ago, when it was well above average in the global league table of educational achievement.
Today Britain sits behind The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average — a scale which indicates what percentage of the population has a standard level of education — of 66 percent, with countries like Japan, Korea, Czech Republic sitting much higher at 93 percent, and even other European countries such as France placed above.
Personalised teaching methods along with new classroom technology — virtual and augmented reality; 3D printing; biometrics; devices which teach children how to code — holds much promise for raising Britain’s standard back up to where it once was by changing how teachers teach and how children learn.
Learning How Students Learn
One area of particular interest is biometrics, or, as it’s becoming known as in education, “neuroeducation”. This is a field of study which aims to link biological processes in the brain to teaching methods with a goal of optimising the learning process.
Many believe this type of pedagogy will help teachers understand how to tailor teaching methods to each student, and put an end to failures due to a misaligned curriculums or inflexible structures. This shift could not only improve general learning but also boost independent thinking and entrepreneurial spirit — two essential qualities for succeeding in the modern age. For this to happen the teacher and student divide must become less pronounced, and classrooms must allow students to learn in a way that suits them best.
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