Personalized Learning

EDUCAUSE LEARNING INITIATIVE | APRIL 2015

The resources below explore the concept of personalized learning, both from the standpoint of the conceptual model and from accounts of such programs at particular institutions. Although the notion of personalized learning is not new, developments in information technologies today allow systems to provide targeted resources and support to much larger numbers of students than ever before.

Personalized Learning (2015)

This resource page highlights efforts by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to investigate the ways in which various technologies can enable personalized learning at a large scale. It includes links to various resources in the areas of digital courseware and of integrated planning and advising services (IPAS).

Northern Arizona University’s Personalized Learning (2013)

This article takes a close look at the Personalized Learning program at Northern Arizona University, which is a competency-based, self-paced program that allows students to progress through courses and degree programs at their own speed, resulting in shorter paths to completion and lower costs.

The Great Adaptive Learning Experiment (2014)

This article discusses personalized learning as an umbrella concept that includes adaptive learning as one way to achieve the goals of providing individualized learning materials to meet the particular needs of each learner.

The Coming Era of Personalized Learning Paths (2014)

In this article, Peter Smith situates personalized learning in a long arc of educational developments, culminating with today’s level of connectedness. These connections, enabled by various technologies, provide educational content uniquely tailored to discrete learner needs.

Next Generation Learning Challenges: Personalized Learning (2015)

Personalized learning is one of the topic areas of Next Generation Learning Challenges, and this page links to a long list of resources covering personalized learning that can be filtered by higher education and K–12 initiatives. The page also features recipients of NGLC grants relating to personalized learning.

e-Literate Personalized Learning Videos (2015)

The e-Literate TV channel includes a series of videos that highlight personalized learning efforts at several institutions, including Middlebury College, Arizona State University, and Essex County College.

Society for the Teaching of Psychology and the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee: U-Pace (2014)

This paper summarizes a grant-funded program to promote broad adoption of U-Pace, an instructional model designed to increase levels of student success and engagement, using principles of mastery-based learning and personalized feedback and support.

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