Comfort for the 21st Century Teacher

I'm yet to meet a teacher who doesn't agree that every student should have his/her academic needs met in the classroom. However, trying to meet those needs using a customized approach can be a scary proposition. One reason for this is grounded in the false perception that every student needs to have a 100% unique educational experience in a customized program. This is simply not true.

In many ways, educational programs are like cars. As in the pizza analogy from my previous entry, people tend to favor cars that are more customized to their needs and taste. For the right price, one can now buy a car that is highly customized, or at least customizable. You want to save the planet? Buy a hybrid. You want to know where you're going? Buy a car with a built in GPS. You favor security? Buy a car with built in remote security support. You hate parallel parking? Buy a car with an automatic parking system.

Yet, despite all this customization, cars are still cars. They still have power systems, transmissions, steering mechanisms, braking devices, and of course, they still have wheels.

The same is true for educational approaches. I have seen that a greater level of customization leads to a greater level of engagement. (As long as students are engaged in the right things, this is a fantastic outcome.) This, along with my recent survey data, indicates that students favor more customized approaches to learning. Students favor varied forms of assessment, readings within their individual instructional range, a pace of learning that is not boring yet is reasonable, the ability to switch content within a class period, and other aspects of customized learning. Yet, despite all this customization, learning programs are still learning programs. Students still listen to lectures, read, write, make projects, play games, work alone and with peers, receive feedback and guidance from teachers, and of course, they still are learning (though hopefully more than in a traditional "one size fits all" program).

In other words, teachers can make their educational programs more customized while still applying the traditional methods from their training and experience. The learning activities in a customized program simply don't need to be much different from those in a traditional program. (Though, they can be very different.) The key is to identify and/or develop ways to make traditional activities available in a more customized way and to tweak those activities to enhance their suitability to individuals. An example of this is the use of on demand video lessons. Another example is the use of electronic classroom management tools like Moodle and Studywiz. Customized learning tools are either out there already or waiting to be developed by innovative teachers.

While it is true that there is a customization continuum, teachers can take comfort that their profession is currently moving in the direction of greater customization, and 100% customized learning is not the short term goal. The latter would be a transformational result and may come some day, but for now, a worthy goal for teachers should be to add more customization to their classrooms each year and pay attention to what happens. A customized car is still a car, a customized learning approach is still a learning approach, and when it comes to learning approaches, experienced teachers already know more than they realize.