Benjamin Herold Profile picture
Education Week reporter. 2019 Spencer Fellow. Still #trusttheprocess, still believe #factsmatter, still think the best stuff belongs on vinyl.

Nov 13, 2017, 16 tweets

1/ OK y'all, fair warning, I'm warming up for another thread on #personalizedlearning...

2/ For @EducationWeek’s new special report, we asked 3 dozen educators, experts, and critics to complete 2 simple statements: #PersonalizedLearning SHOULD __________ and SHOULDN’T _____________. edweek.org/ew/section/mul…

3/ The responses were fascinating. And all over the map. I’ll highlight a bunch.

4/ Diane Tavenner, the CEO of @SummitPS, is one of the faces of the movement. Here’s what she had to say #personalizedlearning SHOULD and SHOULD NOT be:

5/ @literacyonline of @datasocietyco also laid out an ambitious vision for what #personalizedlearning should be:

6/ @ISTEconnects CEO (and former head of @OfficeofEdTech) @rec54 was one of many proponents who said #personalizedlearning ≠ adaptive learning software + self pacing.

7/ Former @usedgov fellow and current district ELA coordinator @MrChase wants #personalizedlearning to “tap into learners’ natural curiosities.”

8/ And @PVDschools superintendent Christopher Maher, who is going all in on #personalizedlearning, wants to increase equity and engagement.

9/ Others were more skeptical. @DianeRavitch kept her criticisms of #personalizedlearning blunt and to the point.

10/ @MichaelPetrilli of @educationgadfly said #personalizedlearning should not become “an excuse for giving up on the notion that all students need to master a body of knowledge and skills.”

11/ @Funnymonkey of @cs_privacy is worried that too many #personalizedlearning systems create the “illusion of choice” & “compromise student control over their learning data.”

12/ And no one put out a more 🔥🔥🔥 anti-#personalizedlearning take than Karen Effrem of the conservative parents'-rights group @edlibertywatch:

13/ So where does that all leave us? For one, #personalizedlearning needs to be “proven effective by independent researchers,” said @DreamBox_Learn CEO @jessieww

14/ K-12 leaders and policymakers should also exercise appropriate caution about #personalizedlearning, said researcher @JohnFPane of @RANDCorporation:

15/ And ongoing scrutiny is essential, said @douglevin, who argued that #personalizedLearning should not “be granted special status as a school reform strategy.”

15/ fin

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