Leadership 'key' to personalized learning success | K-12 - EdScoop News

The Friday Institute's Nancy Mangum told a conference audience that personalized learning needs unified institutional support to thrive.

Photo: Brad Flickinger / Flickr

Personalized learning is flourishing in K-12 schools, but needs support from top leadership to succeed, state education leaders told an audience at a national conference this week.

Educators attending the State Education Technology Directors Association conference in Washington D.C. praised personalized learning for its benefits to students while recognizing the importance of administrative support for the model’s durability and scalability. 

Often supported by digital tools and resources, personalized learning approaches have grown more popular in recent years in part due to advances in technology platforms and digital content. However, according to a 2018 study by the Center on Reinventing Public Education, at the district level, personalized learning often lacks consistent engagement by school leaders and needs to be established as a district priority to succeed.

“The leader is key in helping innovation come to fruition,” Nancy Mangum, associate director of Professional Learning and Leading Collaborative at the The Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, told SETDA conference attendees on Tuesday.

Mangum said schools should develop a unifying vision around personalized learning with common commitments and approaches. “It can’t be ‘I want to do this,’ it has to be, ‘we,’” she said.

This position is supported by a 2018 study by the Center on Reinventing Public Education that found a successful transition to personalized learning requires buy-in and a common action plan at all levels...

Students have different and diverse learning styles, Mangum said. “That’s why we need personalized learning,” she said. “By designing for the average, we are designing for none.”
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Source: EdScoop News