Personalized Learning
ChatGPT revealed three major themes in relation to personalized learning:
- Personalization and Relevance;
- Learning Opportunities and Skills Development; and
- Freedom and Independence.
Personalization and Relevance. Many students identified that they were happy to be able to engage in and explore their own interests. They shared that they liked the process “because it helped me learn more about my main interests which are sports and medicine combined.” They also commented, “I liked how it was individual and totally about what we liked and were interested in.” Students shared the connection to learning, “I liked that we researched about what we want to learn about and there were some pointers that helped us research a specific topic that we are interested in and learn from that research.” They shared the relevance of their research, “I can explore my interests and work on things that have significance to me.” Others shared their enjoyment of practical experiences, such as visiting NGOs and having interactions outside the traditional classroom setting.
On the other hand, some students expressed some concerns about the process, “Even though my interests were supposed to be the focus of my journey 90% of the time, it didn’t feel like it because it felt like every session, we had to reflect on the connections between our base and scramblers.” Some questioned the relevance of the educator check-ins: “I focused more on saying the right things and checking off a checklist when reflecting or conversing with some of my teachers.”
Learning Opportunities and Skills Development. Students shared that they experienced some unexpected discoveries during their personalized research, such as historical information about a location, surprising statistics, or specific insights into AI and art. There were also surprises related to nature and the environment, such as the impact of plastic pollution on ocean life or the cultural significance of nature in different countries. Surprises related to sports and fitness, such as the impact of being fit on reducing health problems, the pattern used for a football or insights into plyometrics and biomechanics. There were many personalized opportunities for learning and the students shared a wide variety of surprises related to culture; food, art and mental health. A student shared that they were, “Surprised that I got to conduct interviews and learn about people's different experiences.”
When thinking about the development of skills and techniques related to using technology, communication and networking, they shared that the experience, “Taught me methods of making a powerful speech such as emotion, novel and memorable.” Others shared that they learned new skills, such as coding, operating a sewing machine to upcycle clothes and exploring musical instruments. Another example was, “Surprised to know that I can plant seeds in boxes.” A different student shared that they were, “Surprised by the different types of injuries I found that I did not know about before I started my project.” They also shared that they learned from the process, “I gained so much knowledge and information from my learning experience.”
Freedom and Independence. Students expressed an appreciation for the freedom to choose and work on projects that they are passionate about, as well as the autonomy to control and plan their work according to their interests, “I liked how we had lots of freedom, to explore different ways of learning” and “Getting to choose my own learning and going at my pace.” Another student shared, “I’m really enjoying the freedom I have and the way I am able to accomplish what I have planned for.” The students expressed an appreciation for the independence of teaching themselves and “having the learning in my own hands.” Some of them explicitly stated that “I enjoyed learning through a DiG because I got to be independent.”
On the other hand, some students shared that they “Didn’t like how we were required to use this method when PLEx is supposed to be a personalized learning experience, and we should be choosing our own approach to our projects.” They felt that “it was focused on the DiG a lot rather than our own project” and “instead of working on our projects individually, the DiG has caused us to focus a lot about scramblers, the base, and how it connects to our plex project.” Others shared that they felt stuck and unable to progress beyond the research phase about their own interests. Some expressed that they felt unsure about the next steps in the project. Others shared that they did not feel like they had a lot of independence, “Didn’t feel very personal, carefully supervised and organized by other teachers” and “[The DiG] may have helped some students, but considering that this is a personalized experience, I think it should be helpful to all students.”
There were mixed feelings about the level of freedom, independence and autonomy, particularly over time management, “There was so much free/empty time. Many students including me didn’t know what to do at that time.” A recurring theme was the appreciation of freedom and trust in the learning process, with some students expressing the feeling of being forced into specific actions or schedules. Some students offered feedback about a lack of structure and repetitive days, which led to boredom and a feeling of overwhelm, “I think teaching the basics of self-management and especially how to start would make a big difference for me.” Some students expressed the need for more independent time dedicated to working on individual PLEx projects, with some students feeling concerned about the time-consuming nature of the DiG with its exploration of scramblers and the base.