Personalized Learning

Personalized learning is a mindset and approach to teaching that focuses on meeting each learner where they are and tailoring a curriculum that considers their interests, prior knowledge and skill level, and pace. Such a demand on the teacher requires sophisticated usage of technology in a combination of personalized, blended and online learning.

Personalized Learning

Funding Our Students Increases Efficiency

Tom Vander Ark

After two days of jury duty and experiencing the justice system, it is evident that the justice system and the education system are similar in the fact that they are optimized around bureaucrats rather than customers. Funding needs to follow the students, not school districts to make our education system more efficient.

Personalized Learning

Rhee-form or Reinvention?

Tom Vander Ark

The Rhee-form agenda is important—better evaluation, more charters, less bureaucracy—but it focuses on cleaning up a system that can’t do what we need it to do. We need schools that work better for students and teachers—schools that engage students and extend and accelerate learning.

Personalized Learning

Discipline v Creativity

Tom Vander Ark

Nic Kristof chalks up Asian academic success to Confucian reverence for education. Will it be easier for Chinese to add creativity or Americans to become more disciplined about education?

Personalized Learning

A Big Idea: Blended CBO

Tom Vander Ark

Combining two big ideas--online learning and community-based organizations--yields one big idea: blended CBOs

Personalized Learning

Urban School Leadership

Tom Vander Ark

John Deasy was appointed LA superintendent. He'll need the support of the board, the community, and external partners to reshape the struggling district.
Personalized Learning

On Merit Badges

Tom Vander Ark

The Common Core creates a great opportunity to rethink school. By defining competency clusters and related groups of assessments, ‘merit badges’ could replace courses, credits and seat time matriculation.