Mass Customized Learning

If you had asked me 6 months ago what I thought I was going to learn about in Technology for STEM Educators, I would have had little idea other than SMART boards and calculators. However, since last semester, I have found a few things that I am curious in learning about. Specifically, I am very interested in learning about mass customized learning.

            Mass customized learning is something I learned about from my brother, a student at the University of South Dakota. He is currently student-teaching in Beresford, SD, where they have begun using it, specifically in their math program. He is in school to be an elementary teacher, so he is currently in a 5^th grade classroom while experiencing it. From what he has told me, customized learning, which many people seem to have strong opinions opposing, has been an extremely positive experience for the kids in his class.

            In the way that Beresford has used it, as far as I understand, the students use iPads to access their specified work. The students go into the lesson, which has a short video lecture prepared by the teacher, and then it helps them work through examples before giving them an assignment to do. At the end of the lesson, they are given a 1, 2, or 3, based on their performance on the lesson. If they achieve a 2 or higher, they are allowed to go onto the next lesson. At the end of the chapter, if a student received a 2 but not a 3, they are given more problems from that section in order to prove their mastery of the content before they are given an assignment covering the entire chapter. At that point, if they have become proficient in all sections, they are allowed to move onto the next chapter. From what my brother has told me, this allows for he and the other teacher to go around the room and help the students that need further instruction in each section while allowing for the students who understand the content to move ahead and further their learning.

            Many people who are against mass customized learning say that it makes the kids who are not advancing at as fast of a pace as their friends feel like they can’t do it and causes them to give up without ever giving school a real chance. If quick learning students were given projects to do after finishing a chapter instead of being allowed to move on to the next chapter would this help the slower children feel more encouraged? But at the same time, would this encourage students to work more slowly so as not to have to do more work? I think only time and research would be able to tell on that.

            To me, mass customized learning is something that is very interesting because of the conflicting opinions on it on the internet that I have seen and also because I am curious to see how it could be potentially applied at the high levels or if it is limited to the younger students. If it can be applied to all students, is it harming the more slowly working students because they feel as though they are being left behind? With Beresford only applying it in their math classes, could it be applied to other subjects with the same effectiveness? With lots of questions and not a whole lot of answers, I am hoping to find some. Because of all of this, it is something that I look forward to learning more about during the semester and maybe applying to my future teaching.