Personalized Learning: Budget cuts spur new teaching model
Never in our state’s history have public schools been in such a dire financial crisis. They can’t afford to buy new textbooks and are having to combine classes due to the teacher shortage. Music and art are becoming a thing of the past because they cost too much. Now, put yourself in a student’s position. How much personal instruction can that student receive when a class has 40-plus students crammed in a classroom? How can that student take Mandarin Chinese or AP physics when the school can’t financially support anything other than the basics?
Enter personalized learning (PL). To address the needs of an increasingly diverse student population, many Oklahoma public school districts are adopting this learning model. PL has gained traction nationwide not only for its ability to expand course options and engage students with a flexible learning schedule but also for the impressive student outcomes it produces. Gone is the “sage on the stage” lecture routine. Instead, PL provides students with a mix of digital and in-person instruction, which empowers teachers to serve as mentors and facilitators. Students are in the driver’s seat, where they have more responsibility and accountability for their own learning.
Momentum Schools embody PL in Oklahoma
Staff with the Oklahoma Public School Resource Center (OPSRC) began working with school districts across the state in late 2015 to implement Oklahoma’s version of personalized learning: Momentum Schools. Momentum gives students the choice of how, when and where they attend school. For example, a school designates certain hours each day when the building is open. As long as students get their state-mandated 6.5 hours of seat time in each day, they can choose when to be physically present.
Further, instead of traditional group class time, students schedule meetings with individual teachers to assess schoolwork. Students work at their own pace to ensure they master the content. As a result, parents, teachers and, most importantly, students are excited about and engaged in their education, and their progress proves it.
Case in point: Chickasha Public Schools (CPS) implemented their high school’s PL Personalized Learning: Budget cuts spur new teaching model - NonDoc:
