Personalizing 21st Century Education

What does it mean for students to be truly educated in a rapidly changing, technology-driven, and globally interconnected 21st century world? How can we ensure that every student receives a challenging, rigorous, engaging, and personalized learning experience throughout their elementary, middle, and high school years? This book explores the meaning of and a possible future direction for education in the 21st century-an education that transcends the archaic factory model of teaching and learning to which most students in public schools are still exposed.

Personalizing 21st Century Education begins with a manifesto for change, emphasizing the significance of true personalization for every learner. Next, it describes classroom, school, and system-level performance indicators that suggest that personalization is alive and well. The authors examine the historical origins of most modern school cultures-i.e., a commitment to standardization, depersonalization, and test-driven metrics that ignore the complexity and totality of the whole child. Throughout the book are success stories showcasing schools and districts that are currently 'beating the odds' and providing a truly personalized learning environment for their students. The authors outline key components of a personalized learning system, including:

• state-of-the-art curriculum
• balanced and authentic assessment
• integrated and student-focused technology
• rigorous and engaging instruction
• personalized approaches to learning
• addressing the needs of diverse student populations, including English Language Learners, special needs students, socio-economically disadvantaged, and transient/highly mobile learners
• effective and sustained social and psychological services
• active parent and community involvement
• creative and productive cross-institutional partnerships

For leaders, teachers, and other stakeholders, Personalizing 21st Century Education presents a vision for an individualized educational system that transcends current factory models and prepares students to be competitive in tomorrow's global economy.