An Analysis of Approaches to Goal Setting in Middle Grades Personalized Learning Environments

Abstract

This study investigated the goal-setting approaches of 11 middle grades teachers during the first year of their implementation of a statewide, personalized learning initiative. As an increasing number of middle level schools explore personalized learning, there is an urgent need for empirical research in this area. Goal setting is a critical aspect of personalized learning and, thus, an important instructional area for researchers to investigate. This qualitative study found five dominant trends in teachers' approaches to goal setting. The researchers analyzed the key features of each approach and then analyzed them using three key elements of personalized learning. The authors offer implications for practitioners and researchers engaged in teaching and research related to personalized learning environments in the middle grades.

Meeting the Needs of All Cultureless Learners: Culture Discourse and Quality Assumptions in Personalized Learning Research

“…From this sample of about 60, we focused on studies explicitly mentioning “personalized learning” to ensure that PL was the central phenomenon under investigation. Given PL’s challenges with definitions and implementation (Basham et al, 2016; DeMink-Carthew et al, 2017), we excluded articles that used related words such as “personalizing” or “personalization” or related practices like “individualization” “competency-based learning” or “experiential learning” “goal setting.”…”

“…Personalized learning is an educational approach that is quickly being labeled “the new buzzword for teaching practices” (Netcoh, 2017, p. 383). The promise of this technology-supported innovation to shake up standardized ways of teaching diverse learners, along with powerful educational (e.g., U.S. Department of Education) and financial endorsements (e.g., Gates Foundation and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative), have spurred rapid adoptions of PL in schools (DeMink-Carthew et al, 2017). Proponents of PL position this method as a way to battle critical flaws of the education system that has enabled “the achievement and attainment gap,” which “disproportionately affect[s] children and youth of color and those living in poverty” (S.…”

“…Four studies make no and five studies make implicit references to this issue (see Table 1). Implicit references include the urgency of addressing the “achievement gap” or “improving the academic achievement” of “all” “gifted/accelerated students” (Basham et al, 2016; Bingham, 2016; Bingham et al, 2018; DeMink-Carthew et al, 2017), “underserved” or “at-risk” students (Bingham, 2017; DeMink-Carthew et al, 2017). We coded these references as implicit because, while inequities reflected in gifted and talented representation and academic achievement outcomes fall along racial lines (Office for Civil Rights, 2019; U.S.…”

Estrategias personalizadas para la enseñanza en educación básica: estudio de revisión.

“…Para tal fin debe de hacer uso de diferentes estrategias personalizadas e incluirlas en sus planes curriculares, para que éste avance asertivamente en las diferentes áreas y así logre sus metas trazadas (Hackmann et, 2019) La educación personalizada tiene una semejanza con el modelo Plan Dalton, que fue ideada por Helen Parkhurst, en 1920, cuya finalidad es centrar la enseñanza en la actividad personal del estudiante, y el uso de diversas estrategias personalizadas que promuevan que el alumno sea autónomo y responsable de sus aprendizajes; en la actualidad este tipo de enseñanza es aplicada en diferentes países latinoamericanos, de Oceanía, europeos y asiáticos. En este sentido para DeMink-Carthew et al (2017) 2015) afirma que, es una alternativa de mejora educativa y así promover aprendizajes significativos y de calidad, por lo que Maraza (2016) recomienda la aplicación del MIGAP (Modelo Inteligente de Gestión de Aprendizaje Personalizado) en otras áreas del conocimiento para mejorar la calidad de los servicios educativos. En este sentido las EP en la educación personalizada contribuyen a que el estudiante sea autónomo y gestione su propio aprendizaje para el logro de sus metas trazadas.…”

Hands-Joined Learning as a Framework for Personalizing Project-Based Learning in a Middle Grades Classroom: An Exploratory Study

“…However, such reforms also present considerable challenges for schools, teams, and teachers. Emerging scholarship on personalized learning at the middle level has shown, for example, that it can be difficult for teachers to strike the appropriate balance between providing adequate instructional scaffolding without stifling learner ownership (Demink-Carthew, Olofson, LeGeros, Netcoh, & Hennessey, 2017;Netcoh, 2017). Additionally, structures of implementation may create conflicts that can slow or deter adoption, resulting in schools instituting stand-alone personalized learning experiences such as "passion projects" or "genius hours" that are separate from content classrooms .…”