Is 'Personalised Learning' just waffle? ... the Emperors New Clothes?
The term 'personalised learning' has just taken a colossal bashing. David Milliband extolled its virtues and Christine Gilbert promoted it as key to education policy in the 2020 vision. Education is awash with acronyms and 'buzz words' that aim to generate an ethos or credo. Education is much like religion, with adherents forming groups that reflect differing perspectives at different times.
Last weeks (Weds 19th November) meeting of the Children, Schools and Families Committee opened the crack a little wider.
The Chair said the phrase (personalised learning) left him in a 'fog' of confusion.
Professor David Hargreaves is an expert on 'personalised learning', and has done more than most to promote it, yet he concluded to the committee that:
"... the trust (SSAT) had struggled for years to find a definition for personalised
learning. “I have concluded it is a total waste of time trying to find
a tight definition. It does not work,”
"The current thing from the department quotes the definition given by
the Gilbert report, of which I was a member,” he said. “In my view,
that is well-intentioned waffle. It means nothing. Many schools will
say that’s what they do (anyway).”
Mick Waters, QCA’s director of curriculum is quoted “I use the term as little as possible.”
For the record, the official definition is: Taking a highly structured and responsive approach to each child’s and
young person’s learning, in order that all are able to progress,
achieve and participate. It means strengthening the link between
learning and teaching by engaging pupils - and their parents - as
partners in learning.”
I have some questions: