Three states are now leading the way in personalized learning with the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
Tennessee, New Jersey, and New Mexico are making full use of the opportunities ESSA provides to personalize learning for their students. Accordinig to Doug Mesecar, an an adjunct scholar at the Lexington Institute, “The next round of states should study and build upon these types of strategies and initiatives that are possible under ESSA in their upcoming state plan submissions.”
ESSA has funding for encouraging personalized learning, not just pouring knowledge into the heads of groups of students, but stimulating interactive learning. Students begin to take responsibility for their own learning as they proceed at their own pace.
Tennessee has a comprehensive learning plan, stating “Through personalized learning opportunities, we will support districts in exploring new approaches to professional learning for teachers, considering student centered learning experiences, and leveraging technology and flexibility in how students learn and demonstrate mastery.”
New Jersey and New Mexico are using the funding to train teachers and principals in uses of technology which enables a personalized learning curriculum. Other states would do well to follow the lead of these early adopters.
Doug Mesecar’s full article about how ESSA is enabling innovation and personalized learning can be found here.
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