My experience of teaching has always been about teachers teaching from the front, while students sit quietly and listen, the practice of setting the same task for all the students in a group, and in most cases tasks from textbooks and worksheets, with little or no consideration for the individual needs of the students. Therefore, I have decided to look at the impact that Personalised Learning would have on students’ achievement.
In order to achieve my aim, I plan to use a Year 10 group as a case study. I will be carrying out an investigation into their different needs and learning styles. I intend to do this by giving each of them a questionnaire to complete. After which I will plan a lesson on Solving Linear Equation using a wide range of resources; textbooks, worksheets, practical activities, to include concrete resource/manipulative, online Maths games and so on, to suit their individual learning needs. Each student will be allowed to decide which activity they prefer to complete.
There will be clear assessment criteria for the students to understand the overall aims of the learning and how success in learning may be judged. This also is intended to form part of the dialogue with the learners. I intend to use pupil self assessment and peer assessment (Useful resources: Black Box series by Black and Wiliam; a personal learning log may be of use as well). I will also be considering what will be done if some students feel they haven’t understood/learnt. I have attached some literature which may be of use.
At the end, I will be evaluating the lesson to see what went well and what needs to improve. I will also be checking to see if students have made considerable progress in their learning and if they enjoy the lesson better than the previous ones.
The theories of learning and assessment which underpin my research will also be considered.