Getting Personal about Personalized Learning in Reading

Tim Shanahan

Teacher question:

I would love to know what you think about the movement in personalized learning in K-8 schools. A few schools in my district have been moving to this approach for math instruction and I'd be interested in hearing your ideas of how this would look in reading and writing instruction. Thanks!

Shanahan responds:

Your question reminds me of the first time I tried to cook chicken.

I was in a hurry so I figured if I turned up the heat, I could cook it faster… and that works – but only on the outside of the chicken. The inside, I discovered, was almost as red as when I started. Raw chicken is neither tasty nor healthy and I ended up having to throw the whole unappetizing mess away.

Trying to eat chicken before it is ready is a bad idea.

I feel the same way about instructional approaches. “Personalized learning” for teaching reading is an idea whose time has not yet come. No matter how tantalizing the exterior, the insides are still too raw.

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