image from icanread
I didn’t know I was doing personalized learning when I first changed the way I taught. It wasn’t until I wrote about it in a blog post and someone gave me the name and description that it clicked. It made sense really; I wanted students to have a voice, have choice, and to be re-ignited passionate learners within my classroom, all tenets of the personalized learning philosophy. For me it was a no brainer; why not teach in a such a way that students would want to be part of the learning? Why not teach in such a way that students became experts and have a place alongside the teacher? Yet, wherever I go resistance remains for personalized learning. In fact, some educators or districts are quite against it, but for many different reasons. I cannot be alone in seeing this resistance, so I thought a discussion of what those barriers may be and how you can approach a discussion to work around them would be in order.
Pernille Ripp is the creator of Global Read Aloud Project, co-founder of EdCamp MadWI and the author of Empowered Schools, Empowered Students – Creating Connected and Invested Learners and Passionate Learners – Giving Our Classrooms Back to OurStudents, She teaches seventh grade in Verona, Wisconsin, and blogs at http://pernillesripp.com. Follow her on Twitter @PernilleRipp.
