School of One Program Promises a Truly Individualized Math Curriculum
Posted by Carolyn Kaemmer on Tue, Jul 06, 2010 @ 02:06 PM
The Atlantic reported that this September, New York City public schools plan to launch the largest prototype yet of the innovative School of One program for 1200 6th and 7th graders at three schools. The program envisions classrooms where students alternately learn in a variety of contexts: traditional teacher-led instruction, small group collaborative activities, online software-based instruction, online live instruction, independent learning, and one-on-one tutoring. Students will have the opportunity to learn at their own pace and in the manner that best caters to their learning style.
In launching School of One, New York has not eliminated its grade level standards or the sequence of content. However, it is allowing students to grasp content in their own way, thus hopefully reaching even the most reluctant and struggling students. Every student has different needs, and for some, the traditional classroom approach will never be effective.
Technology facilitates the simultaneous nature of the different learning modalities. At the end of each day, students complete short progress assessments that the program uses to generate tentative individualized lesson plans. Since some students can work with online tutors, instructional software, or in small group settings while others participate in teacher-led instruction, educators have more flexibility to tailor instruction to different students as needed.
The author of The Atlantic article, Ta-Nehisi Coates, speculates that having access to a more fun and personalized learning environment would have made school an exciting rather than a dreaded experience for him and could have deterred him from ultimately dropping out of college. Can technology be the key to sparking both the interest and understanding of underachieving students?
Photo Credit: http://schools.nyc.gov/community/innovation/SchoolofOne/default.htm