Learning
A story from a best school in Gurgaon; Rohit may want to become an engineer. Shruti may be showing interest in astronomy. Vishal may be struggling in mathematics while Nisha may harbour the desire to work in the United Nations one day. Can all these students sit in the same classroom and learn the same lesson at the same pace? Can they really thrive and achieve their dreams in a system that follows one curriculum for all? Logic will naturally negate these questions but the one-curriculum method is what reigned in the classrooms to date. Students with their own unique learning needs had to sit together and follow a single structure that may or may not be meant for them. But today, that trend is gradually changing. Modern Best Schools in Gurgaon are adopting the style of personalised learning that is making the one-curriculum-for-all system obsolete.
What is personalised learning?
In personalised learning, the schools recognise the unique and “personal” needs of students like Rohit, Shruti, Vishal, and Nisha. Then, their “learning plan and curriculum” is decided accordingly where both their education and interest receive equal attention. Technically, personalised learning evaluates what the student already knows, where is he/she struggling, what are his/her specific skills and strengths, and where does his/her interests lie. Based on these data, each student receives a specific learning plan that runs alongside the regular curriculum followed by the best school in Gurgaon.
In no way does personalised learning looks to do away with the conventional curriculum that schools have been following for generations. It only looks to modify the system to accommodate the students’ interests and strengths as well. All four students mentioned here will need to pass their board exams and get a college degree to move forward in life. But they are entitled to pursue their subjects of interest in school and work on their weaknesses without the responsibility lying solely on them to improve. In short, with personalised learning, students get to address their short-term goals (board exams and college degrees) without losing focus on the long-term ones (to become an engineer or work at the United Nations).
Another aspect of personalised learning is that it takes learning disabilities into account. For instance, Vishal’s struggle with mathematics may not be due to disinterest and can very well exist owing to conditions like APD, ADHD or dyscalculia. These are neurological based learning disabilities that many students suffer from and can go unnoticed in the one-curriculum system. Personalised learning will immediately pick the issue up. The student’s difficulty will come to the forefront and the teachers will give Vishal the required attention. It is for this reason that the Best Schools in Gurugram starts applying personalised learning early as the method encompasses all those attributes that other learning techniques often tend to ignore.
How modern schools apply personalised learning?
There is no specific known method to apply personalised learning. Each school can have its own ways of applying the tactic and it will work as long as the core principles are addressed. Typically, good schools follow one or more of the following strategies to apply personalised learning into their curriculum and give students their deserved freedom to learn their subjects.
- Student’s progression happens based on their competencies
Rohit and Shruti will know early that mathematics is important in following their dreams. Thus, these two students may receive extra attention from their teachers to help with their interest and stay ahead of the average pace of the class. Vishal, on the other hand, may require remedial classes. His math lessons will go slow depending on his competency. Progress happens at a pace that the students feel comfortable with.
- Creating and maintaining learner profiles
The best school in Gurgaon implementing personalised learning will keep logs that will track students’ existing knowledge and skills and accordingly decide the curriculum of the future. If a certain class is performing by nature, the complexity of the lessons here will be more than the class that generally learns slowly. Learner profiles help teachers to design their lessons better and meet the students’ needs.
- Learning involves a variety
Mathematics lessons will happen both in classrooms and laboratories. Students will also have the opportunity to learn science during excursions or engage in futuristic lessons like robotics and 3D printing right in the school’s campus. Personalised learning is about providing flexibility and diversity in learning where the entire class can engage in learning activities that actually benefit them.
As evident, personalised learning is a process and it must start early. And thus, the best 10 Best School in Gurgaon applies the technique from the word go. Alpine Convent School puts its students in such a personal curriculum and is one of those few modern schools that has a working model. Through constant feedback and a flexible learning environment, Alpine personalises as per the students’ needs and allows them to own their education. In this curriculum, students can really thrive without merely passing their good grades.
