Personalized Learning is Failing- Here's Why
Jessica Maddry, M.EdLT
Enhancing School AI Integration | Actionable Policy Frameworks for K-12 | Education Consultant | Ethical Emerging Technologist | 20+ Years of Experience
"AI brings educational technology to an inflection point. We can either increase disparities or shrink them, depending on what we do now." – Dr. Russell Shilling
Why Teachers Matter More Than Ever
Personalized learning promises a tailored educational experience for every student, but the reality often falls short. Overreliance on algorithms risks reducing students to data points, while sidelining the expertise of teachers. The truth is, personalized learning is only as effective as the educators guiding it. Here’s why this approach often fails- and how teachers are the key to getting it right.
The Dehumanization of Education
Personalized learning systems often prioritize efficiency over individuality. Students are presented with pre-programmed content, leaving little room for creativity or social-emotional growth.
For example, a student reading above grade level might be assigned a story with complex vocabulary but mature themes, like violence or adult relationships, that are not age-appropriate. Without a teacher to curate materials and provide context, the platform’s algorithm overlooks critical developmental considerations, leaving the student unsupported or even confused.
As one student aptly noted, “It’s like the system doesn’t trust us—or our teachers—to know what we need. They just want us to click through screens and call it learning.” This mechanized approach can result in disengagement and a loss of critical skills like collaboration and communication.
Overreliance on Technology
AI-powered tools like adaptive learning platforms offer valuable insights, but they cannot replace human intuition. Experienced teachers can interpret subtle cues, like a student’s body language or the way they phrase a question, to identify gaps in understanding or potential struggles.
For example:
Loss of Agency
By outsourcing decision-making to algorithms, personalized learning risks disempowering both students and teachers. True learning requires active engagement, self-direction, and critical thinking- skills that aren’t fostered by clicking through automated lessons.
Teachers, however, can frame content in ways that encourage agency.
A Narrow View of Learning
Personalized learning often focuses on measurable academic outcomes, sidelining creativity, problem-solving, and social-emotional development. For instance, students engaged solely with individualized computer modules might struggle to collaborate effectively in team settings or tackle complex, open-ended problems.
Additionally, platforms may misinterpret data and unintentionally hinder learning. For example, a math student who struggles with word problems may be assigned endless repetition of the same types of problems instead of receiving tailored support to improve reading comprehension in a mathematical context.
领英推荐
Teachers can enrich these systems by:
Equity Concerns
Personalized learning has the potential to exacerbate existing inequalities. Students without reliable access to technology may fall behind, and AI algorithms trained on biased data can reinforce stereotypes.
Teachers play a crucial role in addressing these gaps.
The Limits of AI
AI tools lack the common sense and adaptability of human educators. Algorithms might miss key contextual details, such as why a student consistently struggles with a certain type of question. Teachers, with their nuanced understanding, can identify the root cause- be it a gap in foundational knowledge, anxiety, or a simple misunderstanding.
For instance, a teacher might notice that a platform continually assigns reading material above a struggling student's grade level due to an early spike in performance data. Rather than forcing the student through increasingly challenging texts, the teacher can recalibrate the content and provide targeted support to rebuild confidence and skills.
Humans in the Loop
Technology should support teachers, not replace them. By combining the insights of AI with the expertise of educators, we can create a system that truly benefits students. This human-centered approach ensures:
As Dr. Shilling reminds us, the choices we make now will shape the future of education. Teachers are indispensable in ensuring that personalized learning doesn’t just adapt to students- but empowers them.
A Call to Action
Personalized learning isn’t inherently “BS,” but its current implementations often miss the mark. By centering teachers in this equation, we can leverage the best of AI while preserving the humanity of education.
Founder & CEO Study Hall.AI | AI-powered reading, writing and assessment, K-12, Google for Start-Ups AI Accelerator, EdSafe AI Alliance
2 个月Totally agree with the kids cringe. I lived through two decades of my kids complaining about the platforms their schools used, and spotting endless content mistakes and generally low quality content. No one tests this stuff on kids. No one actually looks under the hood. And companies don’t care enough about fixing things: they just want to sell sell sell. There is no design humility. Personalised learning doesn’t work today because it’s devoid of context, high quality content and an engaging UX/UI. Wall of text AI won’t solve for it. Only joyful tools with academic AI. A nontrivial challenge. Trust me been iterating on it for a year.
Director of Learning and Teaching at DSB Mumbai
2 个月I think there’s two things going on here. First of all teachers set online work because it’s easy. I’m not necessarily against it, but where the pedagogy in setting work online, where it is marked online, you are helped by an online tutor, the marks are generated and then more work is generated to fill in the areas of weakness - online. The second interlinked issue is the meaning of personalised. Students want us as the educators because we like them and know them. They want us to set them tasks because we know that they will like it and will help them learn. Using online platforms is the opposite of personalised learning. It is depersonalised learning. Tech is just a tool. The pedagogy and personalised learning happens when we as educators use tech to deepen the learning, not replace the learning.
Chartered Occupational Psychologist | EDIB Specialist | Leadership Development & Assessment Consultant | IFS-informed Systemic Team Coach I Executive Coach
2 个月Coming from a slightly different point, the amount of time my son spends online doing homework is the issue - not necessarily because of the tailored content - that I can support - but because he is more likely to get distracted by the non-school work options available on his laptop to entice him away from the school platforms (of which there are 4). Which means I am more likely to be hanging over him to check that he’s on task and not distracted, which undermines trust. I asked school about their joined-up policy on hours spent online doing homework and it was clear there was no inter-subject discussion. Each teacher told me why online systems were superior to ‘paper and pencil’ work because it matched the level of the student automatically but they all looked non-plussed when I shared how much time in total he was spending on a screen to complete the different subject’s homework (and that’s not including the extra time spent being distracted by that handy game that just lurks behind the reading app!!).
Founder/CEO Educated AI ~ School Principal (Retired) ~ LearningGarden.ai
2 个月Honestly, edtech and personalized learning is such an oxymoron. (No reflection on the author). ??
I help organizations bridge the leadership gap before it appears, creating a steady pipeline of prepared leaders I Leadership Trainer & Facilitator
2 个月I actually started my career in the high school classroom where I taught math for ten years. I left in 2007. Recently, I've been subbing from time to time and I am blown away by how much of their work is done exclusively on computers. Especially in the math classroom, this is a struggle for so many students. The act of physically writing out a problem and solving it is such a critical part of the learning process. I just want to give these kids a pencil and some paper!!