Make Learning Personal
The What, Who, WOW, Where, and Why
- Barbara Bray - Personalize Learning, LLC
- Kathleen McClaskey - Personalize Learning, LLC
Corwin Teaching Essentials
Many books claim to be about learning - few live up to the claim: this is one of the few. It addresses the key focus for changing classrooms: the culture and language. With many important and useful clarifications and distinctions, it helps the move from today’s dominant depersonalized classrooms toward greater learner motivation, engagement and achievement. It is packed with a rich range of examples from the US and elsewhere, and a great model of the journey of change, including teachers’ stories.
"Deep learning only occurs when it has meaning for the learner and this book is a solid example of how this works. Bray and McClaskey provide a tour through learning opportunities that is spiced with personal learning stories told by both students and teachers. These narratives provide a sense of reality for pre-service teachers to envision and in-service teachers to acknowledge.
Notably, the authors acknowledge that change is transitional and they provide a process educators can use to evolve an “ecology of learning” into a personalized learning environment. They introduce the Wow factor as the place in the transition where teacher and learner roles change. The resources in this book support reaching this significant point in personalizing learning.
This book provides a useful framework for positive change in education."
"I became a classroom teacher in the 1980's motivated to create educational experiences that engage all learners, replacing my own one-size-fits-all schooling. This pursuit has been my compass through out my educational career. I’m fortunate that it guided me to knowing Barbara and Kathleen years ago, before they even knew each other. From the start, they collaborated with educators to make sense of the ever-changing world of learning innovations. For example, Barbara has been a leader in coaching teachers in authentic project based learning, and Kathleen has led in using universal design to ensure access to learning for all students.
They now combine their long years of experience in this comprehensive publication, Making Learning Personal, written from both their hearts and minds. They provide a thought-provoking way to reframe the conversation of personalized learning from the learner’s point of view. At the same time they detail their unique '5 W’s' scaffold for implementing personalized learning, including tools, case studies and reflective questions to ponder.
I invite you to explore the personalized learning landscape in this book, so that we can inform ourselves and empower the learners we serve to take ownership of their own authentic learning."
"The authors gather and interpret the many forms in which educators worldwide seek to 'personalize' the learner's experience. Over years of use, that term has taken on many meanings, and this valuable guide helps users clarify their own."
"If you have done any investigation into personalized learning, then you have certainly come across the names of Barbara Bray and Kathleen McClaskey. These women have provided a number of resources for teachers, administrators, and districts to help understand how to better personalize learning in the classroom. After reading their first book, Make Learning Personal, you have been motivated to make changes in classroom practice. This fieldbook provides practical strategies and resources to help you rethink teaching and learning so you can provide a personalized experience for every child."
