Personalization and Online Learning
Contact
Diana Sharp
dsharp@rmcres.com
813-915-0010
Description
The South Carolina Department of Education has developed a new personalized learning framework. Districts across South Carolina are using this framework as they explore, plan, and implement high quality systems for personalized learning. The REL Southeast is providing support to South Carolina's statewide public virtual school, VirtualSC, as they work to:
- Define their role in the new personalized learning initiative.
- Design and evaluate new elements of personalized learning in their program.
The REL Southeast convened a strategy session with 10 VirtualSC leaders to begin outlining VirtualSC's vision for its personalized learning work and formulating a research-based approach to implementing and evaluating changes to VirtualSC courses. The REL Southeast and the Southeast Comprehensive then hosted a collaborative workshop to review research on personalized learning and gather additional ideas from VirtualSC lead teachers and instructional designers.
The primary participants in this project have formed small group task forces that are working to further develop the vision and outcomes of VirtualSC's implementation of personalized learning. The REL Southeast is providing ongoing support, with additional strategy sessions scheduled for September and November 2018. These sessions will include discussions on how to obtain data that will let VirtualSC know if the changes they make will lead to successful outcomes. A blog post about this work has been published by the Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute.
Testimonial
"The REL Southeast has provided key support in our work to move forward with personalized learning. With all the day-to-day demands of serving our virtual students, we rely on the REL to help us take a step back, reflect on our goals, document our ideas, and move forward with plans that are consistent with research on effective learning and include strategies for knowing what works. We appreciate the REL's collaborative approach and their support as a knowledgeable thought partner."
Bradley Mitchell, VirtualSC Director