ASSIGNMENT
A large suburban school district that is generally performing well on most measures (e.g., high graduation rates, low drop-out rates, above-average test scores, etc.) has decided to implement a radically new approach to instruction called personalized learning. In personalized learning, a dynamic profile of each student is kept that keeps track of previous performance on instructional units associated with mandated state standards along with student characteristics (e.g., shy personality) and learning styles (e.g., prefers visually oriented materials and demonstrated with auditory explanations rather than text). The system creates and manages an individual learning plan for each student. Students are scheduled into clusters for each of their courses every three or four weeks with a group that is working on the same mandated standards. Students proceed at their own pace and do not move to a new cluster until they have successfully mastered all the instructional units in the assigned cluster for that course. The system has access to a huge repository of learning objects and activities that can be assigned to particular students based on the individual’s profile. The role of teachers is to help individual students as they encounter problems. You are the Associate Superintendent for Curriculum and 132 Practical Perspectives Instruction for the district.
Your task is to develop a diffusion of innovation plan for this effort throughout all the district’s elementary, middle, and high schools.
TASK
1. Identify and describe the key factors that you would consider in framing your response to the problem situation stated above.
2. Identify and describe the key factors that are likely to be obstacles in implementing the effort.
3. Indicate and describe the relationships among all of the key factors that have been identified.
4. Indicate what kinds of additional support should be considered in order to make the best case for your solution approach.
5. Create an annotated concept map that reflects the things indicated in response to the previous four tasks.
