Because every child is unique.    

​Every child deserves to learn in a way that complements their strengths, challenges their weaknesses and enhances creativity and self-awareness.

Mr. Todd Rose, a faculty member of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, tells us what happens when we don't personalize; when we design - our educational processes - to fit the average.  

Because students say personalized learning is the best thing that ever happened to them.  

Personalized learning encompasses many strategies, but common to each of them is the role that learners play in directing their own learning.  

Listen to what Sun West students have to say after experiencing personalized learning in their classrooms.  

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Because educators around the globe are making a shift and the impact has been remarkable.  

Improving high school and post-secondary education is one of four core focus areas of the The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which has spent millions of dollars to support and study innovative teaching and learning practises. 
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One quote from their 2015 report “Continued Progress: Promising Evidence on Personalized Learning” reads…​

 Importantly, average performance of students in the study’s schools were below the national averages for their starting grade, and above the national averages for their ending grade two years later. Moreover, the gains made by the personalized learning schools were relatively large compared to gains measured in studies of other educational interventions....Achievement analyses find that there were positive effects on student mathematics and reading performance and that the lowest-performing students made substantial gains relative to their peers."

Another organization, Education Elements, recently conducted a study of teachers who had embraced the tenets of personalized learning and the results were staggering: ​

Because Sun West teachers who have embraced personalized learning say they'll never go back. 

We need not look outside of our own Division to find enthusiastic proponents and active practitioners of personalized learning.  

While some of our team are just starting down this path, others have been bringing PeBL-esque strategies into their classrooms for years.  As the philosophy gains momentum in international circles, our teachers learn from those who have tried it before them, scoop up the very best practises and implement change that makes sense for our learners.  

Because employers everywhere are telling us the ideal employee has strong 21st century skills.    

​​So what are 21st century skills?   And what does personalized learning have to do with it? 

While you can find endless variations of this list, there is much commonality amongst all of them; they refer to the set of skills and knowledge that allow people to flourish and grow in work places regardless of industry, role, age, or degree of subject matter expertise.  They are the interpersonal and technology skills that allow people to successfully navigate the fast-paced, interconnected, and information-loaded world we live in.  

1. Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship
2. Critical Thinking
3. Collaboration
4. Communication
5. Character
6. Cultural and Ethical Citizenship
7. Computer and Digital Technologies

In having the flexibility of choice and the responsibility of decision making,  students in a personalized learning environment are frequently exposed to opportunities to build these critical skills.  Working as a team, students routinely collaborate with their peers using a variety of communication tools and strategies to complete the task efficiently.   Their teammates are often of different backgrounds, skill sets and perspectives; in time, effective teams learn to not only understand and accept these differences but to capitalize on them for the best outcome for all.  Digital and technology skills are refined as students research new ideas, communicate electronically and find exciting ways to demonstrate what they have learned.  And ultimately, strength of character inherently grows alongside their blossoming knowledge base.  

So how does PeBL do it?

And if you still have questions... 

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