"Personalization" can mean students' choices among various special programs, forcing most teachers to carry loads of 100+ students. Or "personalization" can start with loads of 50 students in a high school that accommodates individual needs within a simple, common program. The latter arrangement provides more learning opportunities and…

Although students may learn in many ways, the essential skills and content they learn can remain steady. As demonstrated by three teaching approaches to the study of ancient Rome, students can take different roads to the same destination. Successful differentiation is rooted in student engagement and student understanding. (MLH)

Kohn believes the "tougher standards" movement is incompatible with personalized learning, excellence, and marginalized kids' interests. Horizontal standards that shift how teaching and learning happen in classrooms are terrific, but vertical standards using traditional pedagogy are macho and mindless. Kids need freedom to design their own…

With typical funding, Rhode Island's Met School takes the personalized-instruction philosophy to new heights. Using mentors, parents, customized learning plans, journal writing, computer projects, and real-world settings, this school allows high-school students to develop their passions and interests instead of competing for grades. (MLH)

Although an Illinois district had worked successfully with the Thoughtful Education model for instructional and curriculum reform, its tests still focused students' attention on grades. Using personalized learning principles stressing choice, understanding, motivation, engagement, critical thinking, and reflection, faculty created tests compatible…

Peak Learning System's relationship-centered teaching framework focuses on fulfilling students' fundamental emotional needs to ensure learning willingness. Students are motivated when they believe that teachers treat them like people and care about them personally and educationally. The learning ambience must be safe, of value, successful,…

Chicago educators are countering anonymity with smaller schools that have been restructured and "recultured" into small learning communities stressing personalized instruction, high student visibility, and teacher collaboration. Since the mid-1990s, 130 small-design elementary and secondary schools serving 42,000 students have been established.…

A Tennessee elementary school's adoption of a looping program, allowing teachers to stay with their classes for two years, resulted in improved student confidence and teacher/parent relationships. Looping places less pressure on young students to learn all curriculum objectives in one year. Lessons and benefits are summarized. (MLH)

The citizens of Norfolk, Virginia, challenged educators to preserve a large, comprehensive high school while implementing a small-school concept. Staff responded by establishing four academies within the larger school that conveyed the feeling of smallness. Administration is decentralized, and special classes and computer labs are held outside the…

SAGE is a five-year class-size-reduction program being implemented in 80 Wisconsin schools. A longitudinal, evaluative study is being conducted in 30 SAGE schools. Small classes have three effects leading to increased individualization: fewer discipline problems, greater knowledge of students, and more teacher enthusiasm (using directive methods).…

Bangladesh, a poor, densely populated country the size of Wisconsin, typically has elementary classes of 50 students learning by call-and-response techniques. Since 1996, 13,000 teachers from 2,900 primary schools have been trained in multiple ways of teaching and learning. Teachers are determined to personalize learning. (MLH)

Homeschooled students from families representing all ethnicities, socioeconomic backgrounds, and education levels are increasingly entering public schools part-time. This article explains how school administrators, teachers, parents, and homeschoolers can become partners. Tips are provided on classroom deportment, parental aspirations, and…

Learning to balance "outersense" and "innersense" is a complex task for adolescents and the focus of one secondary school's social and emotional learning program. Understanding innersense helps students gain outlets for priority interests, master conflict resolution, build personal direction for college and vocational interests, and empathize with…

Although eliminating school violence is no easy task, understanding the biological basis of aggressive adolescent behavior and discussing it with colleagues is essential. Societal influences can trigger a predisposition for aggressive response in alienated, testosterone-elevated teens. Early-intervention programs that stress social and coping…

Promoting socioemotional literacy and learning to detect social problems early are among the most powerful tools educators can use to prevent youth violence. Educators can head off signs of trouble by developing their reflective capacities and by establishing caring, responsive, and supportive relationships with their students. Contains 13…