蜜桃影视

A of Chicago public schools found that teachers, rather than technology, are the most important factor in creating sustainable personalized learning models 鈥斅爀specially when they rely on teacher leaders who have more authority in their classrooms.

鈥淭hat reaffirms that personalized learning is not about technology 鈥� it鈥檚 about changing teacher and school practices in support of better outcomes,鈥� said Tim Carnahan, director of programs at , a national personalized learning organization based in Chicago that released the report.

Principals called teachers the most important asset in implementing personalized learning, the report authors found. 鈥淭eachers remain the most critical resource in personalized learning models,鈥� Carnahan said.

The analysis 鈥� conducted by the education consulting firm Afton Partners 鈥� looked at six district and charter schools in Chicago鈥檚 Breakthrough Schools Initiative and found that although upfront costs were 7 percent of per-pupil funding, after five years they were 2 percent of the school鈥檚 budget. Startup costs ranged from $338,000 to $780,000 at each school.

This finding is important to personalized learning supporters looking to scale programs at a time when many districts find their budgets perpetually on the chopping block, said Katie Morrison, director at Afton Partners.

鈥淲hat happens in the case of budget reductions?鈥� she said. 鈥淸The analysis] confirms that [personalized learning] can be done with limited funds.鈥�

About half the startup costs were for 鈥渢hings鈥� 鈥� technology software or new classroom furniture to create flexible learning spaces 鈥� and the other half were for 鈥減eople鈥� 鈥� professional development, stipends, and bonuses, Morrison said.

Many teachers in these personalized learning schools worked as part of a team, instructing multi-age classrooms with small staff-to-student ratios in project-based learning environments. Technology allowed teachers to create profiles for students with individualized learning pathways.

But Carnahan and Morrison agreed that schools need to do a better job of financially supporting the teachers in these roles. Stipends 鈥� rather than increased salaries 鈥� for new teacher leadership responsibilities aren鈥檛 a sustainable model, Morrison said, and schools need flexibility to restructure how teachers are paid as their roles expand.

The authors recommended that schools pilot programs with flexible pay models for teachers and analyze which technology is the most sustainable and effective.

 

Disclosure: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation provides funding to 蜜桃影视 and the Breakthrough Schools Chicago Initiative.

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