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Making Classroom Learning Personalized

An APA Division 15 Policy Brief

In this policy brief, Walkington and Bernacki discuss personalized learning (PL) and argue that if schools are to achieve the impact on learning outcomes they envision, they can draw upon what is known about students’ interests, values, self-regulation, and mastery, and how to leverage them for learning. The theory of change at the center of a PL design should answer: “What learning outcome do I intend to affect? What learning activities address this aim? What would I need to know about the learner to adapt the activity?” The authors provide advice to those who wish to fund, adopt, design, and deliver PL.

About the Authors

Dr. Candace Walkington, Southern Methodist University

Dr. Candace Walkington, Southern Methodist University

Candace Walkington is an Associate Professor of Mathematics Education and Learning Sciences in the Simmons School of Education and Human Development at Southern Methodist University. She studies how technology can be designed to promote students’ interest in and learning of STEM concepts using personalized, game-based, and embodied approaches to instruction.

Email: [email protected]

Dr. Matthew Bernacki, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Dr. Matthew Bernacki, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Matt Bernacki is an Assistant Professor of Learning Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Education. He studies learners’ motivations and self-regulated learning behaviors in digital environments and STEM domains, uses learning analytics to study in student behavior, and designs personalized lessons to motivate students and digital trainings to develop their learning skills.

Email: [email protected]