Over the past decade, personalized learning has emerged as a major aim in the contemporary education systems of many countries. This qualitative case study examined middle school educators' perceptions of how their school's collective experimentation with Genius Hour supported the broader implementation of personalized learning. Teachers in the…

Drawing from different orientations, personalized, learner-centered environments and connected learning are two frameworks that work well together to renew classrooms and schools to focus on the needs and interests of the learner and make connections between experience, content standards, disciplines, and the community. This case study describes…

Personalized learning (PL) and social-emotional learning (SEL) are areas of increasing emphasis in U.S. educational policy and practice. With the goal of examining how these initiatives may be mutually supportive, this exploratory study investigates the potential for a PL experience to help middle school students develop the SEL skill of…

Eleven project-based learning charter schools participated in this correlational study. Eight have participated for 2 years and three for 1 year. The schools are affiliated with EdVisions, a non-profit organization that helps create individualized, project-based learning schools. There were five variables in this correlational study: the hope…

This study investigates the hands-joined learning framework as an approach to personalize and provide instructional scaffolding within project-based learning. The authors include a case description of hands-joined learning in a middle school social studies classroom and critically examine middle school student feedback in relation to two aims: (a)…

Rolling Hills Middle School has begun the implementation of a personalized learning model with one house of 50 8th grade students. This personalized learning (PL) model promotes collaborative work among groups of students and supports student choice and agency as it fosters learner independence. This qualitative, interpretive case study used…

Although the idea of responding to learners' individual needs is far from new in the middle grades movement, there have been renewed efforts in recent years for schools to tailor programs and practices to students' unique interests and needs through "personalized learning" (Bingham, Pane, Steiner, & Hamilton, 2016). To date, little…

Education Policy Innovation Collaborative (EPIC) partnered with the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) to conduct a multi-year study of Michigan's implementation of competency-based education in K-12 schools. This mixed-methods study seeks to investigate the implementation and effectiveness of CBE using data from surveys administered to 21j…

The Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE) is an international, non-profit educational organization. The Association's purpose is to advance the knowledge, theory, and quality of teaching and learning at all levels with information technology. The "EdMedia + Innovate Learning" conference took place in New York,…

How do teachers and schools create meaningful learning experiences for students with diverse skills, abilities, and cultures? How can teachers authentically assess the learning of their students and build on their strengths and interests in ways that enrich the larger community? How can schools become places where everyone is learning from each…

What if teachers not only made clear the learning expectations at the start of each unit, but also helped students see where they stand in relation to those expectations? Students would realize what specific skills and understandings they most needed to work on and would clearly see the need for differentiation in the class. Dobbertin describes…

As Jackson and Davis noted, "the main purpose of middle grades education is to promote young adolescents' intellectual development. It is to enable every student to think creatively, to identify and solve meaningful problems, to communicate and work well with others, and to develop the base of factual knowledge and skills that is the essential…

The Common Core State (or other rigorous) Standards (CCSS) being implemented by states across the nation are prompting school leaders and teachers to seek ways to move the standards into classroom instruction, assignments and assessments. Schools wanting to ensure that student work meets grade-level standards are using differentiated instructional…

Instructional strategies make a difference in whether students are engaged in learning and are profiting from their time in class. High schools, technology centers and middle grades schools are encouraging teachers to adopt new teaching techniques and are providing opportunities for teachers to work together to improve their instructional skills…

This descriptive narrative presents a university/school partnership that led to an inquiry-based approach to language arts instruction, resulting in increased opportunities for reflective teaching and learning, students' environmental awareness projects, the integration of science, and the individualization of instruction at the middle school…