Strengths-Based Blended Personalized Learning: An Impact Study Using a Virtual Comparison Group

• In Event: 31.029 - Advances in Personalized Learning and Intelligent Tutoring Systems

Abstract

As technology has become more prevalent in the classroom, the practice of personalized learning has grown rapidly (EdWeek, 2017). Personalized learning is described as instructional practices in which students’ needs and goals are accounted for during design and implementation of instruction. A U.S. Department of Education initiative funded a high-poverty school district in the Western U.S. to develop and implement a unique personalized learning model that includes blended and strengths-based learning to address students’ individual learning needs. A 2107 impact study used district longitudinal student achievement data from a four-year period and compared them with a matched virtual comparison group. Results suggests that the intervention was effective in promoting student achievement, with significant results in mathematics, reading, and language usage.

Authors

• Elizabeth M. McCarthy, WestEd

• Ying Liu, University of Southern California