8 Ways to Personalize Learning During COVID
Different students learn in different ways. Some learn better by reading and seeing visual aids, some by listening to recordings or their instructor, and others by answering worksheets and participating in activities aka hands-on learners. Everyone has their own individual learning style that works well for their individual needs, and this shouldn’t be something to worry about. It’s normal and totally alright!
As almost everyone’s transitioning to online learning due to the pandemic, a personalized learning approach can be an effective alternative to boosting study motivation and improving knowledge retention. Here, the learning materials are more well-suited to the strengths, interests, and skills of the individual learner. It’s not anymore the typical generic learning model that’s composed of uniformed lesson plans, worksheets, and other materials. These old school learning methods seem to be not as effective as we thought they once were anymore, most especially in this fast-paced digital age.
Through personalized learning, it encourages how learning is possible even beyond the four corners of the classroom, or in today’s case, beyond the Zoom sessions. It promotes an “anywhere anytime” learning mindset that’s currently a more useful and adaptable learning technique.
Here are 10 ways you can maximize your personalized learning experience during this global pandemic.
1. Set personal goals
Besides the course learning outcomes identified by your instructor during the class or in the syllabus, make it a habit to set your own personal learning plans. This can either be specific for each class or even the entire school year. Setting goals right at the start can help you focus your attention on the things that matter more. Goals can also act as your guide and motivation as you go along the class.
2. Assess your skills
Personalized learning is all about providing you as the student more freedom on how you absorb and comprehend the concepts. With this, it’s essential that you assess your own needs and skills first to be able to know what specific learning style is the best match for you.
3. Make use of search engines
Google is your handy best friend throughout your remote learning journey. An advantage of online learning is how even more quick and accessible search engine tools are. Through these, you can discover various approaches to further personalizing your learning experience. Most importantly, search engines act as super speedy online encyclopedias by submitting a phrase or keyword you’re curious about, and then having all relevant responses appear in just one click.
4. Sign up for online courses
With many being stuck at home, there has also been an increase in people enrolling in online courses. Online courses can act as additional learning material that provides helpful information in understanding your class better. Prestigious universities such as Harvard and Yale have also begun offering online courses, either paid or even free of charge. Coursera is also a favorite online platform as it offers mostly free courses from partner universities and organizations.
5. Group study with friends
Holding study group sessions depends on what kind of learner you are, whether you prefer studying alone or with people to keep you company. Nevertheless, studying with other people even in an online setting can stimulate brainstorming activities, teaching moments, and promote accountability.
6. Watch videos on YouTube
YouTube can also serve as an additional source of information to further help you understand your classes. There are many educational YouTube channels today that would produce videos that turn boring and complicated topics more fun and interesting to learn about. There are thousands of available videos to choose from depending on your learning styles, such as animated ones, crash courses, lecture videos, drawing applications, and many more.
7. Look for or create infographics
Infographics combine both written and visual elements together in a single material. It puts emphasis on important ideas through typography and can include charts and illustrations to present data collected in a more visually pleasing and easy to comprehend manner. You can either look for ready-made infographics in relation to your class online or you can opt to make one of your own through design platforms like Canva or Venngage.
8. Listen to podcasts
If you’re an auditory learner, listening to podcasts can be a great way for you to learn and supplement readings. This can be especially helpful to remote learners since it can be played anywhere at any time. Podcasts are often short yet entertaining and packed with information, which is also suitable for those who have a short attention span, as well as those who have unstable internet connection as it requires lower bandwidth.
Personalized learning can provide you more opportunities to be creative and discover more about how you are as a learner. Learning is not a one-size-fits-all model, most especially now where everyone’s not in the same classroom set-up anymore.
Related Stuff
Take care of your mental health
Let us help you achieve your dream job by matching you with the right schools.