Individualized Instruction: in The Encyclopedia of Education (2002) (original) (raw)

Individualized Instruction: A History of the Critiques

Increases in class size, time constraints, and class material have pressured educators to develop better ways to present instructional material; this pressure has led to numerous teaching innovations, including many in the area of individualized instruction. This paper focuses on a history of critiques of individualized instruction in the 20th century, especially from 1960 to the present. The three examples of individualized instruction covered include: audio-tutorial, personalized system of instruction, and computer assisted instruction. The discussion of each type of individualized instruction includes a description of the theory and methods, a summary of the benefits as indicated by the designers, an account by the critics, and a response by the supporters; a final section addressing critiques is included. (Contains 19 references.

An operational model for individualizing instruction

Science Education, 1970

The purpose of this monograph is to present a model for individualizing instruction for public schools. The model evolved from a "eureka" which we experienced as we attempted to revise and refine materials for a new science program being developed at the P. K. Yonge Laboratory School in Gainesville, Florida. The program under development is called "Integrated Science," whereby students are taught the combined concepts and skills that relate to biology, chemistry, and physics. It is a three-year program designed for grades 10, 1 1, and 12 and is presently being offered as an alternative to the traditional presentation of physics, chemistry and biology. The program, initiated in 1968, is based on several ideas: first, that life and its problems make no distinction between the so-called disciplines of science; second, that it is important to make students aware of the relation between science and society; third, that students be presented the enterprise of science in a meaningful way and through concepts which have survival value; and fourth, that science teaching has the obligation to prepare students to be able to participate effectively in a highly technological society. In translating this rationale into a curriculum, three interrelated parts to the program emerged-the conceptual schemes, the processes of science, and the relationship between science and society. The first tenet consists of six major concepts which form the nucleus of the program. Three of these, change, equilibrium, and orderliness, are seen as representing the enterprise of science and the other three, technology, models, and quantification, are seen as the tools to support the enterprise. If one examines nature or natural phenomena, he finds it either in a state of change or equilibrium. This can be applied to living and nonliving systems alike. What man does is to attempt to bring orderliness out of what he has observed in regard to the phenomena. In establishing this level of orderliness, man may have used, and probably did use, tools such as quantification, technology, and models to help him. Establishment of this level of orderliness in turn would provide the groundwork to further study of the phenomena and eventually would reach a new level 269

Promoting Learners` Autonomy Through Individualized Learning

Lingua Cultura

Article basically tries to explore the concept of individualized learning applicable in teaching learning process which can enhance learners’ autonomy and provides a brief practical guidance on how to put this concept into classroom practices. There are at least five underlying assumptions of learning based on this concept, namely: different learning styles, a variety of sources, teacher as facilitator, integrated learning tasks, and different learning goals. It can be concluded that classroom practices designed based on these concepts can improve learners’ autonomy, such as grouping, projects or tasks, and discussion.

Individualizing Education for All Learners

India is a wonderously diverse country. With such differencescomes significant educational challenges regarding how to best accommodate the variety oflearners. The Indian Right to Education Act (2010) is bringing substantially more students into Indian schools. Many of these students are from poor or disadvantaged backgrounds and have limited or no educational experience thus requiring individualized attention. The Inclusion philosophy within the Persons with Disabilities Act (1995) promotes including differently abled children in regular schools. These children also require individualized attention. In fact, since each student is unique, the preferred model is to individualize educational programs to match each student's developmental level, strengths, interests and needs. This article addresses four important aspects of Individualized Education: (1) the Measurement Foundations of Individualized Education, (2) Two Critical Componentsfor Student Success, (3) Organizing a Classroom for Student Learnng and (4) Four Effective Instructional Tactics.