At the launch of MAPLE earlier this week - the Massachusetts Personalized Learning Edtech Consortium - a public/private partnership between the LearnLaunch Institute and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to accelerate the adoption of personalized learning - noted Education guru Michael Horn said something I found revolutionary. Horn said that our industry treats "personalized learning" as a noun, and that - in reality - it should be seen as a verb.
Brilliant.
A noun is complete, static, a box to be checked. A verb is active, responsive, a dynamic effort that evolves over time.
I've written before that kids don't learn in a quarter - something that sets up a conflict between data-driven investors and entrepreneurs, and the market they serve. How can you prove the efficacy (and the ROI investors need) of a product, when its users don't order, buy, use, or benefit from it in a predictable way? MAPLE is an effort to get past inherent friction, and help Massachusetts school districts learn from one another - with the ultimate goal of personalizing the learning for students across the Commonwealth.
This week's launch, held at Natick High School (itself a model of innovation and reinvention), brought together schools and decision makers from suburban and urban districts. The interest and excitement was palpable; you could almost feel change on the horizon.
Eileen Rudden, Chair of the LearnLaunch Institute, explained in a press release what makes LearnLaunch the ideal partner to ensure this initiative's success: "MAPLE will enable districts to learn from each other, as well as from our strong community of education researchers and education entrepreneurs, providing resources that strengthen local models, and supporting the broader adoption of promising innovations in teaching and learning." That's LearnLaunch's bread and butter, stock-in-trade.
And that's where Michael Horn's observation strikes home. When educators view personalized learning as a noun - a box to be checked when conditions are met - the goal has been achieved. But, when seen as verb, that goal to personalize learning is as dynamic as education itself, and as unique as the student population being served.
Massachusetts may lead the nation in education outcomes today, but you don't stay in the lead by standing still. MAPLE is one of the state's initiatives to ensure that it remains at the country's forefront when it comes to education innovation.
Neighboring states will ride these coattails - I saw a few nametags from Rhode Island, for example.
As educators and administrators in Massachusetts learn from each other - as district leaders like Natick strengthen district learners like Somerville (to pick the districts highlighted in the press release) - students across the Bay State are the ones that will benefit. As innovations in learning and teaching reach a broader market of schools and students from all demographics and incomes, the entrepreneurs that create them and the investors that fund them will also benefit.
Too often those of us in EdTech latch onto a phrase or acronym that appears ceaselessly in our presentations and writing: MOOCs, ESSA, No Child Left Behind, etc. Change in education requires a shift in thinking and approach, not a buzzword or turn of phrase. What Michael Horn taught us - and what MAPLE brings to life - is that the answers could be right in front of us, but they're just mis-defined.
As a noun, personalized learning may not be the "holy grail" of education, after all.
Josef Blumenfeld is the founder of EdTech180, a PR and communications consultancy with expertise in serving the EdTech industry. EdTech180 has a global client mix, currently representing EdTech companies in the U.S., Ireland, Jordan, and Israel. For more information, please see www.EdTech180.com or follow @EdTech180 on Twitter.
Disclosure: LearnLaunch is an EdTech180 client.