Does this happen to you? You are driving and you turn on the radio. After choosing a few stations, you hear something you like, and then you stop surfing. But the next song is not so appealing, and you are surfing the stations again. Why can't a radio station play only the songs you like?
There is an online music service, available only in the USA, that will do just that. It is called Pandora. It will track the songs you like to hear, and then suggest new songs that you might like from the same music genre. It is customized to your taste.
I'll come back to Pandora in a moment. I'd like to talk about an inspiring movie first.
Michael had an impoverished upbringing. He was one of twelve children of Denise Oher, who was an alcoholic and a crack cocaine addict. His biological father was in and out of prison, and was murdered while incarcerated. Michael went into foster care at the age of seven. He joined with the wrong people, and he was hungry and homeless many times.
His education was difficult as a result. He repeated the first and second grades. He attended eleven schools in nine years. When Leigh Ann Tuohy took him in, he was almost illiterate. She had to get him a tutor 20 hours a week, just to catch up.
In the film, he was portrayed as someone who could not fit in a classroom environment. His grades were dismal, and he was not motivated to learn. In one scene, an instructor believes that he is intelligent, but has difficulty showing it given his limited exposure to the world of learning. He functioned in the street language of poverty and survival. When the teacher tries to use that language, he relates, and shows that he can comprehend.
People have different thinking and learning styles. They have preferences in learning new things. Several years ago I experimented on delivering the same course material to a group in three different methods, to appeal to three different preferences for learning. When I started with lecture, some were attentive, and others were looking past me. Then I switched to an engaged discussion, and a different set of people began to shine. Finally, I ran a game, and all, except the lecture-lovers, were engaged.
Some researchers say there are four major learning styles. Others believe it is up to 16 styles. In our growing complex world, there could be as many styles as there are students.
In a post-secondary classroom, in an auditorium of 150 students, there will only be one method of instruction - lecture. Many classroom courses in high schools were designed similarly: Use a common method to deliver learning to everybody; if they don't like it, then too bad. That's why drop-outs exist.
Now, back to Pandora, the music service. What if a similar programming was used in education, to appeal to different learning styles. Content would be geared to speak the language appropriate for the particular student - to be customized for each student. The program could determine the next lesson and method of delivery for the child, based on how that child responded to previous lessons. Does such a program exist?
It so happens that a customized program exists. It is a pilot project called School of One in New York City, where thousands of kids share Michael Oher's situation. The School of One tries to use technology to efficiently customize education for every kid in every classroom. It aims to help teachers do their job more effectively. What a great use of technology - to not leave any child behind in their learning!
Learning is my passion. So, I am excited to read about programs that equalize education for all kids, especially those disadvantaged. Moreover, I love innovation and how it benefits our lives. It is too early to say that School of One is successful. But any attempt to properly educate our kids, anywhere in the world, is an investment worth making.
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