Precision learning is already in schools in many forms. Whether it be specialised learning environments and resources for individuals with identified specific needs, differentiated instruction, or just parents’ expectations of how schools support their children, precision learning is here, and the critical pieces that remain is having a clear understanding of how it is rolled out at scale to support every single learner.

Depending on the school, enhanced learning needs may be required for 20-30% of students. This however, leaves 70-80% of the children in schools in the void of ‘typically developing’. You only need to ask an experienced teacher to know that these individuals do not form a homogenous cluster of behaviours and tendencies, but every student has their own quirks and individual requirements in order to get their best out of class.

This majority need to be provided the same precision and personalised support if their maximum potential is to be reached.

“In the first decades of the 21st century, many actors and stakeholders have urgently argued that education needs to be transformed in order to meet the demands of rapidly changing technologies, new skill demands in the workplace and to foster equity, social cohesion and global citizenship. Implicit in these demands and expectations is the aim to realise every individual’s potential. Twenty-first century education requires teachers, environments, technologies, educational content and pedagogical practices that can help learners attain that goal.” (Schleicher in Kuhl et al., 2019: 3, 3)

Precision learning is not just a fleeting educational trend; it’s an approach recognised by every experienced administrator and educator dedicated to supporting children to be passionate lifelong learners. 

The hardest part about personalising learning through differentiated learning, strengths based learning, learning methodology etc is that it takes time to understand the individual child from the fleeting moments of real contact with them. 20 years of AI and precision health has been able to navigate this and provide immediate and objective feedback on a child’s tendencies, so these strategies that all have impact, can have more, and faster due to the way it can be tailored with knowledge of the individual child.

The IPSHA and Learn360 Federal Sponsorship has been created to specifically support IPSHA schools to upskill in:

  • What precision learning is
  • How it is implemented for educators, students and parents
  • How it can be used to accelerate student outcomes both academically and from a wellbeing perspective

Results from the first year of the partnership have been very positive, data collected from the first year of working with Learn360 show:

  • Educators have ‘greatly’ improved their emotional reactivity to poor behaviour, resulting in lower perceived stress reported by educators
  • Educators report that they more proactively see and address a child’s strengths rather than their deficits
  • Educators report that the efficacy of the behaviour management strategies in managing behaviour has improved
  • Overall, student behaviour is reported to have improved – educator report

What does precision learning involve?

The Plecosystem: Aligning Schools, Students, and Parents

Personalised learning thrives in what we call the “plecosystem,” a synergy of schools, students, and parents. This ecosystem ensures that every student’s learning journey is tailored to their unique needs, abilities, and aspirations. Such an approach is vital in a world where one-size-fits-all education models no longer suffice. In the plecosystem, each stakeholder plays a crucial role:

– Schools provide the infrastructure and resources for personalised learning.

– Students engage actively, empowered by learning methods that resonate with their personal and biological makeup.

– Educators and Parents collaborate, using insights from precision learning to guide and support the student’s educational path. These are objective conversations where both educators and parents are working from the same strengths based information about the child, not designed to highlight a child’s deficits, but with a specific focus on the child’s strengths and the environment that best matches them to bring out their best at school and home alike

The ‘Plecosystem’ and precision learning thrive with the incorporation and uptake of digital platforms and artificial learning integrated with the the true understanding of an individual’s unique makeup.

The Science Behind Personalised Precision Learning

Two decades of research in behavioural genetics and biology have shown us that each individual’s learning needs are profoundly influenced by their unique biological makeup. This understanding is at the heart of precision learning, which considers factors like cognitive and physiological chronotypes, social preferences, and even nutritional needs. When learning environments align with these biological factors, students demonstrate significantly enhanced performance and well-being.

The differences that exist between individuals are those that we are acutely and obviously aware of, but there is no education around how these differences can be translated into an individual’s strength and support for better outcomes.

Some examples:

Competitiveness and excitability often come together due to adrenal function and sex hormone receptivity. These are powerful tools for short term focussed work, but are not ideal for long term sitting and listening. When you know a child has a higher level of them, it becomes obvious in how to engage them and why they might be disruptive in an otherwise non-competitive/less exciting environment.

Nurturing tendencies created by prolactin levels and receptivity make a student much more likely to want to help those around them. They go into stress if people don’t have the things they need. With this natural strength, they aren’t interested in competition, but will naturally gravitate towards others to lift them up, even at the expense of their own work getting done.

These powerful biological influences are numerous, but can be understood and predicted. They allow a school to see a child for who they are and their natural tendencies as gifts to be developed.Precisoin

Learn360: A Vanguard in Precision Learning

Learn360 stands at the forefront of applying these principles in education. Their programs, designed in collaboration with IPSHA, offer groundbreaking resources, including:

  • Live workshops designed for heads of school to upskill in precision learning – the first of which can be accessed here
  • Student wellbeing resources that provide students and their parents insights into essential factors influencing the development of their identity, utilising natural strengths, taking control of their behaviour and optimising their learning experience
  • Free PD sessions available to a limited number of IPSHA schools that provides deep insights for educators to immediately implement into their classroom
  • The ability to join precision learning research and be part of the groundbreaking wave of implementation that is already changing IPSHA schools for the better

Participate and Pioneer

We’re on the cusp of a major shift in education, where personalised learning becomes the norm rather than the exception. Learn360’s partnership with IPSHA is a testament to this shift. Schools, educators, and parents interested in being at the forefront of this educational revolution are encouraged to:

– Register for Learn360 Webinars: These termly webinars are a treasure trove of information, insights, and practical strategies for implementing personalised learning.

– Take advantage of the incredible resources available for students

– Express Interest in Research Collaborations: By participating in ongoing research, schools can contribute to and benefit from the latest developments in precision learning.

John Hattie has a simple message: ‘Know thy impact’. If you know your students better, you will have a greater positive impact on them. This will lead to better outcomes

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