Personalized teaching, evaluation and special needs

Personalization of teaching


Personalization of teaching brings about potential benefits. There are a lot of positive effects of personalizing:  it makes studying more motivating and exciting. Furthermore, it facilitates lifelong learning and provides tools for self-branding and standing out in the job market. Schools can find new exciting ways of organizing teaching when the role of teachers is changed from information providers to learning facilitators. Society benefits by getting new specialists and abilities to solve many kinds of problems we might not have even heard of today. Investing the same amount of money in personalized education may bring about much better learning results. If all the new skills required in the future society were to be taught to all students, it would not be easy and require a lot of resources. Personalizing the studies saves resources since some people can be taught one set of skills, while others learn different skills. Diversity gives better possibilities for the skills needed in the future match to the skillsets of some people. Personalizing teaching makes it also possible to pay attention to different learners.

However, personalized teaching also requires the reorganization of resources and might bring about unequal learning results. It seems likely that education will be more personalized in the future (Linturi (2014). However, future researchers Linturi and Rubin (2014a, 2014b) are concerned about how to maintain social equity. At the same time, learning pathways become more diverse and personalized. They argue that we need to solve the question of how to personalize and liberate learning without losing the resources we have acquired through consistent, high-quality, and equal education in Finland (Linturi et al. 2013).

Evaluation helps students and employers 


The idea of evaluation is to signal the level of student's knowledge and skills to the student him/herself and possibly to employers etc. The student benefits from the review because it indicates how much the student has learned. It can also function as an incentive to work harder to achieve better grades. Typically, the grading system of a course is connected to the course aims, and there are criteria provided for each grade. If one achieves all the goals, one gets top grades; if not, the grades are lower. There is also a minimal level one has to accomplish to pass the course. For the education provider, the grading systems make sure that everyone who graduates has the skill level required in that specific course or education. The challenge of evaluation is to measure the right things and in a way that is consistent. The assessment should be unambiguous and not vary by the teacher's mood or liking of a particular student. It would be good to have clear and public criteria for assessment, ie, what kind of knowledge, skills, and qualifications are required for each specific grade. These should be reviewed at the beginning of the course.  The unambiguity of the assessment is also improved if the different sections of the course have their grades and criteria.

Supporting special learners


Special support refers to individualized arrangements that facilitate the learning of people for whom "normal" methods are difficult (eBase 2018). Support is always designed from the learner's needs. Needs may be due to, for example, learning difficulties, illness or injury, or language difficulties. The forms of support vary: for example; there may be extra time to answer the exams, larger font sizes, oral and written instructions, alternative methods of study, additional studies, interpretation services, use of learning aids, etc. Special support is long-term and does not include temporary measures. The support aims to increase equality and equal educational opportunities. It is essential to choose suitable learning environments. For another, a slower pace of progress and, for example, listening to information from audiobooks instead of reading them may be agreed upon.

Brennan & Dubleton (1989) have been considering how to treat a person with a learning disability. According to them, the general way of thinking learning abilities as a linear line is problematic. In this mindset, at one end of the linear continuum are those for whom learning is easy and, at the other end, need support. As a result, people with learning disabilities are no longer seen as persons, but as problems to be solved. The diagnosis itself can be problematic, too. The good thing is that it can help the person to become more immune to criticism. The bad thing is that the learner and teachers may think his or her ability is incurably impaired, so there is no need to make an effort either. Brennan & Dumbleton suggest that the solution is that the spectrum of human characteristics should be internalized. Everyone has good and bad qualities, but they are still not worse or better people.


  • Linturi, Hannu (2014): ”Uusintavasta uudistavaan oppimiseen”, Futura 3/2014, s. 3-6
  • Linturi, Hannu & Rubin, Anita (2014a): ”Metodi, metafora ja tulevaisuuskartta”, Futura 3/2014, s. 7-18
  • Linturi, Hannu & Rubin, Anita (2014b): ”Oppiminen poluttuu ja personoituu”, Futura 3/2014, s. 19-28
  • Linturi, Hannu & Rubin, Anita & Kekkonen, T. (2013): ”Kaksikymmentä vuotta tulevaisuutta takana: meemimutaatiota verkossa. Teoksessa Ammattikasvatuksen aikakauskirja 3/2013:Verkko-oppiminen ja uudet oppimisympäristöt. 
  • Brennan, Andrew & Dumbleton, Paul (1989): “ Learning Difficulties and the Concept of a Person”, Source: British Journal of Educational Studies, Vol. 37, No. 2 (May, 1989), pp. 147-168

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