Every brain is a distinct combination of abilities, skills, and traits and a distinct way of comprehending and storing information. The human brain learns best through a combination of stimuli. When acquired knowledge is well-linked with prior experiences and other knowledge, comprehension and retention are greatly enhanced. Studies prove that such depth in comprehension is best achieved through multi-sensory learning.
To personalize the education for a child means to understand their capabilities and their learning progress and make necessary amendments to their learning experience to maximize learning outcomes. It also means to individualize the attention given to the child, build a personal rapport, that helps to promote communication, and familiarise them with their own education as a whole. This creates a comfortable learning experience for the child. They not only retain more knowledge but also feel engaged and fulfilled. Such a positive experience helps to promote a healthy outlook towards education as well thus also enabling school readiness. A student that enjoys learning is more receptive, retains better, and will also voluntarily seek more knowledge and will be a lifelong learner.
The role of a parent or a teacher is very important in creating a harmonized learning environment. While teachers cater to the diverse needs of all the students in a classroom together through material, insights, and guidance. They must be trained and equipped with the skills to personally engage each of their students, appropriately targeting their respective learning capabilities. This can mean delivering material in visual, aural, or tactile modes, or better yet creating a tailored combination to suit the needs of the child. The teacher must also be able to provide a learning experience within the contexts of the child’s culture and background. Using contextually appropriate materials and methods helps by presenting knowledge that is more easily understood by the child through correlation with their existing knowledge.
Often, in a classroom, we find that students do not perform in the same way. Two students attentively listening to the same lesson may not retain the same amount of knowledge, or may simply not comprehend concepts at the same depth. There are always some students who lag a few steps behind their peers on the uptake. This lag may seem negligible, but as the years pass, these students often feel burdened by the competition and question their own abilities. Many students resign to being ‘not smart’. While education is intended for enabling individuals to harness their full intellectual potential, for these students, education becomes a stressor, chipping away not only at their self-worth, but also their will to learn.
The teacher must focus on providing learning opportunities to all learners, including the differently-abled and the disadvantaged, and ensure an inclusive environment. Certain children have needs that are very different from their peers. The teacher must be able to recognize these differences hence the importance of personalized learning.
Different ways you can personalize your child’s education. Here are some ways alphaTUB can be used for a fun learning experience:
- Use the alphaTUB to practice vocabulary of daily household items and familiarise the child with their environment
- Using the alphaTUB mobile app, explore your immediate environment and find new words to learn.
- Create a TUB Sheet using your child’s favorite objects and places to build vocabulary
- Play with letters that have special meaning to the students such as those in their names. (alphaTUB custom sheets) Post students’ names in the classroom. Use Flashcards.
- Create some fun games, like a treasure hunt or capturing various objects of the same type in the house, for example, all shoes, boxes, objects of the same shape, utility, color, or category
- Use TUB Cards to play sign language games at home
- Use letter games and word games that identify letters, sounds, and words.
- Explore special vocabulary by creating TUB Sheets using words of a specific kind, for example, exotic animals, magical creatures, toys, etc.
