SXSW EDU 2019: CEO State of Play in Personalized Learning
Personalized learning is one of the frontier movements in education with massive potential, but making sense of the term, the moment of opportunity, and the future of the field is challenging. Four CEOs leading organizations in New Profit’s Personalized Learning Initiative gathered on stage at SXSW EDU 2019 in Austin, TX to share their insights on the field and talk about what it’s like to be a CEO in the fast-paced and evolving world of personalized learning.
These four leaders (pictured from left to right in the photo above) head up organizations that each represent different elements of the personalized learning ecosystem:
- Elisabeth Stock launched PowerMyLearning in 1999, a national nonprofit to strengthen the triangle of learning relationships between students, teachers, and families through a professional development program and an innovative technology platform.
- Beth Rabbitt leads The Learning Accelerator (TLA), a nonprofit that connects teachers and leaders with the knowledge, tools, and networks they need to enact personalized and mastery-based practices to transform K-12 education.
- Susan Patrick leads iNACOL, which launched in 2003 to transform education systems and accelerate the advancement of policies and practices that bring personalized, competency-based learning models to all students through policy advocacy, research, and knowledge building.
- Dana Borrelli-Murray leads Highlander Institute, which creates student-centered, personalized learning environments by implementing a multi-faceted approach that includes the development and delivery of services, programs, resources, and events designed to support classroom, school, and district-level change.
These four CEOs had a dynamic discussion exploring key questions that they are individually and collectively tackling as leaders of national organizations in the personalized learning space. Read on for highlights of the conversation, or listen to a recording of the full session here.
What trends are you seeing in the personalized learning space – locally, nationally, internationally? What are you most excited by?
Susan Patrick, iNACOL:
“ You can see in the U.S. we’re just getting started here. We’re just starting to pull apart the structures and the cultures to say what it means per person for every student to have a powerful learning pathway where we are bridging learning inside and outside of schools and we’re giving students the flexibility and supports to make sure they have mastery while meeting their interests and holistic needs.
Dana Borrelli-Murray, Highlander Institute:
“ I think that has always been the problem with the conversation with personalized learning and equating it to this world around technology. Because the technology is actually allowing us to become more personal, more human-based. What is going to make us different is the stuff that is deeply human—that’s the empathy, that’s the kindness, that’s teaching about caring—I think those are the kind of things that we get out of personalized learning when allow students to have time to collaborate, work together, and be creative.