A literature synthesis of personalised technology-enhanced learning: what works and why

Personalised learning, having seen both surges and declines in popularity over the past few decades, is once again enjoying a resurgence. Examples include digital resources tailored to a particular learner’s needs, or individual feedback on a student’s assessed work. In addition, personalised technology-enhanced learning (TEL) now seems to be attracting interest from philanthropists and venture capitalists indicating a new level of enthusiasm for the area and a potential growth industry. However, these industries may be driven by profit rather than pedagogy, and hence it is vital these new developments are informed by relevant, evidence-based research. For many people, personalised learning is an ambiguous and even loaded term that promises much but does not always deliver. This paper provides an in-depth and critical review and synthesis of how personalisation has been represented in the literature since 2000, with a particular focus on TEL. We examine the reasons why personalised learning can be beneficial and examine how TEL can contribute to this. We also unpack how personalisation can contribute to more effective learning. Lastly, we examine the limitations of personalised learning and discuss the potential impacts on wider stakeholders. Published: 26 November 2018 Citation: Research in Learning Technology 2018,  26 : 2095 -  http://dx.doi.org/10.25304/rlt.v26.2095

[1]  Mellita M. Jones,et al.  Personalising Learning in Teacher Education , 2018 .

[2]  C. Brodsky.  The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research , 1968 .

[3]  P. Kirschner,et al.  Do Learners Really Know Best? Urban Legends in Education , 2013 .

[4]  M. Koutselini,et al.  Metacognitive monitoring: an obstacle and a key to effective teaching and learning , 2007 .

[5]  Lorne Olfman,et al.  Leveraging a personalized system to improve self-directed learning in online educational environments , 2014, Comput. Educ..

[6]  Ben Williamson,et al.  The social life of Learning Analytics: cluster analysis and the ‘performance’ of algorithmic education , 2018 .

[7]  Yasira Waqar,et al.  The Impact of Learning Design on Student Learning in Technology Integrated Lessons , 2013 .

[8]  Shelley Kinash.  Rehabilitating elephants: Higher Education futures Australia , 2014 .

[9]  Christopher J. Dede.  New wine in no bottles: immersive, personalized ubiquitous learning , 2014, L@S.

[10]  Katy Jordan,et al.  Massive Open Online Course Completion Rates Revisited: Assessment, Length and Attrition , 2015 .

[11]  Tony Fisher,et al.  Evaluating Learning Style Personalization in Adaptive Systems: Quantitative Methods and Approaches , 2009, IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies.

[12]  Mark Bilandzic,et al.  Towards visualising people's ecology of hybrid personal learning environments , 2012, MAB '12.

[13]  A. Strauss,et al.  The discovery of grounded theory: strategies for qualitative research aldine de gruyter , 1968 .

[14]  Hugh C. Davis,et al.  Personalisation of MOOCs - The State of the Art , 2015, CSEDU.

[15]  Jonothan Neelands,et al.  PERSONALISED LEARNING: AMBIGUITIES IN THEORY AND PRACTICE , 2007 .

[16]  Catherine Bovill,et al.  Students and staff co-creating curricula: an example of good practice in higher education? , 2013 .

[17]  Chi-Un Lei,et al.  Building an Intelligent Laboratory Environment via a Cyber-Physical System , 2013, Int. J. Distributed Sens. Networks.

[18]  M. G. Stork.  Is technology good for education?, by Neil Selwyn, Cambridge, United Kingdom, Polity Press, 2016, 160 pp., $45.00 (hardcover), ISBN-13: 978-0-74-569646-1 , 2017 .

[19]  Jean Underwood,et al.  Impact 2007: Personalising Learning with Technology , 2007 .

[20]  V. Braun,et al.  Using thematic analysis in psychology , 2006 .

[21]  Manolis Mavrikis,et al.  Technology-enhanced Personalised Learning: Untangling the Evidence , 2018 .

[22]  Ann Jones,et al.  Challenges in personalisation: supporting mobile science inquiry learning across contexts , 2013 .

[23]  Mike Sharples,et al.  Mobile learning: research, practice and challenges , 2013 .

[24]  Nian-Shing Chen,et al.  The use of online synchronous discussion for web-based professional development for teachers , 2009, Comput. Educ..

[25]  N. Kucirkova,et al.  Personalised reading for pleasure with digital libraries: Towards a pedagogy of practice and design , 2017 .

[26]  Sanna Järvelä,et al.  Personalised Learning? New Insights into Fostering Learning Capacity , 2006 .

[27]  Vincent Wade,et al.  Towards a Standards-based Approach to e-Learning Personalization using Reusable Learning Objects , 2002 .

[28]  F. Coffield.  Learning styles and pedagogy in post-16 learning: a systematic and critical review , 2004 .

[29]  M. Peters,et al.  Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology , 2011 .

[30]  David Hartley,et al.  Personalisation: the nostalgic revival of child‐centred education? , 2009 .

[31]  Tony Fisher,et al.  Reappraising cognitive styles in adaptive web applications , 2006, WWW '06.

[32]  Bart Rienties,et al.  The impact of learning design on student behaviour, satisfaction and performance: A cross-institutional comparison across 151 modules , 2016, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[33]  Jos Boys,et al.  Towards Creative Learning Spaces: Re-thinking the Architecture of Post-Compulsory Education , 2010 .

[34]  S. de Freitas,et al.  Personalizing Learning in the 21st Century , 2005 .

[35]  Rebecca Ferguson,et al.  Dimensions of personalisation in technology-enhanced learning: A framework and implications for design , 2018, Br. J. Educ. Technol..

[36]  Gary M. Crow,et al.  The National College for School Leadership , 2004 .

[37]  Families..  Department for Children, Schools and Families , 2007 .