The Benefits of Personalized Curricula in Higher Education
For years, researchers, school districts, and policymakers have been focusing on ways to enhance elementary school learning through personalized learning plans. Harvard University released a report earlier this year, finding that while personalized learning plans are powerful for elementary students, they are largely underutilized in schools, according to Education Dive.
“These personalized plans are tools as well as processes for capturing the full range of strengths and needs of children and youth in order to connect them with tailored, seamless, and equitable services and opportunities. While personalized plans represent a promising approach, they are largely underemployed in the field of education.”
– Saeyun D. Lee, Educational Policy Consultant
While our work here at Quantified isn’t in the elementary sphere, we do fully believe in the power of personalized lesson plans, and we empower professors and administrators at higher education institutions across the country to tailor their curricula not only to every class’s needs, but to every student’s.
To see what we mean, think back to your own college years—to some introductory lecture class that you took as a prerequisite for something else. The course seemed interesting enough, but you spent the semester in the lecture hall, anonymous among hundreds of students, while the professor spoke from behind a lectern. If there were tests, they were multiple choice—or else graded by a TA. You may have done well in the class, but did you really learn anything?
It’s not the professor’s fault—with so many students and so little time, what alternative does he really have than to present the content and hope it sticks? How could he possibly personalize that course for each person in the lecture hall?
That’s the problem we’re solving, and we’re solving it particularly for professors in graduate and undergraduate programs who are responsible for teaching students the communication skills they need to succeed in their careers.
In a university classroom—and especially in graduate courses — every student brings unique background knowledge, skills, and experience to the table, and each one will relate to course content differently. Some may already be strong communicators, and they won’t need much of the introductory material; others may be starting from scratch, and some may not know where they stand at all.
So how do you, the professor, make your course valuable and engaging for every student?
That’s where Quantified Communications comes in.
Thanks to recent advancements in learning-oriented AI and machine-learning technology, we can provide students with unique feedback tailored specifically to their individual performance, strengths, and development opportunities.
Our platform takes students’ spoken communication samples and provides both an objective, quantitative evaluation and expert feedback designed to drive lasting improvement—within hours, if not minutes. This functionality provides every single student with a personalized curriculum to support growth throughout the course. And what’s more, the platform provides professors and administrators with individual student information as well as aggregate data showing the class’s overall strengths and development opportunities, empowering them to adjust the curriculum to meet the group’s collective needs. All without draining their limited time and resources.
The result? Even in a 500-person lecture course, students know exactly how they’re doing, why, and how they can improve. And professors are empowered to support their students more effectively than ever.
We know the struggle educators face every semester to cover all of their material and ensure every student develops the skills and knowledge he or she will need to succeed in the future. We also know the sheer number of “EdTech” products and platforms on the market can be overwhelming. We pride ourselves on offering educators a powerful tool to help them—and each of their students—achieve their goals.