If there is one underlying lesson our ultra-personalized world drives home, it is that one size does not fit all. The products we use, the clothes we wear, the media we consume—it is all increasingly tailored to specific wants and needs. While out-of-the-box solutions no longer suffice for some of the more frivolous things in life, we—as teachers and advocates for young children—must also continue to push for the individualization of something as critical and foundational as early childhood education.

To be clear, unlike the personalization of consumer goods and services, individualized learning is not the brainchild of sales and marketing. It also is not an entirely new concept or just the flavor of the week.

An individualized approach to early childhood curriculum, whereby teachers design curriculum plans explicitly around the developmental skills and focus areas of the specific children in their classes, is rooted in research and can make a significant impact on children’s development. 

The Case for an Individualized Approach to Learning 

At its core, individualized curriculum centers around best supporting each child as they develop at their own pace. I like to say that nothing magical happens on birthdays besides cake and presents. Just because a child turns three, it does not mean they will automatically start following multi-step instructions or engaging in longer conversations.

Children naturally develop in bursts and with a child-centered approach to education that is customized to the needs and strengths of individual children, teachers have the power to help spark those developmental bursts and advance them when they happen. 

Think about a child who is learning to hop and experiencing a developmental burst in the large motor skill area. They will want to practice and show off their skills—a lot—which means concentrating on a purely cognitive activity, such as number recognition, is likely not practical, even if it was in the plan. With the freedom to responsively adapt lesson plans, the teacher in this case may decide to blend the physical element with the math lesson through an activity like hopscotch. By focusing on where the burst is happening, rather than fighting against it for the sake of following a previously defined plan, teachers can more meaningfully enhance children’s development.

This approach of being “responsive to the needs of individual children” is supported by the National Association for the Education of Young Children and its research on early childhood development. NAEYC’s accreditation standards state, “It is important that teachers appreciate each child’s unique personality, abilities, activity level, and pace of development and that they respond to children’s individual needs.” The NAEYC accreditation assessment also includes checklist items such as demonstrating how classroom materials have been changed “to accommodate the individual needs of a child in the class” and “as children’s skill levels change over time,” clearly underscoring its importance (National Association for the Education of Young Children, 2018).

Acknowledging the Challenges

Even so, there are—not surprisingly—challenges in bringing individualized instruction to life. One of the primary obstacles, one we are very familiar with in the world of education, is the scarcity of qualified teachers. As noted in the 2018 Early Childhood Workforce Index, “Early educators’ skills, knowledge and well-being are inseparable from the quality of children’s early learning experiences” (Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, 2018). Yet, only 45 percent of teachers for children ages 3 to 5—and just 19 percent of those who teach children from birth to age 3—have a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education, reflecting the skills and training that are vital for educators to teach most successfully with such latitude (National Survey of Early Care and Education, 2013).

Another major challenge is that while the notion of individualized curriculum may be appealing, owners, directors or teachers may not have a comfort level with what individualized curriculum looks like in action and how it could work at their school.

Putting Theory into Practice

The number of books and videos offering instruction on this topic abound. However, after living and breathing this approach for more than 20 years—as both a teacher in the classroom and as the director of educational programs at The Malvern School, where I ensure hundreds of teachers have the skills, tools and resources to craft custom curricula for the children in their classes—I have found it is best to break down the practical application into four high-level steps. Implementing individualized curriculum in the classroom entails:

1. Performing authentic assessments of each student.

The best way for teachers to determine how they can help students thrive is by starting with an authentic evaluation of their skills and behaviors against age-appropriate expectations, such as a state’s early learning standards. When charted, students’ abilities typically fall into a bell curve with the largest concentration of children toward the midpoint and fewer students toward the more or less advanced ends of the curve.

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While this first step is not unlike any other teaching assessment, having a clear view of where each child sits developmentally—and how skills vary within the class—is non-negotiable for developing plans that include and engage all students, regardless of where they sit on the curve for any given skill. 

2. Building layers into lesson plans.

This is the essence of individualized curriculum. Teachers must first approach their lesson plans with a broad view, thinking about big picture activities students with varied skill levels can partake in together, without the more advanced students feeling bored and the students who are not yet as advanced feeling left behind. Teachers can then begin to build in layers, or different activities within the larger lesson, that engage every student in an appropriate way.

As an example, consider a class collage. This is a project where everyone can contribute, from students who are on their way to mastering using scissors and can cut out full shapes, to students who may still be snipping paper, which could be used for texture or a border, and students with skills in between. With an activity that has customized layers like this, students simultaneously have the opportunity to exercise and hone their own abilities—in whatever form that may be—while also collaborating with and learning from the group.

3. Ensuring the next challenge is always waiting.

Another benefit of layered lesson plans is that they allow fluid opportunities for children to progress. Not only do they expose many kids to more advanced skills by virtue of a class or small group working together, they enable students to seamlessly transition between skill levels.

In the case of the class collage referenced above, if a student who was previously snipping paper starts to regularly cut along the lines, they do not need to then move to another activity. Rather, this progression can happen naturally and without disruption. The key is for teachers to continually challenge students and encourage them to grow. This includes ensuring there is always something new to work toward, especially for the children who may be ahead of the pack. 

According to Ellen Frede, who currently serves as senior co-director at the National Institute for Early Education Research, “The best teachers … structure activities not to match the child’s current functional level, but to provide support for the child to work just above his current ability and thus advance his development. To help the child make that leap, the teacher needs individual knowledge of the child’s current functioning and must understand the step that lies immediately ahead for that child” (Frede, 1995).

4. Systematically tracking students’ progress.

Keeping a pulse on each child’s ongoing development is critical for teachers to ensure they continue to customize their curriculum plans according to how their students are learning and growing. While progression can, at times, be seen from one day to the next, we know children do not perform on demand. For this reason, rather than thinking about evaluation as a moment in time, teachers should track children’s skills and behaviors on a systematic basis, in order to accurately determine how children are advancing. Online systems can be particularly helpful for teachers to document their ongoing observations and notes about various aspects of the whole child. 

Even with this framework, the key to success with individualized curriculum is for teachers to be open-minded and adaptive. They must see each child for the unique person they are, meet them where they are—in terms of how they learn, where they excel and where they may struggle—and use their pedagogical expertise to help them thrive. 

References

National Association for the Education of Young Children. (2018). NAEYC Early Learning Program Accreditation Standards and Assessment Items. Retrieved from https://www.naeyc.org/accreditation/early-learning/standards

Center for the Study of Child Care Employment. (2018). Early Childhood Workforce Index. Berkeley, CA. Retrieved from http://cscce.berkeley.edu/files/2018/06/2018-Index-Executive-Summary.pdf

National Survey of Early Care and Education. (2013). Number and Characteristics of Early Care and Education (ECE) Teachers and Caregivers. Retrieved from https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/opre/nsece_wf_brief_102913_0.pdf

Frede, Ellen C. (1995, Winter). The Role of Program Quality in Producing Early Childhood Program Benefits. The Future of Children, 5(3), 125.