Looking Forward to the Future of the IEP
When we consider the possible future of the IEP, the
extravagant thought of an “IEP for Everyone” is intriguing and exciting: an
individualized education for each student, an education that would meet each
student’s learning needs and be delivered through their learning
strengths. What a concept!
Education in the United States has traditionally been a “one size fits all” approach. Only in the last few decades has the concept of curriculum modification to meet learner needs been discussed. Traditional education practices came out of the industrial revolution where the assembly line and the ability to repeatedly replicate a product were of high value (Dede).
Current advances and future proposals for advances in technology make it possible for us to dream of the ability to individualize everyone’s education. In a possible future, “schools, and teachers in schools, need to think of themselves not as the sole (and perhaps not even the primary) source of learning for many of their students--especially students above a certain age—but as brokers of a certain sort” (Burbules). The teacher, supported by technology, would be a guide or a liaison, between the student and learning opportunities and resources for information.
Education in the United States has traditionally been a “one size fits all” approach. Only in the last few decades has the concept of curriculum modification to meet learner needs been discussed. Traditional education practices came out of the industrial revolution where the assembly line and the ability to repeatedly replicate a product were of high value (Dede).
Current advances and future proposals for advances in technology make it possible for us to dream of the ability to individualize everyone’s education. In a possible future, “schools, and teachers in schools, need to think of themselves not as the sole (and perhaps not even the primary) source of learning for many of their students--especially students above a certain age—but as brokers of a certain sort” (Burbules). The teacher, supported by technology, would be a guide or a liaison, between the student and learning opportunities and resources for information.
For a little inspiration and a look into the not so distant future watch the video on Personal Learning Environments: