Reclaiming Personalized Learning

A Pedagogy for Restoring Equity and Humanity in Our Classrooms
Second Edition
Paul Emerich France - Education Consultant
Reclaiming Personalized Learning
February 2022 | 232 pages | Corwin
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eBook
ISBN: 9781071875933
Available from January 0001
Paperback
ISBN: 9781071875919
Available from January 0001

Description

Put the person back in personalization with a touch of humanity.

It’s a paradox: technology to individualize curriculum has made classrooms less personal. Let’s instead trust educators to make learning personal by supporting student agency, self-awareness, and the intimate personal connections found in authentic learning experiences.

In the second edition of this groundbreaking book—newly streamlined, and updated with insights from the pandemic—Paul France presents a vision of humanized personalization that rejects the corporate mindset and instead holds equity and inclusion at its center. France leverages over a decade of experience as a National Board Certified Teacher, education consultant, and education technology developer, sharing the following:

  • Practical guidance on designing inclusive learning environments for diverse groups
  • Sustainable applications for humanized personalization in curriculum design, assessment, and instruction
  • Real-life stories from the author’s experience on both sides of the personalization debate
  • A multitude of classroom tools, adaptable to a variety of instructional contexts

Nobody understands the need for humanizing education better than teachers. While educators across the country have learned that inundating students with personalized learning technologies is not the way to go, many don’t know how to personalize learning without them. The time to humanize personalized learning and our classrooms is now—and this book will give you a place to start.

Contents

Section One: Foundations

  • Chapter 1: Personalization Myths
  • Chapter 2: Teaching in Three Dimensions

Section Two: Pedagogy

  • Chapter 3 Centering Humanity Through Learner Agency
  • Chapter 4: Curriculum and Assessment as a Flexible Frame
  • Chapter 5: Humanizing Teaching to Personalize Learning

Section Three: Equity

  • Chapter 6: A Sense of Belonging
  • Chapter 7: Justice

Description

Put the person back in personalization with a touch of humanity.

It’s a paradox: technology to individualize curriculum has made classrooms less personal. Let’s instead trust educators to make learning personal by supporting student agency, self-awareness, and the intimate personal connections found in authentic learning experiences.

In the second edition of this groundbreaking book—newly streamlined, and updated with insights from the pandemic—Paul France presents a vision of humanized personalization that rejects the corporate mindset and instead holds equity and inclusion at its center. France leverages over a decade of experience as a National Board Certified Teacher, education consultant, and education technology developer, sharing the following:

  • Practical guidance on designing inclusive learning environments for diverse groups
  • Sustainable applications for humanized personalization in curriculum design, assessment, and instruction
  • Real-life stories from the author’s experience on both sides of the personalization debate
  • A multitude of classroom tools, adaptable to a variety of instructional contexts

Nobody understands the need for humanizing education better than teachers. While educators across the country have learned that inundating students with personalized learning technologies is not the way to go, many don’t know how to personalize learning without them. The time to humanize personalized learning and our classrooms is now—and this book will give you a place to start.

Contents

Section One: Foundations

  • Chapter 1: Personalization Myths
  • Chapter 2: Teaching in Three Dimensions

Section Two: Pedagogy

  • Chapter 3 Centering Humanity Through Learner Agency
  • Chapter 4: Curriculum and Assessment as a Flexible Frame
  • Chapter 5: Humanizing Teaching to Personalize Learning

Section Three: Equity

  • Chapter 6: A Sense of Belonging
  • Chapter 7: Justice
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Reclaiming Personalized Learning

A Pedagogy for Restoring Equity and Humanity in Our Classrooms


February 2022 | 232 pages | Corwin

Format Published Date ISBN Price
Paperback 01/02/2026 9781071875919 $37.95
Lifetime 01/02/2026 9781071875933 $35.00

Put the person back in personalization with a touch of humanity.

It’s a paradox: technology to individualize curriculum has made classrooms less personal. Let’s instead trust educators to make learning personal by supporting student agency, self-awareness, and the intimate personal connections found in authentic learning experiences.

In the second edition of this groundbreaking book—newly streamlined, and updated with insights from the pandemic—Paul France presents a vision of humanized personalization that rejects the corporate mindset and instead holds equity and inclusion at its center. France leverages over a decade of experience as a National Board Certified Teacher, education consultant, and education technology developer, sharing the following:

  • Practical guidance on designing inclusive learning environments for diverse groups
  • Sustainable applications for humanized personalization in curriculum design, assessment, and instruction
  • Real-life stories from the author’s experience on both sides of the personalization debate
  • A multitude of classroom tools, adaptable to a variety of instructional contexts

Nobody understands the need for humanizing education better than teachers. While educators across the country have learned that inundating students with personalized learning technologies is not the way to go, many don’t know how to personalize learning without them. The time to humanize personalized learning and our classrooms is now—and this book will give you a place to start.


Table Of Contents:

  • Section One: Foundations
  • Chapter 1: Personalization Myths
  • Chapter 2: Teaching in Three Dimensions
  • Section Two: Pedagogy
  • Chapter 3 Centering Humanity Through Learner Agency
  • Chapter 4: Curriculum and Assessment as a Flexible Frame
  • Chapter 5: Humanizing Teaching to Personalize Learning
  • Section Three: Equity
  • Chapter 6: A Sense of Belonging
  • Chapter 7: Justice

Recent Product Reviews:

Reading this book has been a game changer for me and the staff at Portland Elementary. It continues to challenge our thinking and pushes us closer to our vision that all learners will receive experiences that are tailored to their specific academic, social, and cultural needs. This book is always close by, and I reference it often for inspiration and strategy. This is a must read for anyone looking to deepen rigor and engage EVERY student.
Michelle Perkins, Principal, Portland Elementary School, Louisville, KY
If you want to truly understand what personalized learning is and isn’t, and how to implement it in your classroom, Reclaiming Personalized Learning: A Pedagogy for Restoring Equity and Humanity in Our Classrooms is the book for you! The focus on the whole child and the importance of their social, emotional, and academic development, is helped by the quality of students’ relationships and the context in which they live and learn. As I know well as an NBCT, relationships cannot be disentangled from how learning occurs.
Peggy Brookings, President & CEO, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
"In these troubled times, this book is more than a breath of fresh air, it is a call to action. Paul gives us an accessible and sophisticated book that explains how and why we should celebrate the humanity of every single student."
Jim Knight, Senior Partner of the Instructional Coaching Group (ICG) and Author of The Impact Cycle
"A compelling and critically important book for our time. Many schools are rushing to offer “personalized learning”, usually assuming that means individualized learning,with limited evidence for its impact. In this wise book Paul Emerich France considers the nature of powerful personalization. With rich stories of teaching and learning he considers ways to create the most positive learning experiences possible."
Jo Boaler, Professor, Stanford University
“In this brilliant book by a dedicated practitioner, Paul France makes a powerful case for humanizing the process of personalized learning and shows us how to do it. He describes how real personalization requires a carefully constructed classroom culture, regular dialogue and social interaction, and individual reflection. This book is a major contribution to the reimagination of learning and teaching for the 21st century and should be essential reading for new and experienced teachers alike."
Tony Wagner, Senior Research Fellow and Best-Selling Author, Learning Policy Institute

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