Social Studies and Personalized Learning: Emerging Promising Practices From the Field

At first glance, the central goals of social studies appear to be at odds with personalized learning. Although personalized learning approaches stress differentiation and student autonomy, social studies emphasizes helping young people become “citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world” (National Council for the Social Studies [NCSS], 2010, p. 3; Redding, 2014a, 2014c). In this chapter, I begin with the premise that—contrary to what may appear at first glance—the objectives in social studies do relate closely to the goals of personalized learning. I begin by defining social studies and personalized learning, demonstrating how their core ideals and best practices align. Then I show ways that social studies can be taught to meet the aims of personalized learning through a discussion of emerging promising practices. Ultimately, the learning goals of social studies and the aims of personalization overlap significantly to support the learning and development of diverse students in becoming engaged citizens in a democracy.