What is self-paced learning?
Self-paced learning is a type of instruction that progresses on a student’s own timeframe based on their skills and their knowledge of the concepts being taught. It’s a learning process designed in a way where an individual student may proceed from one topic into the next module at their own speed (Bautistia, 2015).
Why self-paced learning?
Self-paced learning offers a number of benefits. The process of students working through the learning unit at their own pace encourages independence and critical thinking as students manage their time, evaluate their own needs, and address them accordingly. By allowing students to learn material and make their own choices based on their needs, interests, and academic levels, self-paced learning minimizes time wasted on already mastered subjects and promotes efficiency. Taking this ownership of their own education gives students a confidence boost, empowers students, and promotes a positive outlook on learning!
How to set up students for SPL online
The key to delivering self-paced learning for students is ensuring that the lessons, quizzes, and resources are all aligned up for students to access as needed. With everything accessible, students can begin to work through the material at their own speed during asynchronous or synchronous learning time.
Delivering self-paced learning online is easy with Edulastic Playlists. Playlists give you that environment to line up your learning modules and sequence your lessons, homework assignments, quizzes, and tests ahead of time. You can include any additional resources, media, or text within your Playlists to supplement the lesson.
Find pre-made assessments in the Edulastic Playlist library (Including EngageNY math playlists) or make your own! With Playlists, you can organize your curriculum and units in advance and assign them to students at the click of a button.
Assign specific modules to your students so you can control the pace of their learning, or assign an entire module for self-paced learning. Once the elements of your playlists are all lined up, you’ll save time prepping and grading and can spend more time teaching.
Access EngageNY Playlists for self-paced instruction
Dive into pre-made Playlists through EngageNY. Known for high-quality, common-core aligned assessments, EngageNY offers a large suite of open-access resources to educators across the country. It’s a fan favorite particularly for tracking student progress on standards and state test prep. Enter the Edulastic Playlist library to get started.
With your Edulastic Premium Teacher account, you have access to this free EngageNY Playlists and other certified, pre-made Playlists! These Playlists help give students the tools they need to work through each piece of their learning journey.
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The Playlist Library has pre-made playlists from EngageNY Math. -
Students work through the playlist modules. As the teacher, you can line up assessments, lessons, and resources for the students to work through..
Take self-paced learning anywhere
The traditional classroom has shifted and now both educators and students have more control over their learning environment. Self-paced learning benefits a wide range of students who can now learn and demonstrate mastery at their own pace. In a way, SPL is a form of differentiating instruction and catering to the learning styles of middle school, high school, and maybe even elementary school students.
Many teachers are turning to self-paced learning with Edulastic Playlists is because of the flexibility it provides whether you’re in person, remote or hybrid. No matter the setting, the process and types of instant insights remain the same! You can monitor the Live Class Board to check student understanding and progress. At the same time, students take charge of their own learning by progressing at their own pace. If a student appears to be struggling at any point, you can see in real-time and reach out to help – regardless if they are in person or not.
Let Playlists help you feel prepared for any teaching scenario. Build your own Playlists with assessments you’ve created or assessments in the Test Library, or assign a free EngageNY Playlist. The ability to bundle learning tasks can help you plan for project-based learning, state test prep, working through your curriculum and more! Plus, it can give students a sense of ownership through self-paced instruction and learning.
Log in to your Premium Teacher account to explore the variety of Playlists available to you and assign them to your class.
New to Playlists? To get started, learn more about Playlists and visit our Help Center for tips and tricks!
Cited resources
Bautista, Romiro G. “Optimizing Classroom Instruction Through Self-Paced Learning Prototype.” Journal of Technology and Science Education, April. 2015.
Explore More Online Resources
- See Playlists in action and how you can use them to match your pacing guide with this 30 minute Playlist walkthrough.
- Discover pre-made online lessons or make your own! Here’s how.