Learning Paper

Regional Scan of Individualized Learning

Published: March 2018

The goal of our education initiative is to support our region — Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and the 23 Native nations that share the same geography — to become the national leader in individualizing education to meet the needs and ambitions of all students.

In 2017, we commissioned Social Policy Research Associates (SPR) to conduct baseline research on the state of individualized learning across the region in order to inform our education initiative. The goal of this research is to: 

  1. Capture the level of awareness and understanding of individualized learning concepts throughout the region. 
  2. Document the conditions that foster individualized learning at the school level. 
  3. Identify the challenges to implementing individualized learning practices.
  4. Document existing individualized learning strategies and practices adopted by schools in the region.

This report is informed by a survey of school leaders and telephone interviews with school and district leaders, state education leaders, experts in the field of education, and aligned organizations (those working directly to support the region’s schools and districts to implement individualized learning).

We invite you to explore these findings and to use the information here to enhance your own thinking and work in education.

Download the introduction (PDF)

Download the executive summary (PDF) 

Download the full report (PDF) 15.1 MB

Learn about our Education Initiative