Why it is important to identify and meet the individual needs of learners

To be able to use inclusive learning strategies successfully teachers will need to know the individual needs of each students in the class. Which is a process for ensuring that learning is designed in response to individuals’ needs has been developed by the learning and skills council (LSC).  This process is known as RARPA (Recognising and Recording Progress and Achievement in non-accredited learning (Duckett and Jones, 2006). Stages of this process are: aims, initial assessment, learning objective, formative assessment and summative assessment. Noessel (2003) believes that the needs of a learner represent the gap between what the student wants to get out of the learning program and his or her current state of knowledge. Each learner is unique, and brings his or her own different style of learning, knowledge set, past experience and motivation. Therefore the teacher has to consider the level of knowledge and skill development attained by the learners prior to the teaching (Dick, Carey, and Carey, 2004). Duckett and Jones (2006) mentions that to promote informed decision-making and effective classroom practice, teachers need to draw on each individual needs, their talents, their preferred learning styles and their personal interests.

Personalised learning is about:	For the individual learner, personalised learning:
Aiming to personalise the teaching to meet the aptitudes and interest of the learner	Gives them a chance to have a say in their learning
Adjusting to the different ways learners achieve their best	Meets their individual learning needs
Identifying the individual needs and learning styles	Maximises their achievement regardless of their abilities or background
Adapting education in a way that bests ensures every learner achievers the highest possible standard	Promotes safe environment and where difficulties can be addressed
Setting individual learning targets and regularly reviewing progress, providing structured feedback and teaching learners how to use it to improve their work.	Increases self –esteem and confidence and improves their motivation

(Duckett and Jones, 2006)

References:
Dick, W. O., Carey, L., & Carey, J. O. (2004). The systematic design of instruction. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Duckett, I and Jones, C ( 2006) Personalised learning; meeting individual learner needs. 14-19 Programme of Support for Delivery of Change on the Ground. Department of education and skills. Kent [Online]. Available from: http://www.drcheryljones.com/publications/Personalised%20Learning.pdf [accessed on 21^st January 2016]

Noessel, C. (2003). Free range learning support. Interaction Design Institute. [Online]. Available from : http://www.interaction-ivrea.it/theses/2002-03/c.noessel/need.htm [Accessed on 21st January 2016]