Halverson, the School of Education’s associate dean for innovation outreach and partnerships, has spent the last few years watching personal learning in action at American public schools.

He has found that many schools in the U.S. are beginning to emphasize personal learning, but at different speeds and in varying manners: “What schools call personalized varies considerably. … A lot of schools are doing personalized learning, but don’t call it that,” Halverson tells NPR.

One school studied by Halverson in Waukesha, Wisconsin, is a good example of what schools today are doing to address the need for more individualized programs, NPR reports. Waukesha STEM Academy, a K-8 charter school, incorporates elements like allowing students to work at their own pace, software-enabled learning, project based work, and flexible scheduling to encourage students to advocate for themselves and really explore what they are learning and why.

Halverson, who also is a professor with the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis and the director of the Wisconsin Collaborative Education Research Network (The Network), tells NPR that one of the key components in building successful individualized programs is the teachers’ effort “to build the instruction on a personal relationship: What do you need to know and how can I guide you to get there?”

Learn more about the future of personal learning in this NPR report.