Individualized instruction is a technique of instruction in which content, instructional materials, instructional media, and pace of learning are based upon the abilities and interests of each individual learner.
Individualized instruction is not the same as a one-to-one student/teacher ratio or one-to-one tutoring, as it may seem, because economically, it is challenging, if not impossible to have a teacher for each student. Even the most expensive public school system in the United States (Washington, DC, 2003, approximately $11,000 per student per year) would need at least 5 students per teacher to pay teacher salaries, without anything left for buildings or non-teaching staff.
In a traditional classroom environment, lectures consume approximately 80% of an average teacher’s in-class time, to say nothing of the time needed to prepare lessons. Yet lecturing is an fundamentally inefficient method of conveying information.
In a traditional classroom setting, time (in the form of classes, quarters, semesters, school years, etc.) is a constant, and accomplishment (in the form of grades and student comprehension) is a variable.
In a properly Individualized setting, where students study and progress more independently, achievement becomes more even and time to achieve that level of achievement is more variable.
Where implemented according to Educational Research Associates’ recommendations, Individualized Instruction has been found to improve student accomplishment considerably even while reducing cost dramatically.