“In their own way”: personalization in history teaching in second-chance academic classes

Abstract

In this article, I seek to present a case description of personalized learning implemented in my teaching practice as a high school history teacher in central Israel. The study spans two consecutive academic years in two 11th-grade Second-Chance Academic (MABAR) classes. Grounded in qualitative educational discourse, this research offers a reflective perspective on lived experience rather than quantitative data. At the center is an interpretive examination of personalized learning during preparation for the national matriculation examination, where students were offered a choice between different learning modalities. While most students ultimately chose to remain in or return to the traditional teacher-led classroom, the findings suggest that for vulnerable populations, agency operates powerfully through the act of choosing itself, with the classroom functioning as a deliberately selected anchor. The study offers insights into pedagogical processes, challenges, and students’ responses. These responses consistently described an increased sense of ownership and a heightened awareness of personal responsibility for their learning, trends evident through daily interactions and supported by students’ own accounts in informal conversations and reflective interviews administered over the course of the study. In addition to these findings, the article proposes several directions for reflection and preliminary perspectives regarding possible ways of implementing personalized learning in school settings.