Which of the following most logically completes the passage?
Personalized learning involves allowing students great latitude to determine what topics to study and in what order. Because personalized learning gives students more control over the learning process, in theory, students in personalized learning programs will feel more motivated to learn and will learn more and learn faster than do students learning in groups directed by teachers. However, in practice, students in personalized learning programs can find their learning efforts frustrated and can lose motivation because __________.
schools have found that effectively applying personalized learning methods can require hiring additional teaching staff members
learning can be difficult when the order in which topics are studied is inexpertly chosen, as understanding of one topic can be the basis for learning about another
students in a group studying the same topics at the same time can motivate each other and help each other to learn
some schools that go from using from traditional methods to using personalized learning methods see student achievement gains, while others see reductions in achievement
some students are more excited than are others to take advantage of the benefits of personalized learning programs
Scott Woodbury-Stewart
Founder and Expert GMAT Focus Instructor
Solution:
The passage describes personalized learning and explains why, in theory, students would learn more and learn faster when using personalized learning than in groups directed by teachers. It then brings up the issue that, in reality, students in personalized learning programs find their learning efforts frustrated and lose motivation.
The last sentence of the passage can be converted into the following question, the logical answer to which will correctly fill the blank:
Why is it that students in personalized learning programs can find their efforts frustrated and lose motivation?
(A) schools have found that effectively applying personalized learning methods can require hiring additional teaching staff members
That fact that schools have found that effectively applying personalized learning methods requires hiring additional staff members would not cause students to find their learning efforts frustrated and lose motivation.
CORRECT ANSWER(B) learning can be difficult when the order in which topics are studied is inexpertly chosen, as understanding of one topic can be the basis for learning about another
The fact that learning can be difficult when the order in which topics are studied is inexpertly chosen could explain why students in personalized learning programs can find their efforts frustrated and lose motivation. Because the students are likely not experts at choosing the order in which topics are studied, students in personalized learning programs may be doing poor jobs of choosing the orders in which they study topics, and may thus be making their learning difficult.
(C) students in a group studying the same topics at the same time can motivate each other and help each other to learn
This choice is a very tempting trap, but if you carefully consider what this choice says, you can see that the fact that students learning in groups can motivate each other does not explain why students in personalized learning programs can find their efforts frustrated and lose motivation. In other words, this choice explains why students in groups may be especially motivated rather than explains what is holding back students in personalized learning programs.
(D) some schools that go from using from traditional methods to using personalized learning methods see student achievement gains, while others see reductions in achievement
The fact that some schools that go from using from traditional methods to using personalized learning methods see student achievement gains, while other schools see reductions in achievement does not explain why students in personalized learning programs can find their efforts frustrated and lose motivation.
(E) some students are more excited than are others to take advantage of the benefits of personalized learning programs
The fact that some students are more excited than others to take advantage of the benefits of personalized learning programs does not explain why students in personalized learning programs can find their efforts frustrated and lose motivation.
