Plus, the MLDs really reinforced the notion of differentiated learning: By giving students the option of using pencil, paper, podcasts and so forth, we were allowing them to tap into their individual learning preferences.

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Eleven years ago Ronald Stevens, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the UCLA School of Medicine, got fed up trying to test his medical students' diagnostic skills with paper and pencil.

FORBES: Instant feedback in the classroom

Other students were sitting at their desks reading or doing pencil-and-paper homework.

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