Personal learning plans (often abbreviated as PLPs) are developed by students—typically in collaboration with teachers, counselors, advisors, and parents—as a way to help them achieve short- and long-term learning goals, most commonly at the middle school and high school levels.

Personal learning plans are based on the belief that students will be more motivated to learn, will achieve more in school, and will feel a stronger sense of ownership over their education if they decide what they want to learn, how they are going to learn it, and why they need to learn it to achieve their personal, educational, career, and life goals. The general goal of a personal learning plan is to bring greater coherence, focus, and purpose to the decisions students make about their education.(citation)

Below are the initial efforts of 8th grade students in completing one aspect of the PLP process.