Just as a set of detailed and consistent standards help prepare students for success, a framework can also support the development
of blended learning teachers.
What are Shaelynn's 7 virtues
of a blended learning teacher?
Not exact matches
Within the Mountain Oak School classroom,
teachers masterfully
blend academic and artistic disciplines so that the whole child is involved in every aspect
of learning.
Ayurveda, the oldest medicinal system that utilizes the perfect
blend of organic herbs and ancient techniques in healing a person is something that every yogi is advised to
learn in order to evolve as a well - rounded yoga practitioner and
teacher.
For example, the
teachers in many
of the leading
blended learning schools spend very little time planning and delivering lessons for whole - class instruction.
At KIPP Empower, a
blended -
learning school in Los Angeles that turned eyes with its 991 API (out
of a possible 1000), the school uses
blended learning to allow students to work in small groups
of no more than 10 students at a time with the
teacher so that students have lots
of opportunities to engage and interact.
Lots
of buzz around
blended learning — the idea that we shouldn't limit ourselves to a forced choice between
teachers and technology, but can strive to find the right combination
of high tech and high touch teaching.
Many
teachers in
blended -
learning schools say that roughly 5 percent
of their
teacher preparation prepared them for what is now 95 percent
of their job, and 95
of their
teacher preparation prepared them for what is now 5 percent
of their job.
Adopting what are becoming tried - and - true
blended -
learning models (yes, I know it still may be too soon to use that phrase for
blended learning, but I just did it) to individualize
learning for students and improve
teachers» lives is better than remaining stuck in a failed factory - based model
of schooling, even if the model is not the most innovative thing ever that pushes the
blended -
learning field forward for students.
But to implement
blended learning, technology departments need to understand the curricular needs
of students and
teachers and vice versa.
Wolpert - Gawron discusses the necessity
of protecting face - to - face (F2F) and real - time
teacher interaction while conducting online programs and presents five necessary components for creating
blended -
learning models.
Our latest publication, «How to create higher performing, happier classrooms in 7 moves: A playbook for
teachers,» offers to
blended -
learning classrooms an early iteration
of what Doug Lemov's Teach Like A Champion gave to traditional classrooms: detailed descriptions
of specific
teacher moves that define high - quality, student - centered teaching.
Prior to the implementation
of the activities with students,
teachers attend a
blended learning training course which has the following objectives:
One
of the initiatives I am working with now is to improve our
blended learning programs and to differentiate our staff development for our
teachers, as well as to teach them how technology can differentiate for their students.
But even as she acknowledged toward the end that technology has a role to play, she missed spotlighting how technology can help us redesign schools to allow students to achieve what appears most important in her mind: the chance for students to have far more meaningful face - to - face interactions with
teachers and peers — a counterintuitive yet important part
of blended learning's promise for many students.
First, she suggested that schools need to ensure that
teachers, students, parents, and administrators all have a shared vision for why
blended learning would be good for their students before getting into the «what» and «how»
of a program.
Not only that, her blog shares in great detail ways that a
teacher might work to begin to utilize the concept
of blended learning in the classroom.
Adopting a
blended learning environment requires taking a holistic look at the entire school community — students,
teachers, staff, and parents — and making changes that allow each
of these groups to buy into the shift.
Dabbs discusses a variety
of resources available to
teachers just getting started with
blended learning.
But Education Elements is smart to understand both how steep the design challenges can be for districts in moving to
blended -
learning models — and consequently where the action is today — as well as the opportunities
blended learning presents to rethink the use
of time in school, such that it can create schools that transform teaching and
learning for both
teachers and students and rack up some wins in the process.
The role
of the
teacher changes dramatically in
blended -
learning models designed to personalize
learning for students.
Now he speaks at conferences and works with
teachers in schools, leading professional development around ideas such as the Flipped
Learning Classroom,
Blended Learning and the effective use
of ICT tools.
When online
learning is used as the primary driver
of instruction,
teachers inevitably give up control over many aspects
of curriculum planning and lesson delivery; and in low - quality implementations
of blended learning, the
teacher's professional judgment ends there.
As the director
of virtual and
blended learning at Indiana's Metropolitan School District
of Wayne Township, Michele Eaton strives to bring personalized
learning to students and
teachers.
I talked to the CEO
of Edmodo, a leading innovator in K - 12
blended learning, about how
teachers,
learning platforms, software, parents and students across the globe can work together in new ways thanks to digital technology.
Most
teachers or instructors reading eLearning industry will most likely engage in some form
of blended learning — at the very least posting assignments and resources online and hosting online discussions.
The definition
of a
Blended classroom differs greatly from college, where
Blended refers to some in class time and some computer time, to secondary education where
Blended learning means having multiple students taking multiple courses through an LMS with a certified
teacher present.
This school - led
teacher training programme provides a unique
blend of in - school experience and online
learning with tutor support.
«If the
blend of face - to - face and online
learning is designed by the
teacher, opportunities are often missed in making
learning meaningful for every learner.
By way
of comparison in the international arena, Singapore trains every preservice
teacher to teach online, including training in
blended -
learning models for the classroom.
As CEO
of Edgenuity, a company that offers online and
blended learning programs delivered by highly qualified
teachers, Factor is putting that belief to the test.
* In math classes, excellent
blended -
learning teachers will use the rotation version
of Time - Technology Swaps to extend their reach to more students, and also work in a team
of developing and novice
teachers on their way to becoming
blended -
learning teachers.
In partnership with the University
of Florida, P.K. Yonge designed a summer institute that would give
teachers the time and resources to think about
blended learning.
Driven by changes already happening at the higher education levels and the need to prepare students for the 21st century workplace,
blended learning provides the school with a variety
of ways to address student needs, differentiate instruction, and provide
teachers with data for instructional decision - making.
Often, these schools are taking advantage
of the innovations offered by
blended learning technology platforms and combining them with the regulatory freedom offered under charter school laws, waivers
of seat time requirements, and
teacher reforms to develop entirely new models
of education.
This article is adapted from «Redefining
Teacher Education: K - 12 Online -
Blended Learning and Virtual Schools» (120K) by Susan Patrick and Lisa Dawley, a brief prepared for the Summit on Redefining
Teacher Education, which was held at the University
of Texas at Austin.
In the absence
of full - time virtual schools,
teachers unions and other opponents use their resources to attack
blended -
learning charters, even though the latter do not differ in legal structure, brick - and - mortar presence, or enrollment practices from other charter schools.
Far from replacing our
teachers, a
blended -
learning environment holds the potential
of making the job more accessible for more individuals.
Although there is plenty
of data to understand the growth
of charter schools or the numbers
of students in districts, because
blended learning is a phenomenon that doesn't occur at the school level — it instead occurs at the level
of individual classrooms and
teachers — capturing what's happening is difficult.
As that happens, it will be fascinating to see how
blended learning impacts students» relationships with their
teachers and improves the non-academic aspects
of their
learning.
Funders may need to be more deliberate by creating a robust entity that has the sole job
of coordinating across the entire geographic cluster to make sure that system leaders, principals and other school leaders,
blended learning directors,
teachers, and education technology companies have frequent opportunities to network and spend time with each other
learning and building in a deliberate way on each other's successes and setbacks.
According to the Some Benefits and Drawbacks
of Blended Learning written by William Huntsberry for KQED News, college teachers claim that blended learning motivates them to create lessons on the fly, make plans for students individually, and help them
Blended Learning written by William Huntsberry for KQED News, college teachers claim that blended learning motivates them to create lessons on the fly, make plans for students individually, and help the
Learning written by William Huntsberry for KQED News, college
teachers claim that
blended learning motivates them to create lessons on the fly, make plans for students individually, and help them
blended learning motivates them to create lessons on the fly, make plans for students individually, and help the
learning motivates them to create lessons on the fly, make plans for students individually, and help them
learn.
But if school leaders adopt
blended learning merely to increase out -
of - district enrollments, increase course offerings, boost credit completion rates, lower staffing costs, or decrease the demands placed on
teachers, then
blended -
learning technologies will become increasingly cheap, convenient, engaging, and easy to use without necessarily improving students» academic or life outcomes.
The power
of blended learning — to let students
learn individually paced basics online, so
teachers can focus on personalized, enriched face - to - face instruction — can bring excellent teaching to more students, and enable all
teachers to earn more.
There is a great deal
of additional work for
teachers involved in all stages
of blended learning.
Santa Rita's McGonagle said it was «crucial» to have pilot
teachers like Cadwell who can act as avatars for the rest
of the district as it expands its
blended learning.
When this happens, students and
teachers often find the new technologies and
blended -
learning programs to be more
of a detriment than a benefit to education.
Participants stressed that limiting the number
of seats around a
blended and personalized
learning design table, in turn, limits the level
of teacher buy - in to new classroom models.
With a great range
of possibilities provided by the
blended learning model,
teachers may start overdoing with educational activities and content.
Growing interest in «
blended learning» and other classroom uses
of technology, which help
teachers customize and individualize
learning by letting some students move at their own pace online while teaching other kids in smaller, perhaps more homogeneous groups.