While the combination of online and face-to-face instruction is not new, innovations in teaching and learning technology have led to the next generation of online and blended learning classroom formats. Never before have teachers had the capability to pull data from learning software that both informs and shapes how they teach and what decisions they make in the classroom. These advancements are disrupting the long held notions we have about traditional learning environments and the role of the educator.
K-12 TechDecisions spoke with the Michael Horn and Heather Staker, the authors of “Blended: Using Disruptive Innovation to Improve Schools,” to take a deeper look at blended learning and what it means for your school.
K12TD: Why has blended learning suddenly become such a major trend and how is it different from the online learning we’ve had in the past?
Staker: The computer has been in the classroom for decades. That’s not the new thing. The real change has been that in the past few years schools are discovering that when they allow students to really learn online, as opposed to just using gadgets, then there’s this ability for them to move at their own pace and from their own individual pathways. There just wasn’t anything available like that a decade ago.
Horn: What’s different with online learning as opposed to CD-ROM or other computer-based learning in the past, is the ability for two way interaction. There’s also the ability to take that data, the interactions of students and how they are learning, [and use that] to improve programs.
K12TD: How does having that online class component and the learning data change things for teachers?
Horn: It gives the educators two benefits. One, is the ability to get inside every individual child’s head and see where they are at in his or her learning and what they need next. The second thing is students spend time online to actually take in this content and instruction so it frees up teachers to do a lot of things they have always wanted to do like spend time on project-based learning, socratic discussions or mentorship.
K12TD: How can schools start to bring blended learning into the classroom?
Staker: One of the most typical ways at the elementary school level is through rotations where students rotate between online learning and face-to-face instruction, group projects or some other learning modality. At the elementary school level, the idea of rotations isn’t new. The new element is that there is an online component. Ideally, teachers pull data from the online stations that then informs their small group instruction.
At the high school level, there are several different things we see at play. One is students just taking a la carte online courses. They’re still attending classes at their school, but at the same time they are taking a fully online course with an online teacher and so they are blending those two modalities together.
Then we see schools that are even knocking down walls and creating these open learning spaces that we call a flex model where the Internet is the primary backbone of content and instruction, but there are face-to-face teachers on-hand to support, enrich and supplement what the students are learning online.
K12TD: How does blended learning change a teacher’s pedagogy?
Horn: The flex model is where we start to see a lot of opportunities for the pedagogy and the teacher’s role begins to shift in some pretty exciting ways. Teachers spend a lot more of their time taking the data from what students are doing and moving around to work with them on-on-one or pull them out in small groups. [The teacher] is much more of a tutor or small group instructor in that model. They’re also doing a lot more project-based learning or a lot more robust discussion than would otherwise be possible.
I think the really exciting thing is what Heather talked about, knocking down walls between classrooms and creating these learning studios and then you actually have multiple teachers and you can start to allow teachers to specialize in different areas that they either have an aptitude or passion for. Some teachers love to geek out on data and figure out what the right pathways for different students are. Other teachers don’t want to touch data and want to be much more in that one-on-one or that mentor role.
Staker: One of the chief reasons that it’s possible to do these new groupings is that as you allow people to move at their own pace, it wipes out the traditional construct of grade level grouping and so it no longer necessarily makes sense to keep all the nine year olds in the same grade, for example, because they might be all over the board in terms of where they are with each of the subject disciplines. It frees up teachers to think about new roles for themselves as well.
K12TD: How does blended learning change the classroom experience for students?
Staker: I’m just amazed at how much more freedom it gives students. Physically, the software programs let students see where they’re going next and those dashboards are incredibly empowering for students. To see their progress in a more transparent way changes the world for students. It’s a game changer.
K12TD: What kind of technology is used for blended learning?
Horn: In elementary school, there are a lot of math programs gaining traction ranging from ST Math to DreamBox Learning to Reasoning Mind. For reading, there are a fair number of possibilities as well from Read 180 to Lexia Learning. The other subjects, there’s still not quite enough stuff out there yet.
When you get into high school it’s a different story. There are a lot of supplemental options, but we’re also seeing full course options to a much greater degree. Content is no longer the limiting factor. There is a lot of content out there. Figuring out what it is, how you’re using it and why it’s there is really where the challenges are now.
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