Understanding Blended Learning and How it Can Succeed in Improving Education

Blended learning is on the rise in K-12 education, and for good reason. Technology has greatly transformed traditional teaching and learning methods and is now a vital learning tool for students in K-12 classrooms. In order to provide students with the most valuable learning opportunities possible, many schools have looked to implement new methods of instruction through the use of technology. It is this need for instructional change coupled with advancements in technology that has paved the way for the emergence of blended learning.

Blended learning is defined as a form of education in which a portion of traditional face-to-face instruction is replaced with online or web-based learning. When implemented properly, blended learning can allow for personalized instruction and learning, improve student engagement and prepare students for higher education.

It is important to note, however, that simply implementing technology that allows for online learning does not create a successful “blended” learning environment.

blended graph

Image provided by Mickey Revenaugh, director, New School Models, Pearson and co-founder and executive vice president of Connections Education.

“Blended learning really needs to have a combination of three things: A meaningful online component, a significant, supervised onsite component, and data capture that allows for personalized instruction,” says Mickey Revenaugh, director, New School Models, Pearson and co-founder and executive vice president of Connections Education.

In order for blended learning to succeed in improving education, schools need to have access to the right resources that will provide students with meaningful online and face-to-face instruction and content. Furthermore, schools need to have access to the right data that will allow them to evaluate students’ progress and provide them with meaningful individualized instruction. Finally, teachers need to understand their role in a blended learning environment and also ensure their students understand their own responsibilities when learning through different forms of instruction.

Invest in the Right Resources

In order to find the right resources and technology to aid in providing content and instruction for blended learning, schools need to have an understanding of the learning outcomes they’re looking to achieve.

“First look at the learning outcomes you want, that’s the key thing,” says Tim Hudson, vice president of learning for DreamBox Learning, Inc. “You can’t know what tool you’re going to need until you know what project you’re trying to accomplish as a school.”