Blended Learning Philosophy WHY BLENDED LEARNING?

Personalized Learning-- Race to the Top makes clear the US Department of Educations priority for students to have a more personalized learning to boost student achievement. Blended Learning provides the opportunity for students to learn at their own pace and with an individualized curriculum immediately responsive to their growth. Blended Learning can also address the needs of different learning styles. Student Control-- Blended Learning also provides students more control over how and when they learn. It can allow students to have at least some control over the time, place, path and pace of their learning. Immediate student feedbackBlended learning curriculum can provide students with immediate feedback, allowing them to make real time corrections to their thought processes. Data to inform instructionBlended learning can provide teachers with large amounts of data to help shape instruction and improve students growth and achievement. Effective use of resourcesWith budget and scheduling constraints, administrators and teachers alike are searching for ways to effectively serve the most students possible. Blended Learning provides opportunities for buildings to do this.

STEPS TO IMPLEMENT BLENDED LEARNING

Determine the model of delivery

Procure technology

Choose curriculum

Data & instructional support

Technical support

Determine the model of delivery-- How models are determined must be individualized for each student population, also meet individual staffing and scheduling constraints. Primary Level-- A Rotation Model is a logical way to begin a Blended Learning experience in the primary grades. This would include in class time in the subject for

students to alternate between online and face-to-face instruction. This is a logical next step with working with groups and activity center based classrooms. Secondary Level-- At the secondary level, students are generally more independent and mature. This allows for a more Flex or a la cart model of blended learning. This is implemented through either students choosing the method of instructional delivery (online or traditional classroom) Middle Level-- The middle level presents a unique challenge to the blended learning experience. At this age, students are at such a variety of maturity and independence that a more flexible model must be developed. This would include a more a la cart model of blended learning, with more teacher input in the individuals method of delivery.

Staffing-- Ideally, each school should have a teacher or team of teacher to serve as the blended learning and technology support for the school. This will allow individual building staff to have on-site support to deal with problems expediently. This would also foster more site-based ownership of the blended learning model as well as meet the needs of individual buildings.

Choose curriculum Curriculum needs must meet individual building individual needs while keeping a consistent thread across the district. Curriculum must be scrutinized based on a number of things not limited to alignment to core content standards, cost, ease of use, student interest, useful and actionable data capabilities. Procure technologyAs a model and a learning platform are being determined, the technology that is available and/or needed needs to be considered. In my experience, laptops are the most reliable technology to use with online blended learning models. Although ipads are extremely versatile for other technology applications in the classroom, they are problematic with some of the online blended learning deliverers. My recommendation is when acquiring new technologies for the purpose of blended learning, laptops with as many hard wired internet connections as possible are the most reliable choice. Available technology will also inform the choice of learning platforms. It must also be ensured that all students, regardless of home situation or economic background have access to required technology. Supports must be made in each building ensure equitability.

Staff training and support-- It is imperative to plan for staff training and support throughout this process. First and foremost, teachers must believe in the blended learning program they are asked to implement. For this to happen, teacher input must be sought on a continual basis. Communication is key. Staff training must include moth technical training and software training for the individual learning platforms. Teachers have to be able to see blended learning not only as something they are capable of facilitating, but

something that will help their practice and their students as well. Building self-efficacy in our overworked staff is a big priority. This includes all staff that will be facilitating blended learning, both parapros and certified staff alike. All staff involved must be empowered to problem solve, trouble shoot technical problems. In additional to technical training, staff needs to be trained in how to analyze student data to help inform classroom instruction. This training cannot be done in one session. I believe the best way to assist teachers with this is by continued support. This can be done by taking opportunities to pull individual data with teachers and analyze how to alter instruction based on results. It is important that staff do not view blended learning as one more thing to do, but rather as a way to be more effective. I know from personal experience that this type of data analysis can be overwhelming for teachers with large number of students. It is vital to work with teachers to find effective ways to use the large amount of data to make instructional choices.