This past year has been different. Very different. These moments have been filled with questions, "How did I get here? How did WE get here?" They have been the big mind-blowing moments that have stretched my thinking (not to mention my energy and focus). In my teaching career, I have not been challenged, pedagogically, as much as I have been during this past year. Suddenly, I feel like I have been tossed back into the ranks of the new teachers. There have been days that I felt like I was just simply trying to tread the water.
The early 21st century will be remembered as responsible for true disruption in the educational space. It is this moment that we, the educators, are forging into new waters. I am not overwhelmed by this thought, but rather empowered that each of us can make a true change.
About a year ago, I was informed that I would have the opportunity to launch blended sections for one of the electives that I teach. I immediately started my own research (I'll share some of that later!).
Actually, my research started years ago. I did not know why I was researching, but I knew that I needed to learn about how and why the digital age would change the classroom. Ever since computers and the internet became accessible to students, we feared that educators would be deemed unnecessary.
The formal shifts that teachers are now being asked to make, and the transformation of the student learning experience should not be unexpected by anyone. After spending years casually reading about technology integration into the classroom, I came to the conclusion that teachers will never be useless. In fact, I would now argue that blending learning empowers the teacher (and her adaptable abilities) and makes her more relevant than ever before.
During my fact gathering stage a few years back, I relied upon the work of Christensen Institute and The Learning Accelerator to create my formal schema. The Christensen Institute is a fascinating entity, because its focus is disruptive innovation, not just within the educational sphere. The Learning Accelerator works with districts to implement blended learning strategies. Both organizations, though, define blended learning in a similar manner:
Christensen Institute:
The definition of blended learning is a formal education program in which a student learns:
- at least in part through online learning, with some element of student control over time, place, path, and/or pace;
- at least in part in a supervised brick-and-mortar location away from home;
- and the modalities along each student's learning path within a course or subject are connected to provide an integrate learning experience.
The Learning Accelerator:
Blended learning is the transformative educational innovation of our time and has the potential to significantly improve K-12 education throughout the country. Blended learning is the strategic integration of in-person learning with technology to enable real-time data use, personalized instruction, and mastery-based progression.
It is through those lenses that I most clearly see that implementing blended learning is how teachers can personalize education in an engaging manner for students. We are key to integrating these learning experiences for students.
Over the next few weeks, I am going to provide insight and information about how my experience of formally launching blended sections of the mandatory elective (more on that later!) that I teach.
The topics of the blog will include the following:
1. How did I prepare to get to Day One in September?
2. How did I present this opportunity to students?
3. How does the student experience look?
4. How did students respond?
5. What observations did I make?
6. How did I change the course for the new semester?
7. How is instruction different in these different formats: blended vs. face-to-face vs. online?
If there is a specific topic, idea, or question you have, please drop me a comment below! I want this blog to be useful to you as you grow as a practitioner, or help others to grow!
