Blending Learning Focusing on Student Success

After writing my first post on Blending Learning, I was blessed with the opportunity to become the new Assistant Principal of Hanford-Dole Elementary School! My previous post was from a teacher's perspective...how I was going to implement it into my classroom.

Now as a school leader, my focus is on how I can support our staff in implementing blended-learning into their classroom to ensure student success. My new school family has been amazing at welcoming me to their family and helping me learn about blended-learning.

On Thursday, I picked up the book Blended by Michael B Horn and Heather Staker from school and dived right into it. It is a great guide to helping schools transform into blended-learning. While reading the book, I was also participating in an online Blended Learning course through Coursera. The two resources went hand in hand.

I decided to focus on Student Experiences in my blog first and then I will write on the other components...(so be sure to subscribe to the blog)

In this post, my focus in entirely on Student Experiences...

The 4 Big Ideas for the Student Experience 

1. Personalized Instruction

1. Every student gets what they need, when they need it. This is driven by data. Data is the root of the decisions that are being made.
2. Technology helps in the process to ensure students are getting basic skills practice, conceptual understanding, etc. 
3. Not your one size fit all experience. 

2. Mastery-Based Learning

1. Embed intentional formative assessments throughout the student learning experience. This is the key to ensuring students are getting what they need with feedback in order to know where they need to go.
2. Scaffold learning.
3. Must show competency in order to move on. 
4. Personalize Learning Plan should be created with students, reviewed throughout, and used as a tool to move forward.

3. Relationships

1. Building genuine relationships is the core and essential part for student success!
2. Student interaction with teachers will help motivate and inspire students to learn.
3. 1:1 Mentor relationship is important. Mentors can help create and review personalize learning plan.
4. Relationships improve learning outcome!

4. Student Agency/Ownership

1. Give students the paddle, let me explore and create their path to their destiny.
2. Students are put in the drivers seat.
3. The teacher is guide on the side and not the sage on the stage. As teachers we rethink our roles and become a mentor, coach, facilitator, etc.
4. Key to engagement is having students own their learning.
5. As students are empowered to own their learning, they become leaders in the process.

High expectations and character development are also essential in academic growth. 

Be transparent with students. Let me see their growth...it build self-confidence.

Things to teach students at the beginning of the school year..

a. Routines and Procedures

b. What to do when you get stuck

c. Identifying learning styles/note-taking strategies

d. GRIT-Persistence-Intrinsic Motivation-Interpersonal Skills

Classroom management is going to be very important when implementing blended-learning.

A few important tips from the book Blended...

1. Design with student motivation in mind.

2. Create an experience that is intrinsically motivating for students.

3. Remember students wants to feels successful and that they are making progress and accomplishing something.

4. Students want time to have fun with friends

Remember to Follow me on Twitter @FITinEDU

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Blended Learning

While at the ISTE 2015 conference, I attended several sessions on Blended Learning. Blended learning combines several teaching methods for students to be successful. As I sat in the sessions, one thing continued to resonate with me...blended learning give students the opportunity to have a diversified learning experience.

Before attending the sessions, I really thought blended learning was just using technology to teach students. I now know that technology is only one component of blended learning. Blended learning has several models:

1. The Flipped Classroom

2. The Station Rotation

3. Virtual Learning

These models you can stick to one or mix and match. 

What is Blended Learning? Blended learning is an opportunity to create a student-centered learning experience where students experience personalize education that makes them successful. Blended-learning helps teacher focus on students individual needs...meeting each student where they are with any activity and when they need it.

As I begin my blended learning journey, I will be mixing and matching. They key is creating a personalized learning experience that will allow my students to be successful. 

Blended Learning Agenda for 90 minutes

10 minutes: Warm-up

60 minutes: Station Rotations (20 minutes each)

10 minutes: Closure

Blended Learning Agenda for 45 minutes

10 minutes: Warm-up

30 minutes: Station Rotations (15 minutes each)

5 minutes: Closure

Pre-Teaching Phase

Students will be assigned a video/PowerPoint (Discovery Education, Khan Academy, SchoolTube, etc.) to pre-teach the topic/concept the night before the topic/concept is being taught. Students will be required to take notes to ensure they have watched the video/PowerPoint. A survey or some type of recording document will be create for students to share what they learned from the video/PowerPoint. I will use Google Drive to create my Digital playlists (using Schoology as a hub) for students. This will give me data to use to assess prior knowledge and the starting point for the lesson. Guided notes, sample questions, concept maps, and graphic organizers  will also be tools I use during the pre-teaching phase of blended learning. All of these tools will provide me with the data that will allow me personalize student learning.

Google Drive Digital Playlist

The Blended Learning Phase

This is the phase I will build on what students learned in the pre-teaching phase. During this phase formative assessments is vital. I know the importance of continuously checking for student understanding in order to drive instruction. Having students use red, yellow, and green cards to indicate their level of understanding or using digital tools like microblogging or Socrative, will help me manage students progress. Formative assessments during this phase will allow me to determine if I need to reteach the topic/concept or maybe pair students for 1-on-1 peer tutoring. I will also use body language and facial expressions as an indicator of student's understanding.

The Blended Learning Phase is where I creatively design stations for my topic/concept and place students at stations that will enhance their learning. In this phase stations will be organized to help students build on the pre-teaching phase. Stations will can be, technology integration, literacy, practice, direct instruction, PBL, virtual learning, and more. 

Time will be set for students to spend at each station, then rotate to the next station. Based on the length of class and depth of the topic/concept I will determine the amount of stations.

Here are a few stations in my Google Drive I have already prepared...

PBL Station

MAPS Station

Post-Teaching Phase

The post-teaching phase is where I will again assess students understanding of the topic/concept. It is a great opportunity to expand student's learning on the topic/concept. Ticket out the door, blogging, digital assessment tools, and Google Doc are a few examples for post-teaching. Post-teaching tools will provide me with data to see if the pre-teaching and blended learning phase was effective. It will allow me to determine where I should go on the following day.

Homework for Extra Practice...

Homework Practice

I will use Schoology for my LMS importing my Google Drive and having students turn in their assignments via Schoology. 

I am so excited and really can't wait to implement Blended Learning into my classroom. I really believe this teaching model will actively engage students in their learning and provide success for all students. 

For more information on Blended Learning check out:

Juliana Finegan's website:

Blend Your Teaching Today: 4 New Modules Focused on the Blended Space

Be sure to follow me on Twitter @FITinEDU,  like my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/FITinEDU,  and subscribe to follow my journey to Blended Learning!