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Fundamentals of Blended Learning

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My name is Michael Thompson,

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and I'm the director of school partnerships

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at Education Elements.

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We work with schools across the country

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to help them think about blended learning

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and to design instructional models

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which use technology effectively.

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Our primary product is the HLMS, which I will discuss

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in more detail in some of our other videos.

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In this video, I want to share

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the fundamentals of blended learning.

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I'll explain what is meant when someone uses

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the term 'blended learning,' describe some of

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the blended learning models,

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and discuss the results we are getting.

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What is blended learning?

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If you think about the traditional classroom

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environment on one end of the spectrum,

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and on the other end of the spectrum is a student

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learning on a computer at home,

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blended learning is somewhere in the middle.

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Now let's ask ourselves,

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"How do we differentiate and individualize

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instruction in the classroom?"

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Frankly, students are not engaged

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in lecture-style instruction.

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We know that small-group instruction,

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personal learning plans, guided practice,

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and inquiry-based teaching all lead toward

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a better and deeper understanding of concepts.

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Unfortunately, differentiation and feedback

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doesn't scale without technology.

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So blended learning is about leveraging

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digital content to provide students

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with skills and practice –

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meanwhile, the teacher focuses on

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depth and application of concepts

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to teach higher-order thinking skills.

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So what if we can create an environment

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where, one,students can get individualized,

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self-paced instruction,

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two, teachers can provide

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differentiated small-group instruction,

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based upon weekly or daily data,

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and, three, schools can operate

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at a much lower cost per pupil –

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which will allow them to reallocate resources.

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This environment is blended learning.

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What are some of the blended-learning models?

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Let's go back to the spectrum learning environments.

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As we see it now, there are four models emerging:

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lab rotation, class rotation, flex, and pod.

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I'm going to go over each of these now.

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Lab rotation is where students move in and out

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of a classroom to a computer lab.

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Many people seeing this model will think it looks

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very similar to a traditional computer lab.

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However, if you look under the hood,

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the difference is that in a lab rotation,

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the data from the content in the learning lab

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informs the instruction in the classroom.

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In a class rotation model,

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students are broken out into smaller groups.

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So a class of 30 may be broken out

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into four small groups.

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Every 20 minutes,

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the groups may rotate between stations.

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One station is with the teacher –

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two stations are with the computer –

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and the fourth station may be guided practice.

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In this environment, a teacher has the ability

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to monitor the whole class, manage behavior,

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and maintain the class culture.

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In the flex model, the learning lab might look like

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a large call center, with banks of computers.

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Around the edges of the lab might be

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smaller breakout rooms for classes.

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In this model, the students work

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mostly on the computers,

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and a teacher might pull out a group of students

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for seminar intervention or direct instruction.

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One of the newer models is the pod concept.

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Essentially, it's a school within a school,

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and each pod might have multiple grade levels.

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In this model the role of the teacher may be

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redefined and broken out into discrete roles –

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an adviser, a behavior specialist,

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or an instructor – to support each pod.

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All of these models are rethinking the traditional school,

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giving students more control over their learning,

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and providing students with targeted instruction.

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What are some of the results?

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From a student perspective, students are

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more engaged using online content

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versus paper-and-pencil practice worksheets.

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They like getting real time feedback

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and knowing where they stand at any time.

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Students can control how fast or slow

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they need to go through a lesson.

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In these schools, we see students accelerating

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past the skills for their grade level.

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And this is what we call unleashing their learning velocity.

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Also, even though the class sizes may be larger,

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students feel that their classes are actually pretty small,

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because the experience they have

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with the teacher is in a small group.

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Now from a teacher's perspective,

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the teachers we've spoken to find it easier

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to plan for small group instruction

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versus trying to teach to the middle

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and differentiating top and bottom.

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Teachers find teaching in small groups more rewarding,

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because the students are more engaged.

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And finally, teachers are surprised by how much easier

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classroom management is with students fully engaged

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on the computers versus when students

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are doing things on pencil and paper.

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Thank you for watching our video on blended learning.

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We are excited by the potential opportunities

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blended learning brings.

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And I hope you found it useful as you think about your own school.