Here We Go…Year 3 & In the Know!?

The Cultivation of Personalized & Blended Learning

What we know, as we continue to grow:

1.    All school players must be onboard, they’re the soil

2.    Infrastructure, the roots

3.    Devices, the stem

4.    Digital Content, the water

5.    Teacher planning and facilitation, the sun

6.    Student motivation and individualized learning paths, the oxygen

*Important instruction:   

The blended learning lead must wear pruning gloves, for the garden requires constant and consistent tending amidst the multiple thorns that persistently exist.

What we have:

·      A collective faculty belief that individualizing learning paths, for attainment of student learning potential, is optimum.

·      Teaching practices that weigh heavier on the side of teacher-driven instruction, rather than on student-centered/data-driven learning.

·      Continual time challenges thwarting teacher/student checks and balances of individualized learning paths and fundamental collaborative communication concerning the care and maintenance of blended/personalized learning paths.

·      Deficient devices

·      Differentiated digital content meeting the needs for remediation and acceleration.

·      New award winning digital content with limited upfront time to master implementation and utilization. 

What we still want:

·      All hands and minds cultivating the soil and committing to the growth of personalized & blended learning.

·      A technological infrastructure that remains firmly rooted.

·      Devices that withstand the wind of change and the frequent use, and possible abuse, of users.

·      Digital content that flows into young minds, and seamlessly elevates skill levels, while providing teachers with clear-cut and easily accessible data with which to target direct instruction.

·      Teachers who plan precisely, according to the individual learning paths of each of their students.

·      Students, who,  develop the tools with which to understand themselves as scholars, are empowered through development of their learning paths and are intrinsically rewarded for navigating and persevering through the thickets of essential skills.

·      Collective time to plan for the future, to understand the present and to reflect on the machinations of the past.

Blended Learning – End of Year 2

    When measured, our progress, on the perennial and mightily purposeful path toward the hallowed paradigm shift, from teacher-directed instruction to student-centered knowledge acquisition, demonstrated markedly diverse results, depending on which administrator, teacher, student and/or parent was examined.

To have scored the ultimate measure of blended learning success, it would have meant that:

· Every student, by year’s end, developed into a self-directed learner whose personalized learning path meandered through a wealth of digital, teacher-augmented and hands-on learning opportunities that not only excited and motivated, but accelerated learning far greater than any other year!

· Data-driven decisions manifested into precise positioning of individual learning paths and provided teachers with acute awareness of learning optimization.

· Classroom schedules identified time for recess, lunch, PE, art and music, all other time was used for personalized blended learning acquisition. The only bells heard were for the occasional fire drill.

· Technological hardware was an extension of student appendages, working seamlessly through time and space.

· Adaptive digital content captured student interest, challenged their minds assessed their skill levels and sequentially delivered engaging lessons of quality and worth while developing skills sets with vigor and mastery.

· The three-station rotation model transformed into integrated learning spaces for one on one encounters, cooperative group pods, digital learning micro-environments, furnished sections for teacher-directed instruction and learning stations that offered a variety of skill building and problem solving opportunities. Rotations were student-directed by need and learning path.

· Dedicated time was spent on data collection, data analysis and student – teacher conferencing to collectively review and align learning activity menus for optimum personalized learning paths. In addition, there were frequent meetings between teacher and administrative minds to discuss successful practices and future strategies.

    Had all of these been a reality, our second year of blending learning would have been a grand slam. In actuality, some of our teachers and students came pretty close to hitting one out of the park. For year three, we hope to continue to have more players score high and hopefully touch all the bases!