How Can We Get Students to Complete the Online Home Assignments?

After receiving several comments on my blog about problems arising when students don't complete online work from home, I decided to investigate ways I can avoid this frustration. With the mission to incorporate more online learning next school year, I don't want to spend a lot of time planning only to have students showing up in the morning without having completed the prework at home. As one of my classmates stated that because of this problem, she abandoned this model.

In this article by Dr. Barbi Honeycutt, she gives the reader three ways to encourage student engagement and work completion from home. The first suggestion involves giving some student autonomy to the assignment. You can give your students a choice in how they demonstrate their understanding of the assignment. Her second suggestion involves making them accountable by requiring them to make their thinking visible. Maybe they have to take a quiz, bring in a written summary, or post a comment to a discussion board. Lastly, Dr. Honeycutt mentions the necessity to connect work done at home to the work done in class. If there is no connection, students will feel like they can get away without completing the online work from home.

These suggestions may seem simple, but they have definitely given me something to consider when implementing my online component next school year.

Five Relevant Case Studies and What They Show Us About Blended Learning

The Michael and Susan Dell Foundation completed five case studies of blended learning school environment in the summer of 2011. Their two goals were to increase their understanding of this model and also help broaden the knowledge of other practitioners. All five case studies used a rotation model of instruction and the reasons for moving to a blended model centered around the desire to improve outcomes for high needs students.

There are significant findings we can take away from these cases studies. I will highlight the few I found most interesting to me.

• all five schools saw the need to adopt a laddered system of teachers (lead teachers, intervention teachers, and assistants)
• each school spent a considerable amount of time planning their model; however, the system has changed during implementation
• the packaged online learning products were often not aligned with standards which required teachers to adapt
• the technology infrastructure budgeted often had to see an increase in time and resources needed....more than expected

The study uncovered key considerations or areas of improvement that need to occur:

• better online programs
• better integration of data
• a need to form communities of practice to share information
• continued innovation will be necessary

Blended learning is still evolving and considered cutting edge by many school districts. The case studies demonstrated increased student engagement, opportunities for response to intervention, and the ability to make data driven real time decisions at times. What I consider the most important information presented in this article centered around the considerations the county should take into account before adopting this approach. It needs to be well thought out and studied or it could be disruptive in a bad way....not in a good way. 

Current Trends in Blended Learning

According to eschool news, blended learning has evolved and is currently experiencing five trends. They are:

1. More student choice
2. Digitization
3. Personalized learning
4. New models
5. New technologies

The trend in more student choice through blended learning means teachers are letting go of managing curriculum and students are able to have say in their path and pace. Digitization refers to the possibility of driving down costs through digitizing materials. Personalized learning can be an outcome of blended learning by meeting the individual needs of students. The author suggests this will occur from ground up reform when parents and educators see the benefits. As teachers become more comfortable with a blended learning modality, new models are sure to emerge. Finally, improvements in technology through changes in assessment, adaptability, and engagement is on the horizon as more schools adopt the blended learning approach.

As I explored the Blended Learning Universe site, I was encouraged by watching short videos of real students sharing their success using this modality. In one instance, an 8th grader who was failing math, turned his results around using a program that is designed to reach every students. His testimonial was very positive and he was able to feel successful in math. 

In another video clip, a station rotation model proved appealing. Students rotate to 3 different stations where they are meeting with the teacher, working independently or collaboratively, and also engaging with software that allows for differentiation. The students in the video were engaged and appeared to respond well to being able to move about the classroom.

Currently, when I am teaching math, I use this model. My goal is to expand this station rotation to science next year. I am thinking about having a traditional textbook reading rotation, a computer rotation where the students have choice in Brain Pop or other bookmarked science sites or apps, and then possibly a third rotation where students are working with me in small groups applying the topic in some way...maybe through use of the scientific method. This seems feasible. I will know in September how it works with my new crop of fifth graders.

What Would Horn and Staker Say About My Research?

     "Blended learning environments are not haphazard places. A teacher should not set up an online space, open the door for students, and stand back and wait for learning to take place, as if by magic. Instead, the teacher should be thoughtful in the construction of the online component, creating complementary blocks of instruction that utilize the affordances of the technology and medium, whether that is in the form of research, multi-modal composition, or some other element of instruction. Successful and rich blended learning environments are built around the possibilities now available with technology, so that, for example, a student learning about cells in science class can later conduct research (maybe even talk via Skype with a working scientist), create her own animation of cellular mitosis, share that animation as a file in the online environment, reflect on the experience through chats with the teacher, and become the expert on mitosis within a class that reaches both in the school and beyond. Here, the teacher acts as a mentor, laying the groundwork for knowledge first in a live classroom and then guiding the inquiry along in the online space."

 Kevin Hodgson, author of Sharing Time in a Blended Learning Space, on learnnc.org provides a glimpse into what a blended learning environment should be and what it should not look like. Horn and Staker would readily agree with this method of planning. In their book, they suggested that in blended learning environments a standard planning process would not work. (p.266) The authors argue that successful implementation involves making sometimes significant adjustments as their operation has continued. Organizations change their plans as they gain more information.

 Likewise, the authors would readily agree with teachers being mentors rather than leading the learning. Horn and Staker argue that students actually need teachers to serve as mentors to help the students build the skills they need later in life. (p. 172) 

Staff writers for teachthought.net say, "This is blended learning’s real strength: it transforms a largely transmissive method of teaching–say, a professor lecturing for what feels like an eternity–into a truly interactive one. It sounds ideal on paper, but does it work? A 2010 meta-analysis published by the U.S. Department of Education suggests it does. According to the report, students exposed to both face-to-face and online education were more successful than students entirely in one camp or the other." Horn and Staker would undoubtedly agree with this quote. They make a strong argument in their book that factory model schools fall short today because they aren't cultivating the skills students require today to succeed in future careers.

With all I have learned today about blending learning, I am quite sure Horn and Staker would be smiling in agreement and cheering me on with my continued research on the topic.

I like it. Now how do I implement it?

After reading this important book by Horn and Staker, I have started looking for ways to integrate more blended learning opportunities in my classroom for next year. I started by search by simply googling "blended learning" . This led me to a helpful edutopia article which provided simple considerations for implementing the blended learning model. The best advice, in my opinion, was that if traditional, direct instruction is working with a certain component or during a particular part of the day, then don't throw that out. Instead, look for areas where blended learning would meet the needs of your students better.

The edutopia article led to another source for me to explore which was in the form of a
short video clip. In this clip Dr. Charles Graham points out what he calls is the 6 P's to blended learning. They are:

• participation- everyone has the opportunity to participate which is difficult to do if in a strictly brick and mortar situation
• pacing- students can move ahead or repeat lessons at their own pace
• personalization- teachers can assign specific lessons based on digital assessments so that students are working from personalized plans
• place- blended learning allows students to work outside the classroom walls
• personal- instead of being isolated like some people may view digital learning, students can associate with each other virtually
• preparation- students and teachers can be better prepared for class by providing an online component

Currently, I use digital textbooks; however, we still read the content together. It could be advantageous to assign reading from the digital texts at home which would allow more in depth discussions at school. This would give students the time needed to really synthesize the information.

We use Dreambox during math which is an online math program which differentiates for the student. However, I also have access to educreations which is an ipad app where I can record step by step lessons for students. If I uploaded these to my web page, I could try out a flipped classroom model during different times of the year. 

It is my hope that if students can work more at their pace, I can allow some to work on something like Genius Hour which would provide more time for me to work with those that may require more teacher directed instruction. One favorite quote I read from a blog by Riley Justis on the topic is, "The teacher becomes a resource rather than THE resource."

Blended, Using Disruptive Innovation to Improve Schools, written by Michael B. Horn and Heather Staker is a guide to blended learning and is written in four distinct parts. The first part explains to the reader what blended learning looks like and what it is not. The second section of the book gives suggestions on how to mobilize people to embrace changes in education. During the third part of the book, the authors explain to the audience how to choose and design the best model of blended learning based on:

1.       what problem the school wants to solve

2.       what is the desired student experience

3.       what type of team the school has at its disposal

4.       the physical space available

5.       availability of internet-enabled devices

This book makes a strong case for employing a blended learning approach which the authors define as “any 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.”

Perhaps the biggest argument for blended learning is that is can free up adult time from providing constant, direct instruction so they can then focus on support, enrichment, and mentoring of students. This idea appears to possibly have some advantages. With students moving at their own pace, teachers can pull strategy groups or select students to work on higher level problem solving skills. Rather than blended learning being accused of adding more to the teacher’s plate, the case is made that this style of education can really give teachers some time back for important components of their job.

If you are a teacher, administrator, or even a superintendent of a school system and are interested in learning more about the possible benefits of disruptive innovation, you can purchase this book at Amazon. The authors have done extensive research in this field. Michael Horn is a co founder of the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation and is the executive director of the education programs for this organization. Heather Staker is a senior research fellow for the same institute.

Stay tuned for my next blog entry where I will offer my opinion and brainstorm ideas of how this approach may work in my classroom.

Introduction and Purpose of this Blog

As a fourth grade teacher who is enrolled in a digital design graduate program, my interests lie in integrating technology in the elementary school, not in a haphazard way, but in a methodical way. It is my desire and intention to investigate the use of blended learning in schools. Since I have made progress integrating technology in many ways such as; through the use of skills based applications, using software which allows enrichment, and teaching students how to use various productivity software to create original products, it is time to move ahead.

Since I have been a member of the One to the World Leadership team at my school this past year and will embark on participating as a Loudoun Creates teacher next year, I feel it is the perfect time to research and dig deeper into the topic of blended learning.

So far in my reading on the topic, I have learned that blended learning is a disruptive innovation in the field of education where students learn online while also attending a traditional brick and mortar school. This practice allows differentiation for the students' learning while also offering the one on one support provided by a teacher or tutor. Our current student requires a student centered learning model rather than the factory model of old. This student centered approach allows for different working memory capacities and different levels of background knowledge.

What really got me excited was the initial study cited in Chapter One of Clayton Christensen's book, Blended, Using Disruptive Innovation to Improve Schools. This study involved a fifth grader who found himself in the bottom math group. After his school initiated a blended learning environment, Jack found himself at the top of the class, working above grade level.

This example is only one study, of course, and I am excited about researching the topic further. Come with me on this journey as I learn about more of the benefits of this approach and how we can implement this style of learning in our classrooms.