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.
I find it really interesting that blended learning is referred to as a "disruptive innovation." The word disruptive makes it sound undesirable, but with the addition of innovation, you could interpret such disruption as positive...the integration of blended learning is not disrupting instruction, but rather the traditional conventions of classroom instruction. I'm curious to learn more about the implementation and results. (This is Laura, by the way...I'm not sure if my name is included in the "Comment as")
ReplyDeleteI know....disruptive can have a negative connotation. However, the authors are basically stating the difference between sustaining education and disrupting it through innovative changes. Interestingly, the authors suggest implementing the "disruptive" changes usually work best in higher grade levels. This kind of blended learning involves changes like offering online college classes for high school students rather than using something like a rotation schedule or flipped classroom which you can do for younger students. It's a good book!
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