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Ideally, every student in a grade level would have similar learning needs. What is true, instead, is that students enter each grade level with completely different skills, strengths and needs. That means in a typical 8th grade English/Language Arts class of 30, there may be several students who read at a 5th or 6th grade level, some who read close to or just above grade level, and a few who read well above grade level. Effective instruction not only helps all students meet subject/grade level standards, but also supports and challenges students to continue to make growth.
Sounds daunting, doesn’t it? That’s because it is. Providing all students the instruction they need requires some novel thinking: enter blended learning, the combination of online learning with classroom instruction. By leveraging high-powered digital tools designed to accelerate student learning with face-to-face interactions, a powerful instructional model is created. Students gain control over their own learning; teachers gain powerful data to inform small group instruction and allow for greater personalization.
As I employed blended learning in my classroom, I found that the initial excitement was focused on using technology. Of course, student engagement rose exponentially when I was able to say, “Yes, you can use your phone.” Students were excited about the new technologies that helped to make their classroom a bit more like the world in which we all operate. Students engaged with lessons I had loaded online and were challenged by online flashcards or leveled newspaper articles. Most important, I was able to increase the quality and quantity of what I offered to students, and to maximize instruction so that all students were getting what they needed and were empowered to take more active roles in their own learning. Feedback from students revealed that they found incredible power in this new model. One student (at a 12th grade level) claimed, “I learn differently when using digital tools by being able to do things more efficiently and at my own pace and level.” Nearly all students said that working in small groups with me meant they received better feedback and learned more.
Employing digital tools means that interactions between students and teachers increase in value, and that students are able to work through a path that works best for them. Teachers become facilitators to assist students in driving their own learning through the use of smart educational technology. We are at an incredible intersection of innovation and education, which is nothing less than revolutionary for authentic student learning.
Ellen Dorr serves as the Learning Technology Manager for Highline Public Schools. Previously, she worked in education for a decade as an English/Language Arts teacher, implementing blended learning in her classroom and serving in various leadership positions, including as the Blended Learning Specialist for a low-income, high-diversity middle school.
