The Pedagogy of Blended Learning

Blended instruction is what the teacher does with technology. Blended learning is where students use tech to have control over path, place, and pace. - Eric Sheninger

I remember back in 2012 when we began to implement blended learning strategies at my former high school.  At the time the flipped approach was all the rage and best suited for the resources we had and the age group of our kids. The goal was to make the learning experience more personal for our students while better meeting their individual needs in the process.  In our case, this meant better using time during the school day to transfer the balance of power from instruction (teacher-centered) to learning (student-centered).  A great deal has changed since 2012 when it comes to blended learning. As technology has evolved so have many of the opportunities inherent in this strategy.  

Image credit: http://www.staloysiusla.org

As I work with more and more schools on blended learning, there is always a focus first and foremost on ensuring that sound pedagogical design serves as a foundation. Herein lies the impetus of the work at Wells Elementary school the past two years. For the purposes of this post, I am going to highlight strategies, elements, models, and supports (tools). Please note that this list is by no means exhaustive or indicative of a be-all or end-all approach.  Since my items are (or should) be common knowledge, there won’t be much elaboration.  Hyperlinks will be used in the cases where I feel additional context and information is beneficial. 

Strategies

Below I identify some strategies that are widely accepted when it comes to sound pedagogy.  As you either create or evaluate blended activities are these included in some form or another?  If not, think about where there is an opportunity for growth. 

• Small-group instruction while the rest of the class is engaged in other activities
• Checking for understanding
• Differentiation 
• Assessment (formative and summative)
• Feedback

Elements

The real power of pedagogically-sound blended activities is to empower kids to take more ownership over their learning while making the experience more personal in school. Many of these elements require increasing student agency, incorporating flexible learning spaces, and creating tasks that involve the purposeful use of technology to collaborate, communicate, and create. You will also notice that some are interchangeable. For example, many quality blended activities allow students a certain level of choice over their learning path. Keep in mind that one element might support or enhance another.

• Path
• Pace
• Place
• Choice
• Voice
• Advocacy

Models

There are many mainstream models out there that can be used to blend effectively. HERE are a list and description of 12 that are very popular. In theory, these sound great but implementing them into practice is an entirely different animal. Below are some of the most popular models I see being actively utilized with a high level of efficacy in schools.

• Station rotation
• Choice boards
• Playlists
• Flipped classroom

Below are some images to provide more insight as to what each of these looks like in practice. 

Station Rotation

Choice Board w/ individual learning targets

Playlist

Flipped classroom

Solutions

There is no shortage of tools available that can be used as part of the models listed above when a sound pedagogical foundation is in place. The key is not to get caught up in the blended instruction piece and move towards blended learning.  Popular tools that I have seen effectively utilized by kids include Go Formative, Flipgrid, Edpuzzle, and PlayPosit. These are all fantastic options that can be aligned with the strategies listed above. If you are looking to spread your wings, check out this list crowdsourced by Tom Murray. When it comes to differentiation and summative assessment I recommend the integration of adaptive learning tools. Yes, there is a cost to these. However, learners can be pushed based on ability level and the data gleaned can be used during small group to provide targeted instruction. 

It is important to remember that technology only has to be a small component of an effective blended learning activity when considering the strategies, elements, and models listed above. Autonomy is emphasized to better democratize the experience where learners explore and demonstrate high levels of understanding related to concepts and constructing new knowledge.  As for the technology part, when it is all said and done it’s what the kids do with tech to learn in ways that they couldn’t without it. Blended makes this a reality. 

Blending with Playlists

In an effort to personalize learning more and more educators are turning to blended learning strategies. Before getting into the specifics of this post, it is important to flesh out each concept to ensure the efficacy of these shifts in pedagogy.  When it comes to personalized learning, the “personal” should be emphasized.  Putting all kids in front of a device and having them engaged in an adaptive learning tool all at the same time is not personalized.  Here is my take on the strategy:

Personalized learning represents a movement from the “what” to the “who” as a means to facilitate student ownership of the learning process.  It considers the tailoring of pedagogy, curriculum, and environments by or for learners to meet their different learning needs and passions. In many cases, but not all, technology is a catalyst to facilitate the personalization of the learning environment.

The lofty outcomes listed above can be accomplished using a variety of innovative strategies.  The key is to shift the balance of power and time from instruction (what the teacher does) to learning (what the kid does).  Blended learning, as a means to personalize, is one way to accomplish this. However, there still seems to be a great deal of confusion as to what this really entails.  Many times, blended instruction is confused with blended learning. Here is the difference. 

See the difference? The transfer of power and time is apparent as the learner is in the driver’s seat. This is not to say that a teacher using a variety of tools as part of daily instruction isn’t effective, but this is not blended learning.  Content and process matter if the goal is to move to a more personalized approach through increased student agency. Wells Elementary School in the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District (CFISD) is one of the best examples I have seen when it comes to effective blended learning at school. Up until recently station rotation and choice boards where preferred strategies utilized by the teachers here. However, during my recent coaching visit, I began to see the implementation of playlists across all grade levels. 

So what is a playlist exactly? I pulled the following from the blog of Jennifer Gonzalez, who profiled the work of Tracy Enos in this area:

A playlist, an individualized digital assignment chart that students work through at their own pace. With playlists, the responsibility for executing the learning plan shifts: Students are given the unit plan, including access to all the lessons (in text or video form), ahead of time. With the learning plan in hand, students work through the lessons and assignments at their own pace. And because each student has their own digital copy of the playlist (delivered through a system like Google Classroom), the teacher can customize the list to meet each student’s needs.

As I visited classrooms, I saw many different versions of the playlist, but the overall goals associated with path, pace, and place remained the same. Andrew Huckeba created a playlist for his 5th-grade math students where they worked through various activities on multiplying and diving fractions.  As they finished a task, they colored in the corresponding box next to their name.  While the majority of the class progressed through the playlist, Andrew worked one-on-one with students that needed the most assistance. Herein lies one of the most essential elements of any personalized experience – kids getting help who need it the most.

First-grade teacher Anna Fisher has also implemented playlists in her classroom along with many of her colleagues. After hearing about how she improved the strategy following feedback I provided as part of the coaching process I asked her to share what she was doing.  Below is her take on the use of a playlist for reading (you can see the entire activity HERE).

Here’s how it works.  Each 'village' is one of my reading groups that are grouped by reading/skill level. The barrels at the bottom, fish and steak, go along with corresponding reading task cards that are grouped by skill level/skills being targeted. I'm currently working on how to make it even more differentiated. They fill in their responses in their reading journals which they take to partner reading to share. I got these cards from Teachers Pay Teachers and added some of my own. The student looks at how many of each barrel they need to complete that day and then fill in that amount with snowballs on their igloo. The barrel in the back is a work in progress.  On a rotation, one group each day completes one task on the Lego board I showed you. The students have the opportunity throughout the week to record their responses on Class Dojo and share with me during group time. 

Playlists can provide a true path to personalization.  Michael Putman provides this take:

Imagine a school where students arrive at their classroom and start their day by using their mobile device to scan a unique QR code posted on the door. The QR code points the students to a website that includes a series of activities aligned with their individual learning needs. As the teacher enters the room a short time later, she briefly conferences with each student regarding his or her progress, while the rest of the class continues to engage with their tasks.

Ownership of learning requires a more personal approach. From differentiating instruction to maximizing the impact of flexible learning spaces, the use of playlists aligned to sound pedagogy can add more purpose in the eyes of kids as they engage in tasks while developing independence and self-management competencies. 

A Practical Way to Increase Access to Mobile Technology Regardless of Age

More and more schools are either installing or improving WiFi networks in schools. We still have a long way to go in many places, but the increase in access provides kids with an array of innovative learning opportunities that continue to evolve.  With a pedagogy first, technology second if appropriate, approach to instructional design, educators can begin to support and enhance lessons with an array of tools. Sites like Common Sense Education and edshelf make it easy to find the right alignment to the right instructional strategy.  However, if a well-designed assessment is in place, then the natural course of action is to allow learners to select the best tool for the task. 

Even though the cost of mobile devices has gone down, considerable purchasing challenges persist. With that being said I do want to share a pretty cool and practical idea I stumbled upon during one of my coaching visits with Wells Elementary School.  As I was conducting some learning walks with the admin team I noticed some kindergarten students in Deborah Weckerly’s class engaged in blended learning activities using smartphones. As a successful Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) campus, I wouldn’t have been surprised if in fact some of the students were learning with devices that they had brought in from home. Knowing though that it is never safe to assume, I asked Deborah if the kids were using their own devices. She laughed and said no in a way that affirmed the apparent observation that these students were kindergarteners. I was then left wondering why I even assumed that they might have brought devices to school.

Since the kids weren’t bringing in the devices, I inquired as to how they made it into the classroom. Deborah then showed me a basket that had at least five devices in it at the time but held a total of eight or so when full. She then explained that over the years she had asked her family and friends to donate older smartphones for use in her class instead of trading them in for cash or towards an upgrade.  I thought this was a genius idea!  She now had enough devices connected to the district’s secure WiFi network to support individual or station-rotation blended learning. 

Image credit

For many learning activities, it’s not the device that matters but instead what learners can do with access to an array of interactives accessible on the Web. I can relate to this as well.  As my wife was preparing to upgrade her iPhone, she asked me if I wanted to as well. I thought about this briefly until settling on just inheriting her older 6 Plus. For what I use my smartphone for all I needed was a right amount of storage and the ability to access the Internet for the few apps that I depend on regularly. 

Innovative educators like Deborah Weckerly are always looking for ways to improve the learning experience for kids.  Regardless of your position, think about reaching out to your family and friends to acquire mobile devices before they are ready to upgrade.  These tools can then be used as part of pedagogically sound blended learning or used to support BYOT initiatives where students forget to bring their device or do not have one of their own. In the end, it is essential to always look for ways to improve access and ensure equity so that all learners are provided with a relevant and challenging learning experience. 

For more mobile learning resources check out this Pinterest board. 

Reflective Learning as the New Normal

The quest to improve pedagogy, and in turn learner outcomes, is a focus of many schools.  We toil away at chasing the next big innovative idea, trend, or tool as a path to improvement yet little changes. Maybe success lies in taking a more detailed look at daily practice. The key to future-proofing education is to empower students to not only think, but to apply their thinking in relevant ways to demonstrate what has been learned.  Whether you call this rigorous, deeper, personalized, or just plain learning is of no concern to me.  Semantics aside, the goal of all schools should be to equip students with the appropriate knowledge, skills, mindset, and behaviors to help them develop into competent learners.  Getting better at this seems to be a potential rallying cry. 

We can have students learn to do or flip the experience and have them do to learn.  The question then becomes not a conversation as to what pathway is better, but whether or not learning has occurred. Sure, we can slap a grade on it and in many cases that become the evidence that learning did or did not happen. There are flaws inherent here. As many grading practices still are entirely arbitrary and do not provide an accurate indication of learning, we need to re-think our practice. Now I am not saying to do away with grades or tests, as that is just not realistic right now, although it might be at some point in the future. The question then becomes what can be integrated into daily practice to help students learn? 

To get to where you want to be, you need to be honest about where you are right now. This leads me to ask the following question: Are your students provided an opportunity during every lesson to reflect on what he or she has learned? As John Dewey stated, “We do not learn from experience... we learn from reflecting on experience.” It is not a hard ask at all to ensure that students are provided with an opportunity to reflect on the learning target for the day. As I work with schools and districts as a job-embedded coach, one of my main focus areas is to help improve pedagogy both with and without the use of technology. More often than not I do not see opportunities for student reflections through countless walk-throughs, lesson plan reviews, or audits of how digital tools are being used. This is an easy fix if an approach is taken where there is a combination of self-efficacy and commitment to a school-wide goal.  

Something so simple can have a significant impact on learning.  The University of Sheffield provides the following synopsis that validates the importance of this pedagogical strategy:

Reflective learning is a way of allowing students to step back from their learning experience to help them develop critical thinking skills and improve future performance by analyzing their experience. This type of learning helps move the student from surface to deep learning.

Daily reflection provides students with an opportunity to exert more ownership over their learning. Below are some simple strategies that can be used to integrate reflection into any lesson:

• Writing - A daily journal, blog, and LMS (i.e., Google Classroom) can be added as a means to not just review, but also reflect on prior learning.  It can also be used as a form of closure. Simple reflective prompts can also be used.  During a coaching visit I observed Zaina Hussein, a 4th-grade teacher at Wells Elementary, use this with her students (see image below). A great deal of research reviewed by Lew & Schmidt (2011) in their study suggests the positive impact of reflective writing on cognitive development. 

• Video – Flipgrid fever has overtaken many schools. This tool can allow students to use video to reflect on their learning. They can be guided with simple prompts like the ones used by Ms. Hussein. All of the videos are then easily accessible for review on a grid. Think about the value of having students see and hear from their peers about what they either learned or struggled with during the lesson. In their research, Rose et al. (2016) found that video made the reflection experience more authentic and meaningful for both student and teacher.
• Peer interaction – Research by Hatton & Smith (1995) indicated that engaging with another person in a way that encourages talking with, questioning, or confronting, helps the reflective process by placing the learner in a safe environment so that self-revelation may take place.  Consider implementing the critical friends’ strategy or more opportunities for discussion as a means to reflect.

For more strategies and ideas on how to incorporate reflection into pedagogical practice check out this article. If you are interested in learning more about how technology can be used as a catalyst for reflection the check out this post by Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano HERE. She also created a great summary image, which you can view below. 

Making the time for students to reflect on their learning leads to more ownership of the process, builds essential connections between both present and past experiences, provides teachers with valuable information related to standard attainment or mastery, and compels them to exert a degree of self-management as they become more capable of regulating their own learning. With these positive outcomes, reflective learning should become the new normal.

Hatton, N., & Smith, D. (1995). Reflection in Teacher Education: Towards Definition and Implementation. 
     The University of Sydney: School of Teaching and Curriculum Studies.

Tic Tack Toe in the Blended Classroom

The other day I was conducting some learning walks with the administrative team at Wells Elementary School in the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District (CFISD). Throughout the school year, I have been assisting them with digital pedagogy as it relates to blended learning and the use of flex spaces.  The primary goal has been to take a critical lens to instructional design with a focus on increasing the level of questioning, imparting relevance through authentic contexts and interdisciplinary connections, creating rigorous performance tasks, innovating assessment, and improving learner feedback. I cannot overstate the importance of getting the instructional design right first before throwing technology into the mix.  

A secondary goal has been facilitating a transition from blended instruction to blended learning. This is not to say that the former is bad or ineffective, but it can be depending on whether or not the technology is just a direct substitute for low-level tasks or use is more passive as opposed to active. With this aside, there is a difference between the two, and it all has to with how the technology is being used and by whom.  Blended instruction is what the teacher does with technology. Blended learning is where students use tech to have control over path, place, and pace. Herein lies the key to the practical use of flex spaces in education. The dynamic combination of pedagogically-sound blended learning and choice in either seating or moving around in flex spaces results in an environment where all kids can flourish and want to learn. 

Over the course of the year, I have seen some much growth and improvement since the work began in August.  My visits to this school have been inspiring as I have seen the future of education in the present.  This is one of the main reasons that my daughter loves being a student here. Unlike our learning walks in the past, the teachers at Wells Elementary did not know I was going to be in the building on this particular day.  The idea was to see if the goals for digital pedagogy and blended learning in flex spaces were well on their way to being accomplished. 

I saw so many activities that warmed my heart where kids were authentically engaged in meaningful learning. However, stepping into Zaina Hussein’s 4th-grade classroom provided a perfect example of how the entire Wells community has evolved together to deliver fantastic learning opportunities for kids.  As we walked in a Tic Tac Toe grid was displayed on the interactive whiteboard.  Word on the street is that she “borrowed” this idea from Kendre Millburn, my daughter’s 5th-grade science teacher.  If you are not familiar with this type of learning activity here is a description from the IRIS Center out of Vanderbilt University:

Tic-tac-toe sometimes referred to as Think-tac-toe, is a method of offering students choices in the type of products they complete to demonstrate their knowledge. As in a traditional tic-tac-toe game, students are presented with a nine-cell table of options. The teacher should make sure that all options address the key concept or skill being learned. There are several variations on this method: 1. Students choose three product options that form a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line. 2. Students choose one product choice from each row or from each column (without forming a straight line). 3. The teacher can create two or more versions to address the different readiness levels. To learn how to create an acnhor activity using a Tic Tack Toe board click HERE.

I loved this activity for so many reasons. It incorporated choice, formative assessment, purposeful use of technology, and differentiation. All learners had to complete the middle box with the gold star emoji.  The flame icons represented activities that were more difficult.  

I was so mesmerized by the structure of the lesson and the engagement of the learners that I almost missed what possibly could have been the best part of the class – an opportunity to reflect.  Costa & Kallick (2008) share why reflection is a critical component of the learning process:

Reflection has many facets. For example, reflecting on work enhances its meaning. Reflecting on experiences encourages insight and complex learning. We foster our growth when we control our learning, so some reflection is best done alone. Reflection is also enhanced, however, when we ponder our learning with others. 

Reflection involves linking a current experience to previous learnings (a process called scaffolding). Reflection also involves drawing forth cognitive and emotional information from several sources: visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile. To reflect, we must act upon and process the information, synthesizing and evaluating the data. In the end, reflecting also means applying what we've learned to contexts beyond the original situations in which we learned something.

It is important to understand the convergence of so many elements present in the examples above that align with sound instructional design and real blended learning.  Learners had a certain amount of control over path, pace, and place thanks to using flex spaces and the Tic Tac Toe activity that incorporated blended elements.  Student agency was also evident.  This is a hallmark of a well-structured blended learning activity, which is why I was so pleased to see choice (Tic Tac Toe activity, flex seating) and voice (reflection) incorporated.  

Over the course of the school year, I have seen so many exemplary blended learning activities implemented by Wells Elementary teachers across all grade levels during my time there as an instructional and leadership coach.  I cannot commend their progress and success enough, but I would be remiss if I did not add how helpful the entire administrative team has been.  They all have provided unwavering support to their teachers while also learning alongside them. When an entire school believes in different and better, takes collective action, grows together, and has the evidence to show improvement the result is efficacy. 

Follow the learning adventures at Wells Elementary on Twitter at #ExploreWells. 

School of Dreams

As many people know I am originally from the Northeastern part of the United States.  I was born and raised in New Jersey, where I also became a teacher and eventually a principal.  After meeting my wife in 2002, I moved to Staten Island, NY and resided there for thirteen years. To be honest, I never thought I would leave that area of the country as my wife, and I had such strong roots there. Things change, however.  The successful digital transformation at the school where I was principal attracted a great deal of attention from the mainstream media, schools locally and globally, and organizations, in part because we were able to show efficacy in our work.  It was at this time that I decided to take a calculated risk and attempt to help other schools scale their digital and innovative change efforts.

As I transitioned from principal to Senior Fellow with the International Center for Leadership in Education (ICLE) my work began to take me all over the country and the world.  I vividly remember the day when I was away working in Hawaii, and Staten Island got dumped with over a foot of snow.  Shortly after I returned home, my wife sat me down and gave me an ultimatum.  I either had to go back to being a principal so I could be home to shovel any and all snow in the future or we had to move somewhere else in the county where it was warm and didn’t snow at all.  My wife knew full well how much I love the work that I do so out came a map of the United States and the discussions as to where we would raise our family for the foreseeable future began.

During our discussions, I had to set my non-negotiables.  She wanted warmth and no snow while I needed a huge airport that was centrally located to cut my flight times and connections down.  There were only two realistic choices at this point, Dallas and Houston. Since Houston was a bit further south and we could get the exact home we wanted the decision was made.  One other factor that weighed heavily in our decision-making process was the school district that our children would attend.  The icing on the cake for me was that when it was all said and done taking into account our non-negotiables, we decided to build our home within the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District (CFISD). 

CFISD is an amazing school district that is not only one of the highest achieving large districts in the state of Texas, but also firmly committed to scaling innovative practices to improve learning for all 120,000 students. For the past year and a half, my team and I at ICLE have been assisting the district with doing Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) K-12, incorporating blended learning, and aligning sound pedagogy to the use of flex spaces.  We have also used our Digital Practice Assessment (DPA) process to help them determine where they are at, but more importantly where they want to be for their learners. Now back to my story.

Shortly after arriving in the Houston area I was contacted by Cheryl Fisher, a local CFISD elementary principal.  She had been following me on Twitter and asked if I would be willing to visit her school and see how they were implementing blended learning across all grade levels.  What I saw just warmed my heart, but more on this later.  A little over a year later Cheryl was named the principal of Wells Elementary, a brand-new school right smack in the middle of the community where I lived.  I couldn’t control my excitement, but there was a challenge ahead in the form of my daughter, Isabella.

Image credit

Bella, who was in 4th grade at the time, had a big decision to make. Stay in the other community school where she had made friends for two years or go to a brand-new school for her last year of elementary school. To be honest, she was leaning on staying put. I discussed this with Cheryl, and she said quite bluntly, “If your daughter decides to come to Wells she will love learning every day.” Well, I was already hooked, but Cheryl also made the time to meet with Bella and explain in detail the vision she had for the learning culture at Wells.  What followed was the waiting in anticipation of what Bella would decide to do. 

Well, my daughter, on her own without much pressure from my wife and I, decided to attend Wells Elementary. Every day I ask her how school was and literally tear up when she responds as the answer is always the same – “It was great Daddy.” My daughter is entirely in love with the school. As an educator and parent, this means so much more to me than her consistently being advanced proficient every year on all standardized tests.  Wells Elementary to me is a school of dreams because my daughter loves learning.  Here are some specifics as to why:

• School-wide decision to have no homework.
• Students K-5 are empowered to use their technology to support their education as part of BYOT. In addition to this, technology is used to support and enhance learning while providing authentic opportunities to explore concepts.
• Strategic use of the station rotation blended learning model to maximize learning time and increase student agency.
• Incorporation of flexible learning spaces throughout the building.
• Portfolio-based assessment using Seesaw and Google Classroom to provide better feedback to students.
• An entire staff that believes in the power of being connected and the importance of having a Personal Learning Network (PLN).
• Systemic use of a variety of social media tools to communicate with stakeholders and keep them in the know.

I encourage you to check out this video where Cheryl and one of her teachers discuss the digital transformation at Wells Elementary.

It is important to know I am not just making the casual statements about using only my parent lens.  I am honored by the fact that I am the one who is engaged with Wells as part of ICLE’s partnership with CFISD to support the district with our Digital Leadership and Learning solutions.  As the job-embedded coach for the school, I have been working with the teachers and administrators and will continue to do so throughout the school year.  Even though there are some fantastic initiatives in place as mentioned above, the Wells community knows that there is room for improvement.  This is the case in any classroom, school, or district. Together we are working on the pedagogical shifts needed to support their bold vision and plan for innovative learning.  

All in all, this is a school of dreams in my opinion.  The fact that my daughter loves learning and is being prepared for her future means the world to my wife and me.  Thank you to all the educators at Wells and CFISD who are have brought so much joy to my daughter. With the compelling learning opportunities she is experiencing, I hope that she will be further motivated to follow her dreams, no matter what they are.