What ever your term of choice: blended, hybrid, or flipped, a classroom that is designed for students, run and operated by students, is a classroom in which learning is happening. It should be an arena of flexibility and learning tools where voices are in harmony and opinions are valued. Blended learning is a mix of technology and hands-on activeness that allows students to set the pace, place and demonstration of their knowledge and understanding. Where as a flipped class is entirely in a students hands, with very little facilitation from the teacher, a blended classroom is a balance between on-line assignments over-time and authentic, interactive, and active learning experiences students complete in class either together or independently. It is unrealistic to believe students do not need a teacher to help facilitate their learning. But it is very realistic, as an educator, to step back and let students take the lead. We are no longer in an atmosphere of "sage on the stage" but have journeyed into the realm of "observer and docent" still necessary on the outskirts of the daily routine but all the while immersed and ever present in the classroom culture.
One of the key components of blended learning is to identify what is already working well in your classroom, and what might be better suited as digital content. On-line assignments need to be based on pre-loading information, note-taking, watching short video clips, answering discussion questions. These are tasks best suited for individual completion and having students complete these in class takes time away from more collaborative activities. Adding digital content doesn’t mean throwing out all the direct instruction in the classroom. Keep what is working well in a face-to-face mode, and add what could be more effective in a digital format. I spend very little time with direct instruction but as a class we talk a lot about what they have completed at home- students come with the vocabulary and with conversation we can blend and synthesize to see the big picture. Rather than have them read a chapter in a book, I have them follow a web quest or watch a short video lecture or podcast from me about the current topic. This makes at home learning more engaging as well.
So what does a blended classroom look like? The students are at the center of learning. Facilitating the activities, collaborating and designing lessons, completing assignments on-line at their own pace as well as working independently and cooperatively with others in a fluid, dynamic, flexible learning environment. In a personalized learning classroom, student needs drive the design of the learning. Students have a voice and choice in how they demonstrate their understanding. The organization of this learning space is an amalgam of teacher comfortability and student interest. It will not work if the teacher is not fully committed. Students need to feel safe in their learning environment. There needs to be a sense of community. The first thing I do every year is have students write the class "community" goals together and design a plan to implement and reinforce them. They decide very quickly that self-monitoring is best and with little redirection from me this generally takes place. With flexible seating, it can get noisy, but as long as they are working and engaged in learning noise is inconsequential.
How do I group students? I generally let students group themselves. They often move tables, stand at standing desks for awhile then shift to a round table to sit. When students feel like the group was their design then they are more likely to cooperate with one another and accomplish the task. I walk around the classroom in the "proximity zone" quite a bit, listening and gathering valuable data. I love to simply observe and listen. This tells me where we are headed as a class, who are my master Jedi and who are my Paduan. I spend time with my students, 1-minute check-in's and table chats. Our learning environment is adaptive. Each day we debrief and design the activities of the next day as needed. Students tell me when they need another activity or they have mastered the content. They also ask me for more resources on-line to help them learn material. Canvas is a tool to turn in assignments as well as a place to upload resources for remediation and enrichment. Students can also share podcasts and blogs as a class.
In my classroom students are mobile and come pre-loaded with notes and vocabulary and this sets the tone for the days activities. The less time needed to take-notes the more time to enrich their learning. Additionally, every student has an individualized path toward success. There are remediation and enrichment circles set up so struggling students can chat with their peers, who are experts, and can give them the support they need to be experts as well. Student learner pathways are customized based on students’ strengths, weaknesses and goals; and learning experiences vary. By sitting at their tables and talking every week with students one-on-one I notice the little idiosyncrasies and can be proactive to solve them before students get to far behind. Also, on-line there are review quizzes, practice assignments, podcasts, blog posting and optional activities that students can complete to help them be successful. Assignments are also flexible, I have one rule- show me what you know. This they can do in writing, drawing, speaking or any other medium they feel comfortable with. I often get several different products for the same assignment. I love the variability and creativity.
There are many on-line platforms for blended learning. My district uses Canvas. It is a one-stop-shop for students. All of their classes are uploaded onto the server, it is used more frequently by some teachers then others but, it is a great tool to combine all of their classes, calendars, agenda's and assignments into one place. I also use Google docs for all student projects and PBL's. This way every group member has access and they can share with me so I can stay apprised of their progress and make comments to them along the way. To be a blended classroom, there needs to be a safe, reliable, easy to use platform, where students feel confident in turning in their assignments. Many teachers use Seesaw or Kidblog but I prefer Canvas because it combines aspects of both and I can upload videos, podcasts and students can take quizzes on-line.
I decided to blend my classroom two years ago. At first I had trepidation to say the least. Finding the right platform, would kids be able to turn their assignments in? There are hiccups. I tell my students, "If Canvas isn't working for any reason, turn the assignment in on paper." No excuses. Plus they have at least a week to complete any on-line assignment so they have time to make arrangements if their internet or computers at home have issues. I have had very little problems with this. But to be sure things run smoothly I have a set of i-pads and notebooks in the classroom, so students can complete any assignments before or after school if necessary. As with my classroom I am flexible. It is not the grade I am after it is the growth and understanding so I take late work, usually without penalty. A blended classroom is more student-driven, it combines both digital and hands-on learning and it definitely fits the 21st century idea of an interactive, authentic classroom. Why do I love a blended classroom? I have more time for fun activities, collaborative learning, labs, inquiry, makerspace design. I do not want to sit and watch my students take-notes from a Power-point. I do not want to watch my students read a chapter from a book or complete a worksheet. What I want to do is observe them problem-solving and critical thinking through STEM activities and Edcamps and Debates and Socratic Seminars. The reason I have time to jump out-side-the-box with my students is because I have a blended classroom. They read and gather notes at home and together we find synergy and grow together through interactive, authentic, challenging learning experiences.
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