Blended Learning 2017-2018

Blended Learning Interaction with course content using a combination of the best face-to-face and digital instructional methods available.

Overview… Why blended? What was done? How did it go?

Why blended?

“We spend the first year of a child's life teaching it to walk and talk and the rest of its life to shut up and sit down. There's something wrong there.” ― Neil deGrasse Tyson, American astrophysicist

1940s

1950s

1960s

1970s

2017

Blended

Advantages of Blended Learning Increased Student Engagement with Course Content Increased Student Interaction with Other Students and the Teacher Increased Student practice with Self-Direction Increased availability of Remediation and Enrichment

“The finest educators consider it professional malpractice to not change when they learn new and better ways of doing their work.”

What was done?

Select LMHS teachers were given opportunity to visit an established school wide system of Blended Learning in use at Huntley High School in Huntley, Illinois. Several (all?) declared interest in teaching one or more classes using a similarly-structured system at Linn-Mar.

LMHS administrators established course, section, teacher, and student guidelines for Blended Learning at Linn-Mar and designated four courses, fourteen sections, and eight teachers to pilot the system.

Teachers were trained in the use of PowerSchool Learning and developed Blended Learning lessons to cover course content using the newly established guidelines. Teacher pairs then implemented prepared plans at the beginning of the new school year.

The program … Two sections each term of Biology, Spanish IV, World History, and English III were taught in a fully Blended manner. Each section met face-to-face no less than 3 times per week. Students often engaged with course content digitally, but were “released” for up to 2 days per week to accomplish assigned tasks (often, interactive digital tasks) at a time and place of their choosing.

How did it go?

2017-2018 Program Summary 14 sections of Blended 734 total academic sections 1.9% of LMHS sections were Blended 346 Blended students LMHS total student population of 2158 16.0% of LMHS population participated in one or more sections of Blended coursework.

Student Performance Data 2017-2018 Student Performance Data Blended Learning sections (compared to traditional sections of the same type); averaged 2.5% higher per common assessment and performed better 77% of the time. Though care was taken to minimize the impact of other variables on the Blended / Traditional comparison, the study was not truly random as consent to participate in Blended was required.

2017-2018 Student Survey Data An overwhelming majority of students participating in Blended had a positive experience and gained knowledge and skill at a level (at least) equal to their traditionally taught peers. Teachers reported heightened ability to provide enriched learning experiences and individual remediation, and noted both increased student engagement and learning. Students appreciated the opportunity to exercise self-direction and independence in learning. Students WANT MORE Blended.

What’s next for Blended – Year 2 Expansion of Blended Learning to include sections offered in the following subject areas – ENGLISH III ADVANCED ENGLISH III SPANISH IV ALGEBRA II A GENERAL BIOLOGY EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE WORLD HISTORY GOVERNMENT US HISTORY I INTRODUCTORY PSYCHOLOGY 28 sections (4.2% of all sections) of Blended will be available in 2018-2019 Approximately 750 students (34% of all students) will participate in Blended in 2018-2019 14 teachers (a little more than 15% of all teachers) will be teaching one or more sections of Blended in 2018-2019

“Give the pupils something to do, not something to learn; and the doing is of such a nature as to demand thinking; learning naturally results.” ― John Dewey

Blended Learning