6 Ways to Blend
Kristina Sickman teaches four sections of 6th grade science. She has heard a lot about Flipped Math Classroom from two other teachers in her building---Kelly Hoskins and Emily Heilhecker. Last summer she began to set up a blended Moodle course with the intention of duplicating the flipped classroom model and applying it to her own science classrooms. She discovered, however, that flipped classroom is only one form of blended learning. Kristina now asks a key question. Is flipped classroom really the best alternative for her classes? What are other blended classroom choices? Teachthought.com has given her some alternative ideas.
Rotation
The flipped classroom is a “rotation” model of blended learning. This means students obtain content from the online course at home, then work with the teacher in a face-to-face process at school. Kristina’s course was originally set up with this model in mind. At home, students view instructional videos created by the teacher and take a short quiz to make sure they understand the content from the video. When they come to school, they begin working on their science projects from the onset of the class. They are expected to know the context for the projects after having watched the instructional videos at home.
Face to Face Driver
Another approach for teaching this same science class would be to provide most of the content of the curriculum in a face-to-face environment but use the online course periodically as needed in the classroom. Using this approach, the teacher would provide some of the online components of the course during class time itself in a technology lab. Kristina has the option of bringing a cart of laptop computers into her classroom periodically for this purpose. She can have each student use the computer in class to access the online course and proceed at their own pace with one of the components of the course. For example, a checklist of research topic areas on atomic elements leads each student in constructing summaries and sources, then sharing the results with the teacher and peers using Google docs. The role of the teacher is to provide individual coaching as needed during this part of the experience. A variation of this “face to face driver” model is to use five or six ipads as needed when individual students need to review concepts. Students who have been absent might find this particularly useful.
Flex
The “flex” model of blended learning hosts most of the curriculum online. Students use the online Moodle course to view instructional videos, take quizzes, read instructions, access journaling templates, and conduct online research. The student controls the pace and makes decisions about employing content to construct their learning. Although the course can be accessed at home, at school, or anywhere else using mobile devices, the main value for the teacher as coach is in the school setting where the teacher works with individuals and small groups of students. Daily reliable access to computers, wherever they are located, is a requirement for this type of approach.
Online Lab
The “online lab” model of blended learning might be appropriate for some of the units of the science course. This model delivers the entire course in a self paced manner but within the physical space of the school. The unit called “models and designs,” for example, requires teams of three or four students each to construct a physical model for a “Hum Dinger.” The end product for each team is unique but must satisfy certain conditions identified in the curriculum. As the physical model is constructed, students access components of the online course that guide them in the creating and journaling processes.
Self Blend
The “self blend” model of blended learning uses online courses as optional resources for obtaining knowledge and guiding creation processes. One of the units in Kristina’s blended course requires each student to create a chapter for a published classroom iBook called “Atomic Elements.” In order to create their own chapter, each student will need to select their own atomic element, conduct guided research on that element, create a 3D model of the element, and write summaries of the atomic element’s characteristics (mass, bonding, symbol, etc.). Accessing course content through Kristina’s course or any other online course is an option for students that can empower them to create rich content for their chapter of the iBook.
Online Driver
The “online driver” model of blended learning uses the online Moodle course for virtual face-to-face coaching along with all the other components of the curriculum. Using a teleconferencing tool such as GoToMeeting.com, the teacher talks directly with individual students or groups of students simultaneously in different locations. When needed, the teacher shares her screen with the students or vice versa. All of the components of the science curriculum such as instructional videos, quizzes, Google templates, or links to websites are available to all students anytime and anywhere. The value of this option is increased for students who need to be away from school for an extended period of time. In a natural disaster scenario, such as a flu pandemic, this model could prove to be invaluable.
Regardless of which models of blended learning Kristina chooses to apply in her classroom, her goal is to create learning environments that enable students to construct and share their knowledge in personalized, meaningful, deep, and authentic ways. Different models will likely be used with different science units, depending on the learning goals for the units.
Yesterday, Kristina was home with her sick child, but her interactions with students continued nevertheless. As the students worked on collaborative Google presentations linked to the Moodle course, Kristina added comments from her home. Learning with teacher/student interaction continued even when Kristina was not physically present in the classroom.
Flipped classroom is one choice in a blended environment, but it is not the only choice. For more information on Blended Learning environments, go to http://www.innosightinstitute.org/.
6 Ways to Blend
Kristina Sickman teaches four sections of 6th grade science. She has heard a lot about Flipped Math Classroom from two other teachers in her building---Kelly Hoskins and Emily Heilhecker. Last summer she began to set up a blended Moodle course with the intention of duplicating the flipped classroom model and applying it to her own science classrooms. She discovered, however, that flipped classroom is only one form of blended learning. Kristina now asks a key question. Is flipped classroom really the best alternative for her classes? What are other blended classroom choices? Teachthought.com has given her some alternative ideas.
Rotation
The flipped classroom is a “rotation” model of blended learning. This means students obtain content from the online course at home, then work with the teacher in a face-to-face process at school. Kristina’s course was originally set up with this model in mind. At home, students view instructional videos created by the teacher and take a short quiz to make sure they understand the content from the video. When they come to school, they begin working on their science projects from the onset of the class. They are expected to know the context for the projects after having watched the instructional videos at home.
Face to Face Driver
Another approach for teaching this same science class would be to provide most of the content of the curriculum in a face-to-face environment but use the online course periodically as needed in the classroom. Using this approach, the teacher would provide some of the online components of the course during class time itself in a technology lab. Kristina has the option of bringing a cart of laptop computers into her classroom periodically for this purpose. She can have each student use the computer in class to access the online course and proceed at their own pace with one of the components of the course. For example, a checklist of research topic areas on atomic elements leads each student in constructing summaries and sources, then sharing the results with the teacher and peers using Google docs. The role of the teacher is to provide individual coaching as needed during this part of the experience. A variation of this “face to face driver” model is to use five or six ipads as needed when individual students need to review concepts. Students who have been absent might find this particularly useful.
Flex
The “flex” model of blended learning hosts most of the curriculum online. Students use the online Moodle course to view instructional videos, take quizzes, read instructions, access journaling templates, and conduct online research. The student controls the pace and makes decisions about employing content to construct their learning. Although the course can be accessed at home, at school, or anywhere else using mobile devices, the main value for the teacher as coach is in the school setting where the teacher works with individuals and small groups of students. Daily reliable access to computers, wherever they are located, is a requirement for this type of approach.
Online Lab
The “online lab” model of blended learning might be appropriate for some of the units of the science course. This model delivers the entire course in a self paced manner but within the physical space of the school. The unit called “models and designs,” for example, requires teams of three or four students each to construct a physical model for a “Hum Dinger.” The end product for each team is unique but must satisfy certain conditions identified in the curriculum. As the physical model is constructed, students access components of the online course that guide them in the creating and journaling processes.
Self Blend
The “self blend” model of blended learning uses online courses as optional resources for obtaining knowledge and guiding creation processes. One of the units in Kristina’s blended course requires each student to create a chapter for a published classroom iBook called “Atomic Elements.” In order to create their own chapter, each student will need to select their own atomic element, conduct guided research on that element, create a 3D model of the element, and write summaries of the atomic element’s characteristics (mass, bonding, symbol, etc.). Accessing course content through Kristina’s course or any other online course is an option for students that can empower them to create rich content for their chapter of the iBook.
Online Driver
The “online driver” model of blended learning uses the online Moodle course for virtual face-to-face coaching along with all the other components of the curriculum. Using a teleconferencing tool such as GoToMeeting.com, the teacher talks directly with individual students or groups of students simultaneously in different locations. When needed, the teacher shares her screen with the students or vice versa. All of the components of the science curriculum such as instructional videos, quizzes, Google templates, or links to websites are available to all students anytime and anywhere. The value of this option is increased for students who need to be away from school for an extended period of time. In a natural disaster scenario, such as a flu pandemic, this model could prove to be invaluable.
Regardless of which models of blended learning Kristina chooses to apply in her classroom, her goal is to create learning environments that enable students to construct and share their knowledge in personalized, meaningful, deep, and authentic ways. Different models will likely be used with different science units, depending on the learning goals for the units.
Yesterday, Kristina was home with her sick child, but her interactions with students continued nevertheless. As the students worked on collaborative Google presentations linked to the Moodle course, Kristina added comments from her home. Learning with teacher/student interaction continued even when Kristina was not physically present in the classroom.
Flipped classroom is one choice in a blended environment, but it is not the only choice. For more information on Blended Learning environments, go to http://www.innosightinstitute.org/.
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