High Hopes - Acceleration & Blending Learning

High High Hopes - Acceleration and Blended Learning

(4-5 minute read)

Imagine a classroom where every student feels confident and excited about learning, where struggling students get the support they need to keep up with their peers, and advanced students are challenged to reach their full potential. This is the promise of blended learning and acceleration.

Echos of this promise can be heard in one of our favorite pop songs:

Had to have high, high hopes for a living

Didn't know how but I always had a feeling

I was gonna be that one in a million

Always had high, high hopes

Mama said

Fulfill the prophecy

Be something greater

Go make a legacy

Manifest destiny

How many of our students feel these lyrics echoing deep in their souls as they walk into our classes each day? High hopes to fulfill the whispers of prophecy that bounce around in their smiles, thoughts, and dreams?

In Panic At The Disco's hit song "High hopes," the group's lead singer, Brandon Urie, sings about a person who is euphoric about his future. He is determined, empowered, and ready to take on a seemingly uncertain world.

Think back to your years in school. How many "High hopes" did you carry with you as you walked the halls, worked in groups, and delivered those uh-mazing book reports to the class? High hopes carry us through so many of life's good (and not so good) events.

Self Efficacy

John Hattie's famous meta-analysis of classroom influences may be familiar to you. In it, he synthesized and ranked a variety of common practices or influences. Out of 256 entries, Hattie ranked self efficacy as the eleventh most important factor (click on link to left for full view). The .96 affect size attributed to self efficacy basically means that the more self assured and optimistic a student is in their abilities, the more likely they will be to succeed in school. A .96 is nearly two years worth of growth in one calendar year!

So how can we help grow these kid's high high hopes? Former Stanford Psychologist, Albert Banduras created a visual to help crystalize our thoughts around. In the image below, you can see that self efficacy can be bolster and is made out of four fundamental experiences: direct experiences, vicarious experiences, social persuasion, and physiological feedback. As the linked article (above) states, "High self-efficacy has numerous benefits to daily life, such as resilience to adversity and stress, healthy lifestyle habits, improved employee performance, and educational achievement."

All students should feel these high high hopes and it can't happen in a classroom that doesn't personalize learning experiences. It may sound like a tall order, but it doesn't have to be.

Experiences are just that. The experiences our students bring with them as they enter our campuses. However, these experiences are also based on performance outcomes. What have they done in the past and how successful have they been at those tasks. Practice becomes an important component to this part of self efficacy. Students who practice a skill, become better at it and feel better about the skill and the actions performed within the skill. This category is the largest indicator of students success (more on this in a bit).

Vicarious Experiences are experiences students see being performed. So when teachers practice (model) a skill in front of the students and verbalize those actions, students still pick up tid-bits and build self efficacy. Watching is less beneficial than doing, but it is still beneficial.

Dr. Banduras

Social Persuasion is when a student is performing a task and they receive positive feedback as they move through the steps of that performance. Verbal persuasion like this is affective with any age, however the effects diminish the older a person gets. So, being authentically positive with younger students can help build that self efficacy that we mentioned earlier.

Physiological Persuasion is connected to the student's psychological and emotional states. However, Dr. Banduras states that the states themselves are not as important as how the person perceives the state they are in. If a student is distraught but has high high hopes of getting past that stressor, then they will be less affected by that moment than a student who doesn't perceive that hope.

As you've probably guessed by now, what all four of these component have in common is the support that teachers can give during a lesson to help build student efficacy brick by experiential brick.

Because blended learning lessons are flexible and can allow for personalization of the process, product, and/or content, we believe that student efficacy can be combined with research based, gap-filling actions like acceleration to propel all students into the high hopes stratosphere.

Blended Learning and Acceleration: Supporting Super High Hopes

Before diving into our example, let's refresh our memories about blended learning and acceleration. Blended learning is an instructional approach mixing face-to-face teaching with digital tools, creating personalized and engaging learning environments. Acceleration gives students struggling with upcoming content a head-start by previewing new concepts and vocabulary, helping them keep pace with their peers (Tomlinson, 2014).

In acceleration, students are often given previews of content the day or week before the content is delivered to the rest of the class. In other words, students may be pulled into small groups to learn an upcoming skill or concept or be given time to learn new vocabulary terms. When they are exposed to the lesson with their peers, accelerated students have likely experiences ALL FOUR of the aforementioned self efficacy "chunks" that are in the image above.

Sample Unit

Now that we're up to speed, let's check out what blended learning and acceleration might look like in a 3rd-grade math classroom.

As you read the following lesson, please take note of the blended, accelaration and self efficacy components!

Fractions, Unite!

Picture this: our 3rd-grade class is starting a new unit on fractions. The teacher, a real-life superhero, wants every student to succeed. Here's how blended learning and acceleration can make that happen:

1. Assess students: The teacher identifies students who may struggle with fractions using assessments, classroom observations, and that good ol' teacher intuition. They may use diagnostic assessments, such as pre-tests, to gauge students' prior knowledge and identify learning gaps (Guskey & Jung, 2013). The teacher can tailor instruction based on where the students struggle, increasing the likelihood of success (Tomlinson & Imbeau, 2010).

2. Preview content: Before the fractions unit, our fantastic teacher offers struggling students access to digital resources, videos, and adaptive math platforms to introduce basic fraction concepts and vocabulary. By pre-teaching key vocabulary and concepts, students have a foundation to build on as new content is introduced (Walpole & McKenna, 2007). This strategy also increases students' confidence and motivation, as they feel better prepared for upcoming lessons (Graham & Perin, 2007).

3. Differentiate instruction: As the unit begins, the teacher employs blended learning strategies to create personalized paths for all students, including those who received acceleration support (Dabbagh & Kitsantas, 2012). One approach is the station rotation model, where students rotate through various learning activities. Differentiation allows the teacher to address students' individual strengths and weaknesses, promoting a deeper understanding of the material (Tomlinson & Imbeau, 2010).

Imagine a 50-minute math block:

• Warm-up (5 minutes): Students complete a quick fractions-related activity to get their brains in gear.
• Station Rotation (3 stations x 15 minutes each):
  • Station 1 - Teacher Table: Students work with the teacher on guided activities at their level, with targeted support for accelerated students. Activities might include using manipulatives to model fractions, working on fraction word problems, or comparing and ordering fractions. The teacher can use strategies like questioning, cueing, and prompting to help students develop a deeper understanding of the content (Van de Walle, Karp, & Bay-Williams, 2013).
  • Station 2 - Technology Station: Students use digital tools like interactive fraction games, online manipulatives, or adaptive platforms tailored to their needs and progress. These tools can help students visualize and explore fractions in a fun and engaging way (Clements & Sarama, 2016), fostering a deeper understanding of the concepts.
  • Station 3 - Independent Collaboration: Students work in pairs or small groups on hands-on activities, like creating equivalent fractions with manipulatives, solving real-world fraction problems, or exploring fraction patterns. Collaborative learning encourages students to share ideas, articulate their thinking, and learn from each other (Gillies, 2014).

4. Provide support: Throughout the unit, the teacher continues offering extra practice and guidance to help accelerated students solidify their understanding and keep up with class pace. This might include providing additional resources, offering targeted feedback, or setting up individual or small group conferences to address specific concerns (Wiliam, 2011).

5. Monitor progress: Our fearless teacher regularly checks in with students, assessing their progress and making adjustments as needed to ensure accelerated students stay on track. They might use exit slips, quizzes, or performance tasks to gather evidence of learning, and then adjust instruction accordingly (Black & Wiliam, 2009).

The Journey Begins

By combining blended learning and acceleration, our imaginary 3rd-grade teacher creates a personalized, inclusive environment where every student can thrive. With the right strategies and a touch of digital magic, all students can shine in the classroom.

So, fellow educators, are you ready to bring the power of blended learning and acceleration to your classroom? By embracing this dynamic duo, you can help all your students stay on pace and reach their full potential. With creativity, dedication, and a dash of digital wizardry, you'll be well on your way to creating an inclusive and engaging learning environment that empowers every student to succeed.

High high hopes!

Solutions: If this, then that.

 If you guys are looking for several practical ways to convert proven face to face activities into an online format, please check out our "If this, then that" page.

In the far left column you'll find face to face actives that many teachers use.  In the center and right columns you'll see online approximations of those activities and how to make them (in the far right column).  

Have fun pursuing through this resource.  If you happen to have an online activity you'd like to share, just reach out to us and we'll add it to the growing list!

Making Lemonade Out of Lemons

 
     It's been a little while since my last post.  Since then it seems the world has been turned upside down.  We all have a new normal that we're trying to get used to.  I, myself, have been working from home since the middle of March.  Suddenly I went from a job where I was always on the go, driving to different campuses all over our region to work with teachers and visit classrooms to sitting at a desk staring at a computer for 8 hours every day.  I was doing several webinars per day over Zoom for the teachers of my region as well as others who joined us from all over the country.  This new way of teaching and learning was new for all of us.
     Even though I know this has been a super hard transition on everyone from teachers to students to parents, I think that we should take a moment to reflect on the good that has come out of this situation.  We should look at this as a learning experience and reflect on it so that we can continue to utilize effective teaching practices that have surfaced through all of this.
     First, this has forced so many to step out of their comfort zone to try new things.  It might be just trying to get on a Zoom meeting or trying to get started in a new LMS.  Although it seemed scary at first and maybe overwhelming, what I see is a whole new culture of learning and helping each other.  If you look on Twitter or Facebook, some teachers are creating help videos and posting them in order to help other teachers.  Other teachers are creating lessons, hyperdocs and fun templates in Google
Docs and freely sharing them with other teachers around the country through social media.  Through this pandemic, it has allowed the walls of our classrooms to come down and instead of millions of individual classrooms with their doors closed, we now have giant open spaces where we are all free to share ideas and resources while learning from each other.  This is the way it should be.  We are not competing against each other.  We all have the same goal - yes, every teacher at every school in America has the same goal - to educate our students.
     Although this situation has been hard on many students and families, other students have really been able to thrive in this environment.  Am I suggesting that we continue sheltering in place forever?  Of course not, but what we can take a look at is what was it about this situation that has allowed some students to thrive.  I have heard teachers say that their quiet/shy students are participating much more in their online discussion boards.  I've heard others say that students that were given choice boards were really excited and did their work without even being told to do it.  Still others have said that the flexible schedules have allowed their students to be more productive.  Let's think about these things.  The quiet/shy students are quiet in normal classrooms.  Why is that?  Maybe they are scared to speak in front of others or maybe they need more time to process before giving an answer.  Given the online learning space, these students can have the time they need to process their answers and post asynchronously whenever they want.  They also don't
have to speak up in front of 30 other kids.  That can be intimidating to anyone.  Can we continue to offer online discussion forums, Flipgrid and other ways to interact online when we return to face-to-face school?  Absolutely!  We've also seen a lot of choice boards or playlists being assigned to students.  Students are really enjoying the freedom to choose what they do instead of being told and having everyone do the exact same assignment.  I mean, who doesn't like choices?  This is another easy thing that we can take back to our traditional classrooms.  Finally, many students are now able to choose their schedules each day.  Am I a morning person?  I can get up early and start working.  Night owl?  I'll do my work after everyone else goes to sleep.  Maybe I can only sit still for 30 minutes at a time.  Now I can take as many breaks as I want.  I know what you are thinking.  No, I'm not crazy and I know that kids can't just go to school whenever they want when we return to the classroom, but we should take some of these things into consideration.  Think about offering more choices on when, where and how students get to learn while offering flexible times and spaces in which to do it.  Why do we all have to sit in desks in rows?  What if I work better laying on the floor?  What if I need more frequent breaks while my neighbor wants to just plow through and get everything done without stopping.  Why can't we have it both ways?
     During this time, I have heard from teachers and read several articles that talked about how blended learning classrooms are faring during this time of remote learning.  Although blended learning by definition must include at least some instruction in a face-to-face setting, (so they are no longer in a blended learning environment) blended learning teachers and students seem to be faring better through this situation that others.  Why is that?  I think one lesson we can take from them is that they already have the systems and procedures in place for digital learning.  Blended learning teachers already use an LMS such as Google Classroom or Canvas with their students.  They already use many digital tools such as Flipgrid, Quizizz, Kahoot and possibly even online learning software such as Imagine Learning, IXL or Lexia.  All of this translates into a much easier transition from the face-to-face world to the digital world.  Blended learning teachers are still using playlists and have small group meetings with their students only now they are doing it through Zoom.  Students are still moving forward in their learning because they know how to own their own data and how to track their learning goals.  So, do I think that remote learning will last forever? No.  But, I do think that it would be in a teacher's best interest to learn more about blended learning so that they can take advantage of these systems and processes, but also because it is an effective way to personalize learning for all students.  Just think about how many gaps your students will have in their learning when school starts again in the fall and unfortunately all of their gaps will be different.  The ONLY way to meet all of these needs in the fall is going to be through personalized learning.
     Once again, teachers are the heroes that they always have been.  We've become good at making lemons out of lemonade.  Just because things return to normal doesn't mean we have to throw out the lemonade!

If you are interested in learning more about Planning for the Win with Blended Learning, check out our website for live Zoom sessions, recorded sessions and resources.  Feel free to reach out to us and schedule a live training session or brainstorming session.