My Blended Learning Ideal
This is a familiar string of student issues most teachers are working with all the time. Today I would probably be identified with ADD, a common misdiagnosis with people functioning with CARP.
My experience of being a parent in both a blended learning and public school setting, plus teaching in both the public and independent system has provided me a unique perspective. The new curriculum is asking for great changes in the way we see and experience education, but does not provide the framework and support necessary to make those changes. My answer would be to design a blended learning environment to meet the needs of more students. According to Horn & Staker (2015), to be considered a blended learning program, the student must have some control over time, place, path and pace of their learning. My ideal learning environment would be a mix of Enriched Virtual/Flex Model approach. I appreciate the way it supports students in terms of personalizing learning in a flexible learning setting. The students have an opportunity to control their learning path, are guided to set weekly goals through personal planning, are provided flexibility in pace of learning and work towards mastery over subjects. I would enable students to choose when and how to take assessment to further supporting self-directed learning. I like the idea of team teaching and collaborating with colleagues to create a student-centered approach. As I work with younger students, my role as an educator would shift between teacher and guide to help enable students to become more independent. My preference for a working schedule would be to create specific days of schooling. I would then be freed up for individual conferencing to focus on personalizing learning and small group intensive work. I look forward to one day working in such an environment. On Vancouver Island, some of the K-7 distributed learning programs that include a blended learning component are North Island Distance Education, Island ConnectEd, and South Island District Education. Another newer program on the mainland I would like to look more deeply into is the Surrey Academy of Innovative Learning. Horn, M. B., & Staker, H. (2015). Blended: Using disruptive innovation to improve schools. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
Felipe
11/9/2016 12:21:53 am
Great post Lindsey! I hear you about the new curriculum not being set up to succeed yet. I was in a BC offshore school for 4 years and our class sizes were from 6-10 students. We were implementing the new curriculum much closer to what its intentions are than what I have seen here in BC. The key to personalized learning and individualized instruction is to be able to reach each student and attend to their needs. There has been much said in the past in regards to 'teaching to the middle' in larger classrooms. It was seen as an inevitability because there was no efficient way to reach each and every student's needs.
Irwin
11/9/2016 06:02:58 pm
Lindsey, I agree with Felipe, I like the way your school would be run. I particularly like the 'flex' model that you would use, all the different areas of the school to be used for different things and the idea that the students have the freedom to choose how, when and where that they learn. I also agree with your use of the 'Enriched Virtual' model which would allow students to only attend when they specifically needed something from their teachers and I like the idea that the students can take whatever courses they want, when they want them - the idea of choice again. Comments are closed.
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AuthorK-7 Coordinator in SD68. Archives
January 2017
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