The Plan
Blended learning is the engine that can power personalized and competency based learning. Online learning allows students to learn at any time and at the pace of the student.
Currently in the special education classroom there is no authentic student centered way for students to display what they have learned. In order to solve this I am proposing that in special education classrooms we introduce the station rotation model of blended learning. Students will rotate around the room on a fixed interval to different stations in order to grasp concepts in an interactive and digital environment. A literature review was created to discuss the effectiveness of blended learning by using the station rotation model in a special education classroom.
The Goals
As part of my innovation proposal I came up with with four goals that I wanted to achieve: provide COVA (choice, ownership, voice and authenticity), encourage collaboration, support student socialization, and give students a break form the traditional learning environment.
In order to develop blended learning lessons an overall goal must be created with a clear path and vision of the end results. This goal setting provided the foundation for initiating blended learning in the classroom. By creating lessons using the 3-column table as well as the Understanding by Design template specific goals for each lesson were developed.
The Implementation
My plan was to implement blended learning at the beginning of the 2018-2019 school year in my 8th grade resource classroom. In the rotation model the students rotate at the teachers discretion between the different learning modalities. During the first two six weeks blended learning would be implemented at least once per week and after that it would increase to 2-3 times per week. By the end of the year blended learning would be implemented 3 times per week. The way our schedule works I see my students two times per day for 45 minutes each. The blended learning portion would be implemented the second time I saw my students which was designated as our enrichment period.
How Did it Go?
Going into this I was very nervous. Even though I had done my research and knew the types of success I could have putting blended learning into practice still overwhelmed me. On top of being overwhelmed I had just taken on the role of special education department chair which meant my time in the classroom would be cut in half. So there went my plan to implement blended learning during my enrichment class. I still wanted to implement blended learning at least once per week during the first two weeks and 2-3 times per week after that. This required very strategic planning of the lessons that were loaded in the LMS (Learning Management System).
Upon implementation my classroom was completely chaotic. I realized that I did not fully explain to my students the expectations. I just kind of gave them a brief explanation and expected them to be able to figure it out. Going forward I will model what is expected at each station as well as set times for each transition. Loading information into a LMS is very time consuming but being able to give students the option of working at there own pace is definitely worth the time and work. Students began asking more questions and were engaged at levels I had never seen. They no longer felt pressured to get something done within this 45 minute time frame. They now had the option of working on assignments in and outside of class. Student behavior also improved. Working with special education students can be very challenging to say the least. Most times you are working with students of varying academic ability as well as varying behaviors. Seeing students, who would normally be often task, engaged in a math lesson was very rewarding, for me and the student. It made all the time and effort I put into planning lessons worth it. It made me want to plan more lessons.
Two things that I am very proud of are: one of my students mastered the STAAR test and another one passed the math STAAR for the first time in his academic career. Both students have been accepted to magnet high schools. I cannot say blended learning alone is responsible for this achievement but I can definitely say it played a role. I will continue to use blended learning and I hope to get to a point where the entire 8th grade curriculum is online and students can work at the pace that is conducive for them. Until then I will continue to implement blended learning in my 8th grade classroom and this year I plan to add it in my 6th and 7th grade classes. I am anxious to see the strides we can make in all three grade levels.
Educational Leadership 