We have come to the end the of the Blended Learning series. In this post we will look at ways that you can start to integrate Blended Learning strategies into your classroom. Before we get into the how, let’s look at our definition of Blended Learning. Blended learning is a teaching approach that blends both digital and in-person teaching methods.

When it comes to this teaching approach let’s look at things that you are most likely already do in your classroom.

Using centers in your classroom

When it comes to centers in your classroom, you are having students rotate through different learning opportunities. One of those centers most likely has the students doing work on the computer. When the students are on the computer and everyone is doing the same thing, you have a tech-rich classroom. If the students are learning something personalized and/or at their own pace, then this falls into the blended learning model. I-Ready is a good example of a tool to use on the computer for personalized learning since students are generally doing work that either you have assigned or the software Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) assigns them.

Digital Assignments

Think about having the students complete writing assignments through Word, or maybe exit tickets that are digital. These are two simple things that you can add to your teaching repertoire without a lot of effort. Taking this task from tech-rich to the next level, give assignments to more group assignments. To do this, have students complete work together through tools like OneNote, Wakelet or discussion boards in a Learning Management System (LMS). When I look back on my time in the classroom, I remember group projects being challenging due to students not keeping their work in a mutually accessible area in the classroom and students being absent. Digital Assignments can also come in and work with groups of students who are working on Project Based Learning projects.

Adding Voices to Your Classroom

Before Covid, many schools had stopped doing multiple field trips during the school year. Once Covid came, most schools completely removed field trips from their curriculum. With the loss of field trips, Covid teaching helped teachers see virtual field trips were a possibility in their classroom. Teachers were able to bring in experts from all walks of life into their classroom. Not only that, they were able to visit faraway places right there in their classrooms. As a teacher in Massachusetts, I would never be able to visit the Outback or the Great Barrier reef with my students, with Virtual Field Trips I could have those places come to me. By blending your classroom, students could complete work related to a field trip in the classroom ahead of the virtual meeting. It’s a great way to bring the outside world into your classroom.

Another way of adding voices into your classroom is by using video explainers. You could either make the videos yourself or you could find the videos online. Then you would add the videos to Schoology and you could either have students watch the video as their homework or you could have them watch communally in the classroom. After watching the video, you could have the students come back to the overall group to complete projects and tasks based on that information.

Looking at these three examples, you can see that it doesn’t take much to start blending your classroom. And it’s not the only thing you can do. Previously, we looked at different ways to use blended learning in your classroom. I believe that you are already doing things in your classroom that lend itself to this learning style and there are so many things you can do to up your game.

Mike’s 5th Grade Classroom

I figured the best way to end this series is to describe what I would do as a 5^th grade classroom teacher. When it comes to my classroom, we would adopt more of a flipped, flexible model. Students’ homework would be to watch a video/read a document/complete a PowerPoint.  Part of wrapping up for the day would be spent having the students download the video/document/PowerPoint to their computer in case the internet is not able to be used at home. These tools would be the introduction to what we would be doing the next day. Having the resources at home to review before the class allows my students to engage in either cooperative problem solving or allow us to dive deeper into more challenging concepts. If this sounds like the flipped model, you’d be correct.

To start the day, everyone would have a set of review questions to answer. Students do this through the computer and generally create and use questions that can be computer scored and it would show me where we are at to start the day. We would use what they did at home to be our jumping off point. One part of their homework is to write down questions they might have on the concept that we are going to cover. After starting the class by going over any questions, students would jump into rotation work based on the concept. Each group would have time with their awesome teacher (Me), a time of individual work based on their needs. The third group would work on a project based on the concepts that we are doing. The work with me and their groups would be connected. Students would rotate through each station. I would also integrate as many subjects as possible into the time. Near the end of class, students would have to complete an exit ticket. On that ticket, students would be able to ask any questions they still have, a question to show their understanding of what they did for the day, and how they are feeling about the work they are doing. This would happen with both math and reading.

Before we are ready to move to the next subject there would be a short 5-10 minute brain break where the students would either play games that were related to what they were doing; a dance break (something from Gonoodle) or something active (like a weather dependent quick walk outside).

Students need breaks throughout the day and having these breaks that our guided on something also allows you to give them what they need without them getting too wild and making it harder to bring them back without issues.

I would then go back and start the cycle again.

In Conclusion

That’s what I would do, what do you think? How do you run your classroom? Are there ways to add in more blended learning? What would prevent you from flipping your classroom? So many questions and I want to hear your thoughts so let us know in Yammer or in the comments below.​