Best Practices: Blended Programs
Although each blended program is different and has its own individual needs there are some basic principles that should be considered.
· Have a clear understanding of the purpose of the blended program:
o Ability to differentiate instruction
o Address individual pacing needs of students
o Address special needs of students (alternative learning)
o Allow students to earn credit back throughout the year in an independent environment
o Allow courses to be offered that otherwise may not have been possible
· Policies and Procedures- all groups (administration, teachers, students and parents) must have an understanding prior to program beginning of process and expectations.
o Enrollment procedure
o Teacher’s flexibility to adjust curriculum and (virtual)assignments; will teachers be allowed to have student’s skip virtual assignments
o What percentage of a student’s overall grade will come from assignments in virtual course vs. activities done in a traditional environment
o Will there be hard due dates, periodic check points, no due dates
o Expectations on teachers for type, timing and location of feedback
o Grade out procedures
o Dedicated class period for online courses –good rule of thumb for administration – teachers will have equal responsibility in a virtual environment as in a traditional environment.
o Grades must be posted in the D2L platform in order for complete and transparent reporting.
o Teachers should consult periodic student achievement results from D2L data to affect change in student outcomes.
· Most blended programs incorporate a multitude of activities not just virtual content as text. The virtual program can be used in its entirety or in sections but will typically be the source of content, with in-class activities used to support:
o Lab activities as required
o Collaborative activities/projects
o Individual or small group support sessions
o Regents prep and practice throughout the year – no surprises at the end of the year
o Consider flipping your classroom. In this situation the content becomes the homework which frees up the in class time for the practice and activities reinforcing learning.
· If assignments are virtual, provide the majority of the assignment feedback in that same location. Why?
o Provides a permanent record of assignments/grades within course
o Provides students the experience of online work prior to getting to higher education where it may be expected.
o This does not mean a teacher cannot pull a student aside for more detailed feedback but face to face time should be used to enrich and support items that cannot be completed in the virtual world.
o Discussion Boards – live vs. online – both have purpose and value. The virtual discussion board:
§ Every student has a voice
§ All students have time to reflect and respond
§ Eliminates fear of mockery, shyness and reluctant students
· Feedback:
o Use rubrics and make sure both the teacher and the student understand where grade is coming from.
o Enhance rubrics with color – example -“rainbow rubric”
o Feedback needs to be specific to task at hand avoid “good Job”, “please correct” phrases that don’t actually guide the student to what they did well or how to correct.
o Be an active participant within the Discussion Boards – try to pose questions that will continue a thread or conversation.
· Course Set-up – the “little things” matter – no matter which LMS you are using the environment in which your students work is important. Even if you see your students daily the visual items below can set the tone and reflect what you feel about the program.
o Use banners and announcements appropriately
o Enlist the help of students to create banners or announcements at different times throughout the year. When they see their work it creates ownership.
o Announcements – “rule of 3”
§ Welcome announcement – should be always present and at the bottom of the announcement area. Inviting, positive and provide directions for how to get started and maybe even a call to action on the students part.
§ Curriculum related announcements
· Should be updated frequently (once a week)
· Problem of the week
· Current events
· Did you know….
· The possibilities are only limited by your imagination
§ Classroom informational announcements
o Staff Information – introduction, picture, contact info
· Support teachers several weeks a month into the program. Nothing will become real until they are in the classes.
· Provide initial course checklists of tasks for teachers to complete both within a course as well as the program as a whole.
· Classroom Management – this is many times an individual or course specific decision. One solution will not fit all but below are some suggestions (not all will be appropriate in every situation):
o Most important is to set behavioral and academic expectations – there must be structure in order for students to be successful.
o Group students by likely pacing – rotate these groups through different types of tasks each day:
§ Example 1
Day 1: Group A - works on online content
Group B – works in project base learning group
Group C – works individually with teacher – review; detailed feedback etc…
Day 2: above groups rotate
Group A – works in project base learning group
Group B – works with teacher
Group C – works on online content
§ Example 2 - math lab
Group A – Algebra 1
Group B – Algebra 2
Group C – Geometry
Rotate these groups between online content and assessments, teacher review and support and additional practice activities.
These rotations do not have to be hard and fast but can help the teacher keep students at different places on task while still being able to provide needed support.
o Labs – this too will vary depending upon the lab environment and pacing differences between students.
§ Some labs can be set up as kits with students being able to complete as they approach a lab either in small groups or as an individual.
§ For labs that may require greater set up designate two times during the semester that these can be completed. One time should address needs for faster pace student while the second time will address needs of slower space students.
o Vary activities for students – in a blended environment you want a mixture of independent online learning with more traditional activities. You do not want them sitting at a computer all day
· Assessments
o Option – password protect Unit exams
§ This will allow for monitoring when and where students take exams
o In Credit Recovery courses monitor, date stamps for quiz attempts. If attempts are minutes apart, the students are not reviewing the material and intervention is needed.
o Credit Recovery Courses- hold students accountable for guided notes (study guides)
o Credit Recovery Courses- have students reach out to teacher before taking 4th and 5th attempt. If an intervention is not made the result will probably not change. Students may even choose to bank or save their 5th and final attempt in case they need to improve their grade at the end of the course.
o Traditional Courses – default settings – students are allowed one attempt and the assessments are set as Force Complete – students must click submit before leaving the exam area.
o In the majority of traditional courses, questions are not pulled from a test pool. If students are allowed multiple attempts they will see the same questions again.
o Check/verify settings in Credit Recovery courses to see that they have a hard stop at 5 attempts. If students are allowed unlimited attempts they will exhaust the test pool.
o Traditional courses may be NCCA approved depending upon the program, while Credit Recovery courses are not NCAA approved.