K-12 Schools This Fall: A Closer Look at Blended Learning
Remote learning, blended learning, hybrid learning—these are all terms that teachers, students, parents, and guardians have been hearing as schools across the country prepare to implement next steps for the return to learning this fall. The mode of learning your school will adopt in September, with the ever-evolving situation around COVID-19, depends on where you live and what your schoolboard is choosing to implement. Provinces across the country have announced their plans for elementary and high school reopening and most models follow one of these three scenarios:
Full time reopening of schools with health safety measures in place
Blended learning (smaller class sizes with some days in school/some days at home)
Full time at home remote learning
Regardless of the model your school will be implementing, it’s important to note that parents and guardians have the choice to keep their children at home this fall. As such, schools will need to have a hybrid strategy in place to support and accommodate students who will be learning at home full time as schools get set to reopen.
Big changes are expected when students and teachers head back to school in September.
Let’s take a closer look at Scenario #2. We’ve brainstormed what a blended learning scenario could look like. We write brainstorm because this scenario is the most complex model of the three. There’s no guidebook on how to implement blended learning during a global pandemic. It’s safe to say that schoolboards that choose to implement this scenario will include an array of modifications.
What is blended learning?
A 2004 Educause study by Dziuban, Hartman and Moskal states that blended learning “…combines the effectiveness and socialization opportunities of the classroom with the technologically enhanced active learning possibilities of the online environment.” In simpler terms, it involves face-to-face interactions between teachers and students, as well as online educational activities.
Pre-pandemic, many teachers were already incorporating online learning into their classrooms through a variety of Ed-tech platforms. According to the article published by Wabisabi Learning, “The 5 Best Blended Learning Strategies for a Connected Classroom”:
“One misconception about blended learning is that it’s synonymous with ‘distance’ and ‘detachment.’ This can be why some teachers shy away from it initially. The fact is the blend is in harmony with both digital learning and traditional instruction. The teacher plays a modified role from the old ‘stand and deliver’ one. It’s meant to be the best of both worlds combined.”
As mentioned earlier, the blended learning scenario is the most complex model to implement. It’s no secret that teachers will experience increased workloads as they prepare for in-class and remote learning. This means juggling smaller cohorts of students every other day, ensuring enhanced cleaning practices are in place, and deep cleaning at the end of each day. How can teachers safely navigate this uncharted territory while striving to keep their and students’ mental health in check?
Teachers and students will face new challenges in class.
Tips to help manage a blended learning scenario
Create an online safe space for you and your class: Your school board may have already adopted a learning management system (LMS), like Edsby, so you can post announcements, share due dates, collect digital assignments, and stay connected with students, parents, and guardians.
Begin projects in class: Start a project with an in-class discussion, then identify ideas that can be done online from home.
Start slow and build: Don’t get overwhelmed by trying to do it all at once. Get comfortable with one digital element, like the Edwin digital learning system, before attempting to add another digital element to the learning mix.
Join an online community where teachers can share best practices, ask questions, find answers, and connect with like minds as you figure out what works best for you and your students’ blended learning scenario.
Strategies to help students with remote learning
Assign students digital work to do during their at-home days: This is their time to read articles, watch videos, listen to interviews, and research independently.
Set deadlines for all work: Let students know when they can expect feedback, how they will be graded, and what is required of them each week.
Ensure students feel connected to their peers: Students should have access to an online classroom forum, like Google Classroom, where they can communicate with you and other students in their class. Encourage students to post questions when they are unsure about something, and for others to provide online feedback. Online communication between peers will help everyone feel connected, regardless of whether it’s their in-class learning days or their remote learning days.
It’s important to note that students in their remote learning environment may feel disconnected from their teacher(s). Set up virtual office time (outside of instruction time) to field questions and interact with students.
Online communication will help teachers and students feel connected.
Global competencies and the blended learning scenario
Global competencies build on foundational numeracy and literacy skills and can be developed over time. With the rapidly changing learning environment brought on by COVID-19, there is a call to action to ensure students develop global competencies while they learn. This call to action has been set in motion to help ensure student success across provincial and territorial education systems. According to an article by the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC):
“There is growing recognition that global competencies promote deeper learning by equipping students with the necessary tools to adapt to diverse situations and become lifelong learners. These key competencies can be interdependent and leveraged in a variety of situations and across disciplines; moreover, they contribute to educational attainment, relationships, employment, health, and well-being outcomes.”
CMEC lists the following six global competencies:
critical thinking and problem solving
innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship
learning to learn/self-awareness and self-direction
collaboration
communication
global citizenship and sustainability
Leaning into global competencies will assist students in being able to meet the rapidly shifting and changing learning scenarios brought on by the pandemic. According to the CMEC, in the long run, global competencies… “will equip learners with the ability to meet the shifting and ongoing demands of life, work and learning, to be active and responsive in their communities, to understand diverse perspectives, and to act on issues of global significance.”
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Will you be one of Canada’s superhero teachers this fall? No matter which scenario your school board is choosing to implement, we are here to cheer you on! As the weeks and months go by, classroom and at-home learning scenarios will need to be adapted as the pandemic situation morphs. Patience is a virtue… and patience is what all educators, students, parents, and guardians need to keep top of mind as we gear up for back to school this fall. We’re all in this together.
Are you making plans to teach in a blended learning scenario? We’d love to hear your ideas about how you’ll be managing the shift to blended learning. Please share in the comments section.
Explore blended learning in your classroom with an Edwin FREE Trial through October 1st, 2021.
REFERENCES
Dziuban, Charles D., Joel L. Hartman, and Patsy D. Moskal.
“Blended Learning.” Educause Center for Applied Research: Research Bulletin 2004, no. 7 (Mar 30, 2004). https://www.educause.edu/~/media/files/library/2004/3/erb0407-pdf.pdf?la=en
Wabisabi Learning.
“The 5 Best Blended Learning Strategies for a Connected Classroom.” Wabisabi Learning. https://wabisabilearning.com/blogs/technology-integration/5-blended-learning-strategies
Council of Ministers of Education, Canada.
“Global Competencies.” Council of Ministers of Education, Canada. https://www.cmec.ca/682/Global_Competencies.html