Well, I have been dying to try Blended Learning in my classroom for a few months. My first go around, however, was not easy by any means. It was a lot of problem solving, scaffolding all the moving parts for the kids, organizing, and setting up. Although it was a new challenge--for me and my students-- there were many Aha's and proud moments. So, what exactly is Blended Learning. It is where the classroom environment goes from Teacher-centered Learning to Student-centered Learning. The teacher is there for help and support, while the students are facilitating their own learning. There are many different styles of blended learning. Here is an inforgaphic that shows the different types. In my classroom, I tried Station Rotation. Most of the groups were seated at their desks doing the different activities, because my classroom is smaller. A little background before beginning: My students were making weather podcasts after we learned: weather, temperature, language, and sentence structure. I wanted the podcast to be an alternate to speaking in front of the class; however, I needed to use an app to produce the podcast. I used the app Podbean for the students to record. The next issue was that I did not want them to download the app on their phone, so they were going to use mine. Then the different groups began to develop. I wanted the group movement to be as fluid as possible. I had my students sign up for podcast recording days, and I held them to those days! After the sign ups, I created group rotation schedules of where they should be and when. I had four different groups: 1. Practice script, 2. Record Podcast, 3. FANBOYS Video Lesson, and 4. Typing.com or Duolingo. I step up a specific "Recording Studio" area in my room, so the students could quietly record their podcasts. I also wrote on a white board who was in the studio and who was up next recording. This allowed there to be minimal talking in the classroom, as the recording picks up background talking. It also forced the students to be responsible with their duties, stay on task, and practice interdependence. I knew groups would be finishing their scripts and podcasts at different times, so I needed something extra for them to do when they were finished. I had not taught them FANBOYS, so I created a mini FANBOYS Video Lesson with notes and practice. These were then grouped into Google Classroom so the students could easily access the information. The video lesson was designed to have the same structure as the classroom lessons: Notes, I do, partner practice, independent. I took out the We do GRR section, because it was a prerecorded video. I included a Google Slide to get students started with the activity, so they did not need me for setup help. Students followed the video and handouts to guide them through the lesson. I have included the videos below. Disclaimer: The notes and practice are by no means perfect, like anything, I watched as my kids worked, noticed where they did well and where they struggled, then made notes to modify for next time. The first video was borrowed from BYU MCOM
I did not pass out the handouts or headphones for the activity. Instead, I set up a FANBOYS Area where they could find headphones and all the handouts. The last group I created was for when students were finished with all the required projects and lessons: Podcast and FANBOYS. I gave students the option to use Typing.com or Duolingo. Typing.com is a game and letter typing based program that allows students to perfect their typing skills. The program has typing lessons, where students can practice keyboard finger placement along with finger movement as they type. The program also has a game section where students are challenged to type quick to achieve a measurable goal. My students really like Typing.com because they have achievable goals and can see their growth instantly. The newest app I have introduced my students to is Duolingo. Duolingo is a language app that allows the user to learn a different language. There are many options: Spanish, English, French, German, and more. The students that used Duolingo really liked the program, because they could see their growth and it was different than using Rosetta Stone--which they use every day for an hour. Duolingo can be used on the computer or phone app.
It took about two and a half days of block schedule for all students to finish; however, they essentially did three things which would normally have taken a week. I administered a Google Form Evaluation that sought the students' honest opinion about the activities and "new thing": Blended Learning Rotation Groups. I did not require them to put their name, because I wanted their honesty. The results were inspiring. Many of the students liked the rotation groups and the different activities. If they did not like the groups it was because they were mainly sitting at their desks. They also wished for a practice run before starting the actual rotations. Next steps: -Incorporate a standing interactive group -More movement -A few practice rounds before beginning.
3 Comments
Kevin Scritchfield
5/27/2017 05:21:11 pm
Wow Ashley - what a great post here and what a great lesson for your kids! You did so much work here in so many aspects - not just in creating all of the blended/flipped videos and scheduling your students in the activities and culminating their end-products, but in your reflection on the process and in creating this post - a great help for other teachers who may want to use your lesson idea here. I'm assuming that you have tweeted this out?!
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