Blended Learning
Hello again,
This week's topic was blended learning. Blended learning is something that, to a degree, has been done since the beginning of teaching. Personal research outside of the classroom technically could be called blended learning. Everything from reading a book to working on the farm could fall under the umbrella of blended learning. But blended learning most commonly refers to the practice of using traditional teaching methods such as lecture, modelling and scaffolding and including sessions of online learning either in the classroom or at home. It places more responsibility on the students and allows for a student driven learning environment which studies have shown drastically improve learning and test scores.
In my school, we have blended learning options in all of our core classes. I am a substitute teacher, however, due to our lack of staff, I have been appointed the position of mentor and have my own classroom with assigned classes. For my classes, since I have reduced access to grading functions, my students can only get credit through the blended, online portions. This can be very frustrating for both me and my students. Many times they become frustrated when they don't understand content presented to them on the computer and shut down. I as a new teacher am at a loss currently on how to tackle this issue when I have students ranging from 8th grade developmental algebra to algebra II in the same class.
That was a bit of a rabbit hole, but to sum up, I think blended learning can be, and is, extremely effective if implemented the right way. New technology making allows students to learn from anywhere with an internet connection and that is an opportunity that we as teachers cannot allow to go to waste.
This week's topic was blended learning. Blended learning is something that, to a degree, has been done since the beginning of teaching. Personal research outside of the classroom technically could be called blended learning. Everything from reading a book to working on the farm could fall under the umbrella of blended learning. But blended learning most commonly refers to the practice of using traditional teaching methods such as lecture, modelling and scaffolding and including sessions of online learning either in the classroom or at home. It places more responsibility on the students and allows for a student driven learning environment which studies have shown drastically improve learning and test scores.
In my school, we have blended learning options in all of our core classes. I am a substitute teacher, however, due to our lack of staff, I have been appointed the position of mentor and have my own classroom with assigned classes. For my classes, since I have reduced access to grading functions, my students can only get credit through the blended, online portions. This can be very frustrating for both me and my students. Many times they become frustrated when they don't understand content presented to them on the computer and shut down. I as a new teacher am at a loss currently on how to tackle this issue when I have students ranging from 8th grade developmental algebra to algebra II in the same class.
That was a bit of a rabbit hole, but to sum up, I think blended learning can be, and is, extremely effective if implemented the right way. New technology making allows students to learn from anywhere with an internet connection and that is an opportunity that we as teachers cannot allow to go to waste.
When students breakdown, I give them more attention if I can; or try to simplify the problem . Another trick for math is give them the answer and have the student show step by step to reach that answer. I love online learning because it engages the students rather than pencil to paper.
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