School type:
High school
3,700 students
Special Ed
Daily class structure:
Do now
Whole-group introduction
Independent online work
Whole-group wrap-up
Class size 15 Tips from teachers:
Enact a "45 degree rule" during whole-group instruction
Use the conditional release function in the iLearnNYC platform to provide differentiated assignments
The classroom setting:
Mr. D teaches Global History to a small group of students with a variety of learning challenges in a very large, diverse high school. His class is a mix of learning disabled, emotional disturbance, and ELL students, allowing for a low teacher to student ratio, 15:1, with an additional one or two paraprofessionals. Mr. D uses blended learning to better meet the needs of all of his students.
A typical day in the model:
A characteristic class for Mr. D begins when students pick up laptops from a cart set up outside the classroom. Students sign in to the iLearnNYC platform when they sit down at their desks, arranged in groups. There is a "do now" listed on the board, for example, “List 3 causes of imperialism.” Mr. D instructs students to complete the do now as they enter the room. After students spend 3-5 minutes working on the do now alone, Mr. D leads the students through a discussion of the do now and then segues into a preview of the online work to come. In the imperialism example, Mr. D had students share and critique each other’s ideas about causes of imperialism, and then he projected an image on the board of a political map reflecting imperialism. He used the map to show students examples of what they would be working on, independently, for the day.
Classroom management:
When Mr. D leads this introduction he asks students to close their laptops “45 degrees” to ensure students are actively listening. Students are to close their laptops to only 45 degrees; closed just enough so students can’t see their screens but not enough to put the laptops to sleep. He said he picked up this trick at a PD where the instructor was having a hard time getting teachers to pay attention (many were checking their e-mail or using social networking sites).
What it looks like:
Once students have completed the “do now” and Mr. D has finished his introduction, he instructs students to begin working independently online. Students clearly know the drill and are already signed in to the iLearnNYC platform (they did this as soon as they sat down), making the transition from whole-group discussion to independent work smooth and quick. Students watch a 5-7 minute video embedded in the iLearnNYC platform which Mr. D has recorded himself. Students wear headphones and move at their own pace through the videos. As they watch and listen to the video, they are periodically instructed to pause and answer questions on a study sheet he has printed out for each student. If students get stuck or have a question, Mr. D is able to work with students one-on-one or a
paraprofessional is available to help the student work through re-reading the question or re-listening to a section in the video.
Improving differentiation:
Once students are done with the study sheet, they take a formative, short, multiple-choice quiz in the iLearnNYC platform that checks students’ understanding of the day’s lesson. Depending on how
students do on these quizzes, they are conditionally released one of two homework assignments. Those students who score low on the quiz are assigned homework that reinforces the day’s lesson. Those students who score high on the quiz are assigned homework that allows them to go deeper into the topic. This conditional release functionality is available in the iLearnNYC platform.
In the future, Mr. D hopes to use the conditional release feature to further differentiate assignments for students. He plans on using the survey function in the iLearnNYC platform to gauge student interests and create something like a Sternberg Thinking/Learning Styles Inventory2. Once he has a better understanding of student interests and learning styles, he can release assignments to them based on these profile characteristics. For example, students who are visual learners will be assigned homework or lessons that are personalized to support visual learning. Students in Mr. D’s class also take
summative unit tests online. Mr. D allows students two submissions. After the first attempt, students are given feedback on their mistakes and Mr. D personalizes notes and feedback to help students improve their understanding. Using this feedback, students can submit a second test that has similar questions to the first.
2Sternberg, R. J. (1997). Thinking styles. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.
62
Dealing with self-pacing:
During a typical class period, students may be behind the pace of the rest of the class as they are
catching up on a different day’s lesson. Mr. D checks in with these students at the beginning of the class and instructs them to begin their work while the rest of the class completes the do now and listens to the day’s introduction. Even though students may be on different assignments, they are seamlessly able to complete their work because all of the instructions and content are online. Mr. D explained that this feature of blended learning (self-pacing and access) has benefited his students because if they are absent or truant, they can easily make up assignments, at home or on their own during class time, without holding up other students or being lost in the current content. Whatever work remains for students, Mr. D reminds them to complete it at home or to work on it the next day in class.
Access at home:
While many students can access assignments from home, Mr. D explained that approximately 30% of his students do not have access to a computer and/or Internet at home. While there are public libraries open, they often only allow students to access the Internet for 30 minute sessions. Since Flushing High School also runs a night school program, YABC (Young Adult Borough Center), there is no time or space in the daily schedule to open up a computer lab for blended learning students. Mr. D has applied for grants to help provide his students with home computers but he has not been able to secure one yet.
He hopes to continue working with Computers 4 Kids3 to help his students get access to computers at home.
DYO Content:
Mr. D uses Jing, a screen capture program, to record screencasts of PowerPoints he creates for each day’s lesson, and he posts them using Vimeo. He tries to use Universal Design for Learning principles when creating his own video content because he teaches a unique student group. It usually takes Mr. D three hours to create a complete homegrown lesson (PowerPoint and video, worksheet, quiz, and two homework assignments) and upload it to the iLearnNYC platform. However, Mr. D expects he will be able to use this content year after year with minor tweaks, so he feels the initial investment of time it takes to create the content is worthwhile. He creates his own online content because he feels that the vendor content from Compass and Apex is too advanced for his special education student population.
Even when video content is presented and diagrams are used to help explain topics, the vocabulary used is above the reading-level of his students. If vendors offer reading-level appropriate material, it is for content his students do not need to learn. So even if Mr. D finds reading-level appropriate materials, the content does not match the curriculum he has to teach to prepare his students for the Global History Regents.
3 http://www.comp4kids.org/
Wrap-up:
Mr. D has generally enjoyed moving to a blended model, but is struggling to make better use of the in-class time he has with students. He has tried online in-class discussions, but feels that they do not require the same interactivity or build the same skills as in-class debates or collaborative group work. But since his students are often moving at different paces, he has to get creative when assigning paired or group work. Mr. D often employs the “think, pair, share” discussion strategy to encourage student-to-student in-class interactions. Students are paired together based on their pace and progress. At the end of a unit, Mr. D also takes the opportunity to build in additional projects and assignments. Since students are moving at different paces, those students who are ahead are given assignments that allow them to go deeper into a topic, while those students who are behind are given time to make up work and get reinforcement on concepts. As Mr. D continues to explore different ways to build in group discussions and collaborative assignments, he feels he will create an even more dynamic and personalized learning environment for his special education students.