Blended Learning is at risk of dying of buzzwordification. If we don't change the way we introduce pedagogy to teachers, Blended Learning will join the cemetery of other instructional strategies that are seen as the "latest fad." (Read Dave Stuart Jr'.s autopsy of close reading for another casualty buzzwordification, and the source of my usage).
Though well intentioned, when we present educators with the concept of Blended Learning, all they hear is: "Use technology," "Do tech," "wah wah WAH..." It's like something out of a Charlie Brown episode. The inherent problem is in the verb: 'present.'
It's like the saying:
Tell me and I’ll forget
Show me and I’ll remember
Involve me and I’ll understand
We have a unique opportunity with Blended Learning to model for our fellow colleagues how we strive for our students to learn in our classroom.
Here's my thinking:
1) It all begins with growth mindset
Begin with goals like:
Take a Risk,
F.A.I.L. (Besides, it's the First Attempt In Learning)
Model this in our PD. Confront our challenges and frustrations honesty so we can move beyond them. What does this look like?
We opened PD with the Padlet question: My biggest frustration when it comes to using technology in the classroom is… We acknowledged the legitimacy of these concerns, we all share them in our classroom, and then encouraged everyone to adopt a growth mindset.
2) Make it student-centered
Invite teachers to learn new technology by using it. Ask them to bring laptops and earbuds. Have them make accounts and practice using the new tools you present.
Have them create something!
What does this look like?
Give them an online agenda (see ours here) or a playlist using the same platforms you use regularly in class. Facilitate activities so teachers are experimenting and playing. Involve me and I’ll understand!
If you even dare, give them choice and control over their pace and path to learning. Let them choose the tools they want to learn and the area of instruction they want to focus on. It will be messy, it will feel queasy for everyone involved. And, you just might like it.
3) Blended Learning is more than Technology
We have to communicate that Blended Learning is not just adding technology. It is often interpreted that "doing blended learning" is like sprinkling salt over a meal once it's served. Instead, it should be like seasoning, tasting, testing, and re-seasoning as you are cooking.
This article goes into great detail about what this initiative could and should look like in our schools.
Whether in our conversations with teachers, the teaching moments that arise amidst PD sessions, or our goal in presenting new technological tools, we need to encourage teachers to move beyond just making a website. Of course, it's great to be organized and have a digital platform to host content. But, let's take it a step further:
Invite students to share their voice.
Encourage students to collaborate.
Challenge students to think critically.
Design tasks that require students to create.
Do the same in your PD session with your teachers.
Alfie Kohn makes a great critique of how Tech has been 'oversold' in Education and the focus on creating truly powerful learning activities has been missed. I've cited it before, but it's worth a read. Here's a tidbit:
"Show me something that helps kids create, design, produce, construct — and I’m on board. Show me something that helps them make things collaboratively (rather than just on their own), and I’m even more interested"
4) When you're all done, gather feedback.
You've done the hard work, now gather the cultivated fruits of your labors. This is the powerful work. Find out what teachers really learned. Measure your progress as a team, a community, and a school. Use the data to inform future work and PD. Just like we assess student learning to plan future instruction, let's find out what teacher's needs so we can better support them.
A lot of this is not new or my original thoughts, but it is important to profess our own interpretation. Otherwise, we risk falling into the trap of blinding using edtech for the sake of using tech, and then calling it blended learning. For the sake of using the buzzword and checking off a box. For the sake of what we are "told to do." These are real words spoken by real educators and real misconceptions held in our schools by our teachers.
I'm curious, what do you think?
Though well intentioned, when we present educators with the concept of Blended Learning, all they hear is: "Use technology," "Do tech," "wah wah WAH..." It's like something out of a Charlie Brown episode. The inherent problem is in the verb: 'present.'
It's like the saying:
Tell me and I’ll forget
Show me and I’ll remember
Involve me and I’ll understand
We have a unique opportunity with Blended Learning to model for our fellow colleagues how we strive for our students to learn in our classroom.
Here's my thinking:
1) It all begins with growth mindset
Begin with goals like:
Take a Risk,
F.A.I.L. (Besides, it's the First Attempt In Learning)
Model this in our PD. Confront our challenges and frustrations honesty so we can move beyond them. What does this look like?
We opened PD with the Padlet question: My biggest frustration when it comes to using technology in the classroom is… We acknowledged the legitimacy of these concerns, we all share them in our classroom, and then encouraged everyone to adopt a growth mindset.
2) Make it student-centered
Invite teachers to learn new technology by using it. Ask them to bring laptops and earbuds. Have them make accounts and practice using the new tools you present.
Have them create something!
What does this look like?
Give them an online agenda (see ours here) or a playlist using the same platforms you use regularly in class. Facilitate activities so teachers are experimenting and playing. Involve me and I’ll understand!
If you even dare, give them choice and control over their pace and path to learning. Let them choose the tools they want to learn and the area of instruction they want to focus on. It will be messy, it will feel queasy for everyone involved. And, you just might like it.
3) Blended Learning is more than Technology
We have to communicate that Blended Learning is not just adding technology. It is often interpreted that "doing blended learning" is like sprinkling salt over a meal once it's served. Instead, it should be like seasoning, tasting, testing, and re-seasoning as you are cooking.
This article goes into great detail about what this initiative could and should look like in our schools.
Whether in our conversations with teachers, the teaching moments that arise amidst PD sessions, or our goal in presenting new technological tools, we need to encourage teachers to move beyond just making a website. Of course, it's great to be organized and have a digital platform to host content. But, let's take it a step further:
Invite students to share their voice.
Encourage students to collaborate.
Challenge students to think critically.
Design tasks that require students to create.
Do the same in your PD session with your teachers.
Alfie Kohn makes a great critique of how Tech has been 'oversold' in Education and the focus on creating truly powerful learning activities has been missed. I've cited it before, but it's worth a read. Here's a tidbit:
"Show me something that helps kids create, design, produce, construct — and I’m on board. Show me something that helps them make things collaboratively (rather than just on their own), and I’m even more interested"
4) When you're all done, gather feedback.
You've done the hard work, now gather the cultivated fruits of your labors. This is the powerful work. Find out what teachers really learned. Measure your progress as a team, a community, and a school. Use the data to inform future work and PD. Just like we assess student learning to plan future instruction, let's find out what teacher's needs so we can better support them.
A lot of this is not new or my original thoughts, but it is important to profess our own interpretation. Otherwise, we risk falling into the trap of blinding using edtech for the sake of using tech, and then calling it blended learning. For the sake of using the buzzword and checking off a box. For the sake of what we are "told to do." These are real words spoken by real educators and real misconceptions held in our schools by our teachers.
I'm curious, what do you think?