As a child, change can be difficult, scary, and disorienting like floating alone through outer space! Moving to a different city, finding new friends, and having a new house can all become stressors that provoke fear and lead to anxiety. Even as an adult, change isn't always easy.
Change, however, can also bring excitement and enthusiasm! Like fireworks or a successful rocket ship launch, a new friend or job can also bring a smile and be a welcoming breath of fresh revitalizing air. Change can be a power for good!
So what's the difference?
Having, holding, and utilizing a growth mindset for CHANGE.
Before liftoff, let's get specific and break down the steps for successful CHANGE and implementation of Blended Learning into any classroom environment.
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What's the PURPOSE? Blended Learning is built around the idea of anyone and everyone being able to succeed. Through a focus on choice, ownership, voice, and authenticity, these components allow teachers and students to focus on relevant learning activities that allow for drastically personalized differentiation (Harapnuik, 2021).
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What's my WHY? Why did I choose the focus of Blended Learning? Why not something else?
Well, to keep it simple, "I believe that every student deserves a safe and hopeful future through the utilization of optimal 21st century educational experiences." Therefore, the implementation of Blended Learning will allow for a direct connection for leading to success!
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HOW can this Wildly Important Goal be achieved? Simple. Through the creation of personalized and competency-based learning, educational efficiency, increase of content and contextual relevance, authenticity, and by providing opportunities for individualized differentiation, remediation, and extension. Or maybe it's not-so-simple. Let's break this down even further...
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Do we NEED Blended Learning? For the students' sake, yes! One example of Blended Learning's benefits was explained within the opening chapter of Horn & Staker's book Blended: Using Disruptive Innovation to Improve Schools. The success of this model was introduced by Jack, a fifth grade student in California who started the school year off at the very bottom of his math class. However, his school decided to make a change. After seventy days of utilizing a “blended learning” math model in the classroom, this same student, Jack, rose to become within the top four students of his class! (Horn, Staker, 2017, p. 5) This was only one small example showing the power of “blended learning” within classroom environments.
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Why should we CARE? In conjunction with personalized learning structures and tasks, 21st-century skills should be taught and demonstrated today by teachers who understand best teaching practices. Within his academic report, West (2011) explained that “sticking to a 20th-century production model makes little sense when there are 21st-century technologies available that enable different instructional approaches and delivery systems. The key for educators is to figure out how to use digital technology to engage and instruct students” (p. 2).
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Do we NEED to influence innovation? Certainly. The world will continue to change, with or without us! If you think about it, we need to change in order for our schools to change. Influencing others in a positive way can assist with a smooth transition into Blended Learning classroom environments. Sometimes, slow and steady DOES win the race. We need to first assemble our team and make sure everyone understands the goal of the mission!
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What CHANGES must be made for success? In order to properly implement Blended Learning, it will take a whole team! Learning and growing isn't always easy and it will take the acceptance of a learning curve. There are Five Stages of Change (McChesney) which can help assist with everyone's acclimation to these new ways of teaching and learning.
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What should be my FIRST step? Well, in order to safely explore new horizons it is also important that several key actions are first reviewed and then incrementally completed. With the correct balance of focus, measurement, engagement, and accountability, there's a great chance for a winning mission to be carried out and completed.
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But what about possible RESISTANCE? Friction is a rule of motion. It will always slow momentum. But there IS a way to lessen the friction and think preventatively when it comes to leaders making organizational changes. The answer is learning how to communicate clearly with yourself and to others. Having crucial conversations is a critical aspect to ensure a smooth launch (Patterson).
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Bottom line, our current teaching strategies should be FULL STEAM AHEAD and focus on the strengthening of self-paced learning outcomes, introducing skills for our future world instead of the present, and increasing the use of personalized instruction to better fit the needs of each individual learner. These concepts can zoom in on the important implementation of best practices within a classroom learning environment, creating a safe haven for knowledge to blossom and student self-discovery to take place.
When implemented correctly and efficiently into the classroom, these skills can assist with learner knowledge retention and in the create a safe learning space for collaboration and open student discussion and exploration. “Blended Learning” can help students TODAY for the future world of their TOMORROW.
And we have BLASTOFF!
Another day, another successful mission completed.
References
Harapnuik, D. (2021). COVA. Harapnuik.org. https://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=6991
Horn, M. B., & Staker, H. (2017). Blended: Using Disruptive Innovation To Improve Schools.
Jossey-Bass.
McChesney, C., Covey, S., & Huling, J. (2016). The 4 disciplines of execution: achieving
your wildly important goals. Free Press.
Patterson, K., Grenny, J., Mcmillan, R., & Switzler, A. (2012). Crucial conversations : tools for
talking when stakes are high. Mcgraw-Hill Education.
West, D. M. (2011, October 6). Using Technology To Personalize Learning And Assess
Students In Real-Time. Brookings; The Brookings Institution.
https://www.brookings.edu/research/using-technology-to-personalize-learning-and-
assess-students-in-real-time/
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