Blended Beginner : Intro

What's up bloggers?! (Is that a term?)

Samuel Schachter here! I'm a high school mathematics teacher at Barrington High School in Barrington, RI. This is my sixth year teaching. After six years of traditional (teacher-centered) instruction, I'm delighted to announce that I will be blending my classes next year! The purpose of this blog is to chronicle my adventures as a first time blender in hopes of educating others through my experiences by providing an unfiltered account of my successes, areas for improvement, and lessons learned.

Phase I: What Is And Is Not Blended?

IS: Blended Learning (aka blended) is when technology is integrated in the classroom to meet the vast learning styles of students. One very important aspect of blended that I picked up from a personalized learning conference I attended is that the practice should be the main focus, and the technology should come second.

IS NOT: Blended is not about using as much technology as possible in the classroom, and is certainly not a way to replace a classroom teacher. In fact, the role of a classroom teacher is pivotal in a blended classroom and this educational model would not be successful without a highly qualified educator leading the way.

Phase II: Why Do It?

Technology is changing the world. Newspapers are primarily online, most billing services offer online payment options, online shopping has massively increased in popularity, and the list goes on. Education is no different and has already been impacted drastically by technology. The use of SMART boards, projectors, document cameras, tablets, and even cell phones have changed what the traditional classroom looks like. Even though I use technology everyday in my classroom, it is still teacher-centered, and I find it incredibly difficult to keep the attention of my students.

Sometimes I look around the room at my students and notice a handful completely zoned out. And that's when I'm actively looking! As educators we create strategies to keep all students on task, such as writing student names on popsicle sticks to randomly call on students to answer questions. What I've come to realize over the past few months is that these strategies are just band aids for a teaching style that is not effectively reaching all students. Students are hungry for change, and educators are trying their best to creatively hold on to a teaching style that is quickly becoming outdated.

Let's be clear; I'm not picking on educators. They are honestly some of the bravest and hardest working individuals out there! However educators constantly feel stressed about covering their endless curriculum by the end of the school year -- I know I do. That's why I've always felt the need to teach the content myself. I developed a desire, a need, to be in control. In fact, I've done some pretty embarrassing things to "stay on pace." What I didn't realize, or I guess, realized but didn't want to admit, was a large majority of the instruction was lost. Regardless of how hard I pushed, my students were not retaining all of the information. And I thought to myself, "Hey I did my job! They're not doing theirs if they didn't pay attention!" Through the years my thought process shifted from playing the blame game to realizing that the classroom model was backwards: classrooms need to be student-centered instead of teacher-centered. Enter blended.


Phase III: My Plan

Next year I am teaching Algebra 1 and Conceptual Geometry. I plan to blend both courses completely. This means that the majority of work will be completed on a student's device. (Two years ago our district went one to one and issued every student in the school a Chromebook). I will create videos and tutorials for the main topics in our class, and students will complete practice sets. Most practice sets will grade student responses automatically which will provide instant feedback to the student to measure their understanding. I will make myself accessible to all students by closely monitoring their progress and helping them along the way.

My co-pilot on this adventure is one of my educational inspirations and colleagues at BHS, Jason Appel. Jason strongly believes in leveraging technology in the classroom to transform the learning experience for students. He has been on the forefront of the educational technology push at our school and also takes on the role of technology integration specialist where he frequently assists our staff in regards to using technology in the classroom effectively. We share the same preps (an educational term for the different courses you teach) next year so we'll be able to work together & conference frequently. Jason has already been using the blended model in his classes this year, so he'll be a great coach next year! (Plus I think he's pretty excited that someone else is adopting the blended model so he has someone to talk with and bounce ideas off of)!

Phase IV: Concerns

Before I begin this adventure, there are a few things I'm concerned about:

1. Will I lose my identity as an educator? I'm always super excited when it comes to math class, coming up with creative ways to deliver the content and inspire students. I'm concerned this part of me will have a more difficult time being showcased while blending. 
2. How can I use my time most effectively while students are working in class? I have this picture in my head of me helping students individually who are struggling, but how long do I spend with each student? What if I don't reach all students during a single class period? 
3. How can I be sure students remain on task? Giving up control makes me super nervous, especially since I've always been in control in my classroom.
4. How exactly do assessments work? Can I give students an assessment when they personally are ready for it, or should I wait and test the entire class the same day? 
5. Video creation is very convenient using the Fujitsu tablets and YouCam software provided by our district, but what happens when they go away? How will I make videos when that technology gets phased out? 
6. What should the first day of school look like? I feel like that first day is SO important, setting the tone for the rest of the year and what the classroom will look like. Should I make a video demonstrating the blended model? 

I will keep these questions/concerns in mind, and share answers to them as I learn and discover more. 

Phase V: So What's Next Sam?

That's it for my introduction! To close out this school year, I will be observing Jason's classoom and talking to him about the model in more depth. This summer I will begin building the resources needed to blend properly, and also research different platforms to use during the school year. I want to be sure all of the platforms are researched and ready to roll out by the first day of school. That way I'm not introducing more and more things to the students throughout the school year. And of course, I'll be blogging about the work I'm doing and progress I'm making towards achieving my goal: 24/7 access to individualized instruction using technology as the gateway in order to provide deeper learning for all students. 

One last thought... this blog is filled with my opinions and experiences and should not be taken in as fact. I will be the first to admit I have a lot to learn, so please understand that this journey will be accompanied by mistakes, failures, and misconceptions. I'm not trying to push anything on anyone, but instead hoping to reach some people who are curious about blended and are able to learn from my reality.

Until next time,
~ Sam