| Notes |
Blended learning is growing rapidly, with half of high school students expected to engage in some form of online study by 2019. While considerable research has focused on the efficacy of distinct blending learning models, far less attention has been paid to the people developing and implementing those programs. While technology may open doors for students to broader and deeper content, it is really an opportunity for skilled teachers to use online programs to build on and enhance their existing practice. This is why blended learning—the strategic combination of in-person and virtual learning to personalize instruction—cannot replace good teaching; rather, it demands good teaching.
Over the past year, with support from The Learning Accelerator, TNTP visited more than 20 schools across the country to better understand how blended learning affects key human capital issues. We observed various instructional models in action and interviewed more than 60 teachers and leaders about their experiences.
On these visits, we saw educators breaking out of the traditional “25 students in a box” model, using technology in innovative ways to better serve each of their students; we saw a classroom where students moved seamlessly between working independently and receiving one-on-one instruction while using an online personalized playlist that laid out everything they needed to learn over the course of the year. We saw another school where teams of lead teachers and assistant teachers worked together in learning labs to guide students in targeted small group instruction.
These and many other classroom visits gave us insight into how new school models can increase the impact of great teachers on students. But blended learning models not only require teachers to adapt their practices, they require school systems to rethink models for teacher support, as well as their recruitment and selection strategies, to ensure teachers can take full advantage of the promise of blended learning models. Blended learning will usher in a new era of specialization and work sharing in schools. For teachers who longed for new ways to reach students, this is a very good thing. https://tntp.org/blog/post/what-blended-learning-really-means-for-teachers
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