Raising Blended Learners in BISD

In April 2016, Birdville ISD was awarded one of five grants from Raise Your Hand Texas to implement blended learning over a 3-year period. BISD won funding and resources to support two innovative projects:

Project 1:

• 2016-17 9th grade English 1 blended (station rotations & flipped)
  
• 2017-18 8th grade ELAR & 10th English 2 (station rotations & flipped)
  
• 2018-19 6th & 7th ELAR (station rotations & flipped)
  

* end of grant = 6-10th ELA will be blended

The following definitions and models come from the book, Blended Learning by Heather Staker and Michael Horn.

blended learning is a formal education program in which a student learns:

(1) at least in part through online learning, with some element of student control over time, place, path, and/or pace;

(2) at least in part in a supervised brick-and-mortar location away from home;

(3) and the modalities along each student’s learning path within a course or subject are connected to provide an integrated learning experience.

rotation model is a course or subject in which students rotate on a fixed schedule or at the teacher’s discretion between learning modalities, at least one of which is online learning. Other modalities might include activities such as small-group or full-class instruction, group projects, individual tutoring, and pencil-and-paper assignments. The students learn mostly on the brick-and-mortar campus, except for any homework assignments.

flipped classroom is a course or subject in which students participate in online learning off-site in place of traditional homework and then attend the brick-and-mortar school for face-to-face, teacher-guided practice or projects. The primary delivery of content and instruction is online, which differentiates a Flipped Classroom from students who are merely doing homework practice online at night.

This first year of blended learning implementation finds our 9th grade ELAR teachers focusing on three pillars to better personalize learning for their diverse learners.

Data-driven instruction, flexible instructional groupings informed by data, and student agency with goal-setting and teacher mentoring are all being integrated into these classrooms at the three traditional high schools.

The goal of Birdville Blended is to tailor learning for students based on their personal needs, interests, and learning styles. This instructional model provides teachers with the flexibility and tools to deliver differentiated instruction for all levels of learners in a way that whole-group, one-lesson-for-all-students cannot. From struggling students to advanced students, and all the students in between, blended learning personalizes the learning experience to target the specific needs of all learners.

If you have questions about the blended learning models, please:

• visit the district Blended Learning web-page
  
• contact your student's teacher or campus administrator
  
• email the Birdville Blended Project Manager, Cheryl McKnight