A Day in the Life of a Blended Learning Teacher

Alex Paraskevaides, Lead Blended Learning and Science Teacher, 7th Grade, Mott Hall V, New York City

Haley Hart, PASE Prep Academy Science Teacher, Southeastern High School, Educational Achievement Authority, Detroit

November 2013

Webinar Format

• Overview

• Introductions

• Presentation

• Type questions in the chat window

Blended Learning

• “a formal education program in which a student learns at least in part through online delivery of content and instruction with some element of student control over time, place, path, and/or pace and at least in part at a supervised brick-and-mortar location away from home…” - (Horn and Staker, 2013)

Tech-rich = blended

Teaching and Learning

• What the student is doing and where the student is.

What the teacher is doing and where the teacher is.

What and where the content is.

Generally Defining Terms

• Traditional = the way it has always been done – (e.g. teacher lecture, quarterly benchmark

testing, if students don’t get it, the teacher moves on, limited use of technology)

• Blended = use of technology, course management system and data to personalize learning for students

Webinar Focus

• How a Blended Learning Teacher– Personalizes teaching for students (e.g. room

arrangement, teacher interaction, communication with students)

– Uses data on a daily / weekly basis to personalize learning for students

– Uses a variety of technologies to help students access course content

– Interacts with students (e.g. grouping, via course management system, email, in person, etc.)

Today’s Presenters

• Alex Paraskevaides (Mr. P)Lead Blended Learning and Science Teacher, 8th Grade, Mott Hall V, New York City

• Haley HartPASE Prep Academy Science Teacher, Southeastern High School, Educational Achievement Authority, Detroit, Michigan

Blended Learning Classroom

Mott Hall VBronx, NY

Alex Paraskevaides (Mr. P)

7th Grade Science Educator

Mott Hall V, Bronx, NYGrades 6-12

• Student make up (95% hispanic/black)• Title 1 school• Middle School and High School• Around 100 students per grade• Close to 90% free lunch• All students in Middle School Science

enrolled in Blended Learning• All Middle School Science doing some

version of blended• Middle School Social Studies

incorporating aspects of blended into classroom

Mott Hall V

What caused me to become a blended learning teacher?

Not how students

learn

Ultimately, there are two main goals for using Blended Learning.

1.Create an environment that will allow the teacher access to what each student is thinking. Face-to face and online interactions enhance this.

1.Create thinkers inside and outside the classroom. This can happen when you provide students with challenging and meaningful activities, that allows them to explore their own strengths and weakness AND the need to work with others and allow for a transfer of knowledge between students.

Haley HartScience Teacher

Southeastern High School Detroit, Michigan

PASE Prep AcademySoutheastern High School

• Education Achievement Authority

Prep Academy at Southeastern

How is teaching blended different than teaching traditional face-to-face?

What does blended learning look like in my classroom?

• Haley• Alex

Haley

How do you keep students organized?

What does blended learning look like in my classroom? (Alex) One-to-OneOne-to-One

Group Projects

Small Group Instruction

FoldersStudent AccountabilityStudent Organization

How is planning your lessons different in a blended learning classroom than a traditional

classroom?How do you personalize learning

for students?

• Alex

• Haley

DATA? (Alex)

What????

What data do I use?

Test 1 60.0% avg

Test 2 76.6% avg

Item Analysis for Pulling Students Into Small Groups

Individual Student AssessmentTest Comparison

Individual Conference with Student Work

Keeping Track of Data

•Notebook with student anecdotal information•Pearson Online•ILearn Platform•Teachers Assistant Pro

Amazing Breakthrough Activity: Advancing Student Centered Learning

Amazing Breakthrough Activity

Lesson Planning: Haley

Data to personalize learning (Haley)

Personalize Learning, Part 2 (Haley)

• Haley

• Alex

What technologies do you find work best for

you?

• Haley

• Alex

Technologies Used (Haley)

Britannica: PathwaysPearson Interactive Science

PBS LearningBrainpop

NBC Discovery – Through ILEARNTeachers Assistant Pro

ClassdojoKhan Academy

Knowmia

(Alex) Online Resources – Some paid, some free

Recommendations and Final Thoughts about

being a blended learning teacher.

• Alex

• Haley

Criteria for Designing and Inquiry Based Activity Students must:

•Have a problem to solve, such that, once the answers are known, the methods and understandings are transferable to other problems or applications.•Know the problem is solvable, and experience success.•Have background information, either provided by constructive communication with the teacher, or be given the resources to locate the information.•Be allowed to temporarily fail, to see that one possible way of approaching a problem may not work, such that they will be driven to try again.•Confront discrepancies and misconceptions, and ultimately see the value of using information that was provided by the teacher, and/or learned earlier.

Art Lebofsky

Better Strategies???

•Talk to other teachers in the field•Visit Classrooms•Network•Go to conferences (I’ll be in Denver in December for NSTA)

Thank you very much for taking time out of your busy schedule and joining us.

Reflecting on your teaching practice is the first step in getting better!!!

(Haley) Recommendations and Final Thoughts

• Teach students to understand and become agents in their own learning.

• Use the data as effectively as possible.

• Collaborate!

Other Questions?

Contact Info

• Alex Paraskevaides (Mr. P)Lead Blended Learning and Science Teacher, 7th Grade, Mott Hall V, New York City - aparas@motthallv.org

• Haley HartPASE Prep Academy Science Teacher, Southeastern High School, Educational Achievement Authority, Detroit - HHart@eaaofmichigan.org