Throughout the past year, I have been on a journey to independent learning for my students. I took a professional development course on blended learning. The course investigated blended learning and the personalization of education for students. As the course progressed, I was tasked with creating a prototype of blended learning that I could use in my own class. This task would help me to meet my goal of creating independent learners in my classroom. Join me as I work on documenting my continuing journey to independent learning.
My overall goal was to be able to incorporate more small group situations. Additionally, I would increase the amount of individualized learning that my students had, in order to foster personal ownership of their own learning. The prototype focused on a blended learning model that included station-rotation and playlists of achievable goals. This way students could move at their own pace and master the concepts for the year.
THE INNOVATION I AM TRYING
My plan was to utilize the station-rotation model in order to provide different types of instruction or practice. In this way, I would transition them from viewing me, their teacher, as the source of knowledge and begin to become more autonomous learners.
The main thrust behind choosing this model was my non-traditional classroom. I teach online and this model can be modified to best suit that medium. Additionally, it would allow me to create more opportunities for group work and to better identify the needs of each student.
My intention was to also utilize the idea of playlists for my students as this would help in my attempt to personalize the learning experience. Students could work at their own pace as they learn and master various concepts.
MEASURING SUCCESS
Of course, it’s always important to have a method of measuring the success of such a prototype. After implementing this format in my classroom, I would observe and collect data through surveys and various achievement checkpoints.
I would be looking to see that students began requiring less direction from me in order to keep progressing in their coursework. They would also start showing initiative in meeting deadlines and be able to demonstrate mastery of concepts. My hope was that this would all result in me spending less time lecturing.
BEFORE
Even though my classroom was not a traditional one, I was finding that my role in the class was primarily the traditional teacher role. I do not have a physical building where all my students meet. Instead, we log into a virtual classroom on a daily basis.
Our school uses the Zoom platform, which allows everyone to be in the same “room” and share our video and audio with each other. It also allows for us to screen-share and create whiteboards to write on.
HOW MY CLASSROOM WAS TRADITIONALLY STRUCTURED
Unlike a traditional classroom, I am very limited in regards to what the room looks like. Organizing students in different formats etc. is just not an option in our virtual world.
I had found that likewise, I had become very limited in my repertoire of instruction. Not every activity or assignment that can be done in a regular classroom can be translated to online schooling. My classes were often lecture-based and we would close with discussion of the assignments for the week.
This just did not sit right with me. I found that with the classes that I was lecturing in, it would be very easy to lose the attention of my students and that they didn’t seem to be retaining the information very well either.
AFTER
The first change that I made was to remove lectures from our class time together. This idea comes from the flipped classroom model. My desire was to create a classroom where students were able to go further with their understanding of concepts and work on applying it in class. I created and curated video lessons of content that were provided as resources for students.
PLAYLISTS
Each week, I would post a “playlist” of resources for my students on Google Classroom. Those resources would include a mixture of video resources (both created by me and curated from other creators), websites, textbook pages, and activities for the students to use to learn new content and then practice their skills. Resources were not turned in for grade, but students would utilize them in order to become familiar with and learn the concepts.
In addition to their “playlist” of learning tasks, I also provided what I called a Weekly Knowledge Checkpoint. This was a short 10 – 20 question (usually multiple choice and true/false) Google Form Quiz that covered the content from the resources. It was automatically graded and students received immediate feedback concerning their progress.
If students were not happy with their scores, they were allowed to go back to their resources, re-learn the material that they had struggled with, and then try the checkpoint again after a 24-hour cool-down period. The goal was to lead students towards mastery of these skills.
THE KEY DIFFERENCE IN THE NEW STRUCTURE
With the lecturing and basic learning happening outside of the classroom, we now had time inside of class to work on applying that knowledge. Class was no longer focused on the lecture. Instead, I was able to use a number of different formats depending on the students’ experience with the material the week before.
Class sessions can now range from a Q & A roundtable discussion to help solidify the concepts when it has been a little more difficult for the students to understand on their own, group discussions, application projects, to students taking over and teaching the class themselves.
In addition to the Resources and Knowledge Checkpoints, I also began to institute Final Tasks and Mastery Checks that occurred towards the end of each unit of study. These activities assisted in making sure students were fully grasping the concepts before moving on to the next topic.
Mastery Checks
Mastery Checks were similar in nature to the knowledge Checkpoints with the exception of multiple tries. Only one attempt was provided for Mastery Checks. Students knew that they were to use their Resources and Knowledge Checkpoints to prepare themselves for full mastery demonstration.
Final Tasks
Final tasks were an application project that students participated in. Some were individual projects and others relied on group work. These tasks were always a real-world application of the concepts they were learning.
For example, in math, at the end of the unit on percentages I have the students work on a project where they find an item on Amazon that they would like to purchase. To demonstrate what they have learned in the unit, they calculate percentage discounts as well as sales tax and how it will affect the final cost of the item.
FREE RESOURCES
DEBRIEF
One of the biggest changes that I noted through this journey to independent learning was that my role as the teacher began to shift. My students started to take more initiative and became more confident in their own abilities to learn. The focus wasn’t so much on me as a teacher and what I could provide for the students. Instead, it was more focused on the students, what they were learning, methods that worked best for them, and how I could ASSIST them in the process of learning.
There was such a marked difference in students’ expectations of their teacher at the beginning of the year as opposed to the end of the year. I found that the majority of my students (70% – 80%) developed a strong sense of independence where their learning was concerned and instead of depending on me for answers or as a problem solver, by the end of the year, they would actively try to find solutions for themselves before coming to me.
IMPLICATIONS FOR FUTURE PRACTICE
As a result, I found that my students became more invested in their own learning. They were given more opportunities to see why learning is important and how it affects every-day life for them.
I’m happy to say that I saw a dramatic increase in grades as well. This year, over 70% of my students had an average score above 85%. I also found that where usually students’ scores gradually slip over the course of the school year, my students’ grades this year only got better as the year progressed.
Because of the positive results I have seen in the areas that I incorporated these changes, I plan to do so to all the classes and subject areas that I teach. It is just a start, but I am incredibly encouraged as I continue on this journey to independent learning.
