A Teacher's Guide to Blended Learning (Sample)

TO E D I U G 'S A TEACHER

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D E D N E BL LEARNING

A COLLABORATIVE STAFF PROJECT BY COLÁISTE BRÍDE, CLONDALKIN

Table of Contents Introduction

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Considerations When Planning Remote Learning

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Maintaining Relationships

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Home-School Learning Plan

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Learning Intentions & Success Criteria

Creating Autonomous Learners

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Formative Feedback

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Student Engagement and Emotionally Connected Learning

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Assessment for Deeper Learning

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Differentiation: Classwork, Homework and Feedback

Teacher Wellbeing

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Activities Enhancing Learning

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Appendix 1

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Introduction Learning and teaching are at the core of what we do in schools, and for the last number of years in Coláiste Bríde, we have developed a small bespoke booklet to support our teachers, to link with national strategies such as Junior Cycle pedagogy, the Digital Learning Framework (DLF), School Self-Evaluation (SSE), and Wellbeing Policy, and the feedback received through DES inspections and collaborative projects that our school has been part of. Another important focus for us in Coláiste Bríde in the development of our work is our three-year strategic plan (www.colaistebride.com). This alignment and consistency is important as we regroup and refocus as we plan towards our return to school.

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We work as a collaborative team, taking ideas regularly from staff members who are associates with JCT, PDST and other national teams, from our SEN & Guidance teams, as well as looking at ideas from research often easily available through Twitter. As we moved through school closure and into remote learning, we were conscious of developing a blended learning approach, a bank of ideas to springboard conversations among colleagues, a resource that could be dipped into when necessary. The themes we have chosen develop on our Teaching, Learning, Assessment and Reporting (TLAR) journey as well as our school focus on differentiation for all students which aligns to feedback from a recent Whole School Evaluation (WSE).

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When we shared some of our draft ideas for our Teaching and Learning booklet on Twitter, many fellow schools asked if this was being published / available for them to use and therein lies the genesis of this collaboration with the Examcraft Group.

We hope that some of our ideas will assist fellow teachers and school leaders in planning approaches which build upon teacher experience, knowledge and skills that were developed in our online classrooms.

Interestingly, you may notice that we do not prescribe any digital technology platforms per se, as we recognise that each school context is unique, as is each teacher’s level of skill and confidence. We do, however, promote strongly within our school the many great resources and courses that PDST Technology in Education has produced, as well as Scoilnet for shared resources and Webwise for online safety resources for students, parents and teachers.

As we return to school, there will be a strong focus on the wellbeing of students and staff. There is a focus on creating a safe, secure, positive environment where wellbeing for learning is promoted through caring relationships, student engagement and a shared sense of purpose and self-efficacy as described in NEPS documentation for return to school. The recent research by the ESRI about school closure highlights the importance of wellbeing for all within our schools. Parents too play a huge role in our school community, and establishing regular positive communication routines with parents builds their confidence in our schools too.

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Learning Intentions and Success Criteria IN THE CLASSROOM Clearly present and share:

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1 What you want

students to learn

2 A set of success

Why should students learn it?

07/09/20

1 Year SPHE st

Adapted from NCCA

Learning Intentions

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How will they recognise when they have achieved it?

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LI 2 LI 3

What are students going to learn?

If a blended learning approach is implemented during the year, you could present a new learning intention every 10-12 mins, allowing time at the end to briefly introduce the learning intentions for a future remote class, creating an environment which will move students’ learning forward.

LI 1 LI 4

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criteria

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What should my classroom look like?

Topic: A Healthy Diet How will we know we have achieved this?

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We will describe what the term ‘healthy diet’ means.

As a class, we will create a definition that describes what a healthy diet means to us.

LI 2

We will create a poster about the importance of a balanced diet.

In groups of 4, our posters will include the food pyramid and facts in our own words.

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We will understand the positive effects that a balanced diet can have on a person’s health.

Together, our class will discuss the positive effects and list them on the board.

LI 4

We will consider other factors (physical activity, rest, hygiene) that influences a person’s health.

We will have a brief chat about other factors that we will learn more about in our remote classes.

A Teacher’s Guide to Blended Learning

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Feedback is critical to improving learning as it both influences students’ motivation to learn and their ability to do so.”

REMOTE CLASSES Consider using the Whole Class Template to provide formative feedback when remote learning.

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Did you identify any individual student that needs additional help?

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What are the main areas that students need more help with to move their learning forward?

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Next Steps in Learning

AREAS THAT NEED FURTHER SUPPORT

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Whole Class Feedback

MISCONCEPTIONS/ ERRORS

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What were the main problems in students’ work?

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RECOMMENDED GUIDED PRACTICE How can you guide their future practice?

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HOW CAN THE CLASS RE-LEARN THE TOPIC?

WHAT FURTHER RESEARCH WOULD YOU RECOMMEND?

How can the student re-learn the information next time?

What further research can students carry out to ensure improvement next time?

Content from @ImpactWales

Plan Learning that focuses on the progress that is needed. Embed the practice of students actioning the feedback to move their learning forward.

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A Teacher’s Guide to Blended Learning

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Blended learning is an approach of learning that combines face to face and online learning experiences. Ideally, each (online and off ) will complement the other by using its particular strengths.” www.teacherthought.com A Teacher’s Guide to Blended Learning has been developed by practising teachers and their school leaders to support their colleagues as they transition from the faceto-face teaching of the classroom to remote and online teaching.

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The Guide is structured to build on the good practices of teachers in their classrooms and gets them to adapt and apply these good practices to remote learning environments.

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A central premise of the Guide is the importance of the relationship between the teacher and the learner to successful outcomes. Teachers are guided on how to develop and maintain this relationship in both the classroom and remotely so that the young people become more independent, active and reflective learners.

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The Guide also shows teachers how to deepen their relationship with the learners by differentiation of content, homework and feedback which supports the abilities, the context and the interests of the learners.

Learning platforms or Information Technology are not mentioned in this Guide to Blended Learning as it recognises that the skills of teaching are independent of the technology platform which may be used. Thus the Guide seeks to empower teachers to embrace the challenge of remote learning by encouraging them to leverage their current good practice as educators and to remain true to their pedagogical skillset as they transfer to a remote learning environment.

It is hoped that this Guide will support schools and their teachers as blended learning is normalised, and that it will also support them in planning for emergency situations where remote learning becomes a necessity for schools.

978-1-907330-28-5 A Teacher's Guide to Blended Learning