What I have learned so far….

Three years ago, I was fortunate, and spent a week at the INOCAL meeting in Austin. I
changed how I taught that week. I was so excited to bring the ideas I had learned back to
my campus. I came back, and began putting what I had learned into my classroom. I
quickly realized it was not a cookie cutter plan, and that it would need to be adjusted for
each class. I taught a low number special education class. The same idea would work on
different level, but would need to be changed for each class. After a little while of using
parts of what I had learned, I was able to help plug parts of my class into many different
classes across my campus.

When I began this plan, it has taken shape in much the same way. Now that it is
becoming much more focused, I can see the areas that work, do not work, and where
there is room to grow. I can also see how I can respond to better allow these things to
happen.
 What worked?
● Blended learning allows students to practice and familiarize themselves with information before
attending the re-teach or new lesson. (Barato and et all, 2019.)

● A combination of both online and offline learning modules shows better results than just the use
of online blended learning (Kaur, 2013).

● Online blended classroom learning gave the user the ability to continue work away from the
campus and classroom.(Dias & Diniz, 2013).

● Self-differentiated blended learning has shown growth for students at both high and low
performance levels. (Boelens, 2017).

● Student satisfaction of learning outcomes increases with diverse blended learning (Lim &
Morris, 2009).

● Online delivery allowed student more freedom to focus on areas of need, while spending less
time on information that comes easily (Staker & Horn, 2012).

● Faculty with prior knowledge of digital instruction became leaders and mentors for other staff in
the creation of content and system of delivery. (Mortera-Gutierrez, 2006).
 What worked?
● Instruction strategies based for the content and academic level can be easily adjusted to fit the
needs of any student (Boelens, 2009).

● Blended learning allows students with different learning styles to understand and complete
learning concepts in a way that makes sense to them (Rastagarpour, 2010).

● Blended/Flipped classrooms, are effective when scalable to the content. Smaller classroom
sizes proved to be most effective (Davies, Dean, Ball, 2013).

● Teachers report increased communication between teachers, and between students and
teachers by, as much as, 87% (Werth, Werth, and Kellerer, 2013).

● Teacher content was available to students when and where the student decided to work.
Students could work to the level they wanted, as long as, the basic requirement were meet
(Oliver & Stallings, 2014).
 What worked?
Overall, blended learning is something every teacher strives
for without even knowing it. Much of the research I have
been reading spoke of the positive influence blended learning
has on both students and teachers. With the right support,
development, and time learning can become blended and
extended.

Positive things like self-differentiated learning, self-paced

understanding, and self remediation and advancement put
the learning back in the hands of the learner. Blended
learning can then serve learning styles of all types. Both high
and low academic level students can benefit from the
blended online and offline pieces of the class.
What worked?
Along with these successes, learners and teachers
increase understanding, develop better
communication and technological skills, and allow
learning to be available to students at any time and
almost anywhere.

Limiting class size, teacher monitoring, and

continued growth of the learning scope increase the
power of the blended learning environment.

I personally have seen the benefits in my classroom,

but know it is an ever changing model that must be
supported and revised as needed.
 What could have been done better?
● Learners can at times lose focus and motivation waivers (Dias & Diniz, 2014).

● In some cases, the lessons did not allow for students to engage in extended learning by their
own choice (Rastagerpour, 2010).

● The learning climate should be examined to make sure it is engaging and working correctly. At
times, a lack of attention can cause the learner to become lost in communication, and not be
successful (Boelens, 2017).

● Scalability can become problematic in large populations. Better results were shown when class
sizes were regulated and maintained (Davies, Dean, Ball, 2013).

● Teachers find the technology to be challenging, and in turn, abandon the idea of blended
learning due to lack of assistance, training, and support (Werth, Werth, Kellerer, 2013).

● To many different delivery systems can cause students to become confused and unmotivated.
This leaves the student overwhelmed and defeated (Boelens, 2017).
 What could have been done better?
There are many things that play a role in the success of
blended learning on every level. As communication
breaks down, so does the upward momentum of
learners. As class size increases, it become harder to
give learners the support needed to succeed.
Inadequate profession resources for teachers and
administrators can lead to underprepared teachers that
cannot maintain quality instruction or classroom
cohesion. Also, When too many items are being used
as part of the blended learning modules, learners can
become overwhelmed and quit.

The piece that seems to need changing the most, was

the need to maintain the learners focus and motivation
throughout the process.
 How to apply the lessons learned?
● Provide directed and pertinent staff development for staff, administrators, and support staff.

● Limit class sizes to comfort level of each teacher.

● Set norms and open lines of communication for everyone involved.

● Set teacher and learner weekly checkpoints to assess vitality of the learning.

● Create and implement regular progress checks for learner motivation.

● Limit avenues of information intake to keep clear and focused paths.

● Assign mentor teachers, administrators, and support staff to support teachers who are not at desired
level.

These are the first steps I can take to help implement my innovation plan.
Following these items will not guarantee success, but will help ensure I am on the
right track to a proper integration.
 Resources

Barbato, C., Blecke, B., Smith, K., Ringer, J., & Sanders, L. (2019, February 04). Case Studies: The Benefits of Blended Learning. Retrieved May 01,

2019, from https://trainingindustry.com/articles/content-development/case-studies-the-benefits-of-blended-learning/

Boelens, R. (2018, February 08). The design of blended learning in response to student diversity in higher education: Instructors' views and use of

differentiated instruction in blended learning. Retrieved May 01, 2019, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360131518300423

Davies, R. S., Dean, D. L., & Ball, N. (2013, June 11). Flipping the classroom and instructional technology integration in a college-level information

systems spreadsheet course. Retrieved May, 2019, from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11423-013-9305-6

Dias, S. B., & Diniz, J. A. (2014, January 01). Towards an Enhanced Learning Management System for Blended Learning in Higher Education

Incorporating Distinct Learners' Profiles. Retrieved May 1, 2019, from

https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-361942604/towards-an-enhanced-learning-management-system-for
 Resources
Boelens, R. (2010) Four key challenges to the design of blended learning: A systematic literature review. (2017, June 10). Retrieved April 30, 2019, from

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1747938X17300258

Kaur, M. (2013, November 13). Blended Learning - Its Challenges and Future. Retrieved May 01, 2019, from

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S187704281303351X

Lim, D. H., Morris, M. L., & Kupritz, V. W. (2019). Online Vs. Blended Learning: Differences In Instructional Outcomes And Learner Satisfaction. Online

Learning,11(2). doi:10.24059/olj.v11i2.1725

Mortera-Gutiérrez, F. (2006). Faculty Best Practices Using Blended Learning in E-Learning and Face-to-Face Instruction. Retrieved March 29, 2019, from

https://www.learntechlib.org/p/6079/

Oliver, K., & Stallings, D. (2014, January 01). Preparing Teachers for Emerging Blended Learning Environments. Retrieved May 01, 2019, from

https://www.learntechlib.org/p/112374/
 Resources
Rastegarpour, H. (n.d.). What is the hoopla about blended learning: Something old is new again. Retrieved April 30, 2019, from

https://www.academia.edu/34868593/What_is_the_hoopla_about_blended_learning_something_old_is_new_again

Staker, H., & Horn, M. B. (2012, April 30). Classifying K-12 Blended Learning. Retrieved May 29, 2019, from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED535180

Werth, E., Werth, L., & Kellerer, E. (2013, October). Transforming K-12 Rural Education through Blended Learning. Retrieved May 01, 2019, from

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED561276.pdf