Blended Learning at JMES 

Change Management Plan Outline 

 

MISSION ​(See Guideline 1 in ​Facilitating Change In Our Schools)​  

 
The mission of Ogden School District (OSD) is to maximize educational opportunities for all 
students, in a safe, nurturing environment. Maximizing educational opportunities in the 
globally connected, technology-driven society in which we live requires continuous critical 
evaluation of our practices, resources, and organizational structures to determine how to 
best achieve that mission and support student growth. The success of this mission is 
especially vital for the large proportion of traditionally disadvantaged students that OSD 
serves, particularly English Language Learners (ELLs). 
 
In support of this endeavor, J​ ames Madison Elementary School (JMES) will implement a 
blended learning model for instruction in all core subjects. ​Specifically, students will 
engage in content through a station-rotation model, with both digital and offline learning 
activities. The initiative will be piloted with English Language Arts (ELA) instruction school-wide 
during the 2021-22 school year. Based on collected assessment data, feedback from 
stakeholders and outcomes, it will be implemented at a larger scale with mathematics and 
science instruction during the following school year.  
 
The reason this change is needed is evidenced by an analysis of the changes in student 
proficiency data between JMES, OSD, and the state of Utah. Specifically, according to Utah 
State Board of Education (USBE) data from 2018-2019: 
● JMES was among the lowest performing 3% of schools in Utah for two consecutive 
years (Committee of Practitioners, 2019). 
● While Utah as a whole, and OSD in particular have shown sustained overall growth in 
student proficiency in core subjects since 2014, JMES data shows only slight 
improvements in ELA, and a sharp decline in math & science proficiency. 
○ From 2014-2019, the data shows 
■ Utah 
● ELA proficiency grew 5.4% 
● Mathematics proficiency grew 6.3% 
● Science proficiency grew 3% 
■ Ogden School District 
● ELA proficiency grew 7.5% 
● Mathematics proficiency grew 6.7% 
● Science proficiency grew 4% 
■ James Madison Elementary 
● ELA proficiency grew 7.5% but dropped from the previous two 
years by 3.4% 
● Mathematics proficiency dropped 13.5% 
● Science proficiency dropped 4.8% 
 ● While data for ELL students shows significantly lower proficiency overall, similar trends 
are evident. 
○ During the same period, ELLs’ proficiency data shows 
■ Utah 
● ELA proficiency grew 7.6% 
● Mathematics proficiency grew 7.2% 
● Science proficiency grew 9.4% 
■ Ogden School District 
● ELA proficiency grew 10.2% 
● Mathematics proficiency grew 4.2% 
● Science proficiency grew 9.6% 
■ James Madison Elementary 
● ELA proficiency grew 8.2% 
● Mathematics proficiency dropped 6.5% 
● Science proficiency grew 1.6% 
The following charts from USBE (2019) illustrate this data: 
 
  Utah  OSD  JMES 

Overall 

   

ELLs 

   
 
 
Additionally, reasons beyond this data for implementing this change are: 
● The proven effectiveness of blended learning for student growth, as compared to 
traditional teacher-centered instruction methods 
● Studies have suggested that blended learning can help close achievement gaps 
between ELLs and their peers (Schechter, et. al., 2015) 
● An auspicious opportunity to implement this change as a result of OSD’s transition to 
1:1 technology 
● The availability of engaging and effective district-purchased online programs, including 
Lexia, Imagine Learning, and iReady 
 
 
 
 
 SUPPORT FOR CHANGE ​(See Guidelines 2, 7, & 8 in​ Facilitating Change In Our Schools​) 
Implementing blended learning through a station-rotation model will enhance student outcomes due to 
several factors. As stated by Campbell (2016),  
“During the last twenty or so years, an explosion of research from the cognitive sciences has 
revealed ways to optimize learning and teaching. It is indefensible not to implement what is 
currently known about improving human learning potential”. 
 
Included in this research have been studies related to the positive impacts of blended learning models on 
student growth. Among the benefits of blended learning are: 
● It is engaging and efficient. 
○ In comparison to teacher-centered instructional methods, blended learning allows students 
to engage and interact more fully with the content and activities. Rather than teaching 
concepts solely through whole group instruction, where struggling students are more likely 
to be missed, blended learning allows for multiple delivery methods in flexible groupings, 
and when done right, has the potential to increase efficacy and efficiency of the entire 
learning process (Garrison & Kanuka, 2004, as cited in Lynch, 2018). 
● It allows for personalization and differentiation of content and delivery. 
○ Blended learning, by nature, allows for personalization and differentiation through various 
learning formats and flexible pacing (Giarla, 2020). It often utilizes adaptive technology to 
deliver instruction at students’ individual levels and to provide appropriate levels of support. 
Rather than relying on one approach or activity to teach a concept to an entire class, 
students can engage in different or multiple activities based on their needs.  
● It increases equity and access for marginalized students. 
○ Technology offers a wide range of accessibility features to support students’ diverse 
learning needs and styles. With technology, students can listen to text read aloud and adjust 
the speed as needed, pause or rewind video instructions, instantly look up definitions, 
translations, and visual supports for unfamiliar words, use speech-to-text options to dictate 
writing tasks, and more - all of which would be difficult or impossible through traditional 
classroom teaching models (Said, 2018). 
● It promotes collaboration and supports development of 21​st​ century skills. 
○ Blended learning applied through the station-rotation model often includes projects or 
tasks involving groups or partners, in which opportunities for collaboration are created. 
Digital tools such as those in the Google Suite facilitate simple, real-time collaboration 
where teachers can view the individual contributions of each student. This style of learning 
also cultivates students’ development of real-world competencies and skills, including digital 
literacy and citizenship, research and information curation skills, innovation and 
problem-solving abilities, sense of perseverance, and more (ISTE, 2016). 
● ​It enhances teachers’ ability to collect data and provide feedback. 
○ Blended learning makes multiple means and types of assessment data collection simple and
possible, and the amount and quality of data that can be gathered from digital tools can be 
significantly greater than through traditional methods. Tools such as Nearpod, EdPuzzle, 
and PearDeck can record student data while engaging them in authentic, meaningful 
content and activities. Recording tools like Flipgrid and SeeSaw allow students to verbally 
and visually demonstrate understanding or speaking proficiency. And programs such as 
Lexia, iReady, and Imagine Learning identify the specific concepts that students are 
struggling with and provide instant feedback and support. All of these components provide 
 teachers with invaluable information that can be used to guide instruction and target 
misconceptions or holes in students’ knowledge or skills.  
● It creates more opportunities to address students’ needs through small group and individual 
interventions. 
○ One considerable and common challenge that many classrooms face is large class sizes 
consisting of students with vastly different academic levels. Blended learning makes this 
barrier to learning less overwhelming by allowing classes to be divided into multiple smaller 
groups or independent learning stations to make factors like delivery of content, classroom 
management and student engagement more effective and manageable.   
● It helps students develop habits conducive to lifelong learning. 
○ Oftentimes, blended learning requires students to engage in activities that involve 
researching information, creating creative and authentic products, and self-guided 
exploration. All of these experiences may contribute to developing students’ intrinsic 
motivation to learn and the skills necessary to successfully do so. As Lynch (2016) suggests, 
“An entire generation of students who discover that blended learning can be fun could 
shape the future of education. Students may be more apt to pursue higher education if they 
have a positive experience with learning in their formative years”. 
 
Knowledge Base 
● 5 Major Benefits of Blended Learning​ ​by Matthew Lynch 
● ISTE Standards for Students​ ​by ISTE 
● 3 Positive Outcomes of Blended Learning​ ​by Sharon Duncan-Hudspeth 
● Exploration of a Blended Learning Approach to Reading Instruction for Low SES Students in Early 
Elementary Grades​ by Rachel Schechter, Paul Macaruso, Elizabeth R. Kazakoff, & Elizabeth Brooke 
● Facilitating Change in Our Schools​ by Linda MacRae Campbell 
● How to Use Blended Learning to Empower English Learners​ by Sarah Said 
● What Separates a Good Blended Learning Program from a Bad One​ by Rebecca Recco
 
 
Advocates for Change 
● OSD EdTech Team 
● JMES Leadership Committee 
● Administrators 
● Instructional Coaches (ICs) 
● District Content Specialists (ELA, Math, Science, & ESL) 
● Technology Leaders within JMES 
 
Change Management Team 
 
A committee will be formed for the purposes of planning, discussing, and analyzing the progress of the 
blended learning implementation, and will consist of district and school-level specialists and leaders. 
Advocates for change will be enlisted by presenting the current decline in student growth data and studies 
from comparable schools and student groups that have shown improvement through blended learning. 
To facilitate collaboration among members from different sites, meetings will occur virtually through 
monthly videoconferencing.  
 
 
Roles and responsibilities will include: 
 

● Provide funding and resources for PD in order to prepare 

teachers 
● Provide guidance to District Technology Specialists regarding 
Director of Student Achievement  PD 
● Support Administrators and Leadership Committee in 
developing Change Management Plan and provide feedback 
as needed 

● Present initial training and provide support to school leaders 

and teachers as needed 
District Technology Specialists  ● Provide bimonthly observations and feedback during the first 
stage of the plan, followed by quarterly observations in 
subsequent stages 

● Develop timeline and expected outcomes for the Change 

Management Plan 
JMES Leadership Committee  ● Communicate plan and related data to stakeholders 
● Analyze and discuss collected data and make adjustments as 
necessary 

● Oversee implementation to fidelity of Change Management 

Plan 
● Schedule, organize, and provide funding for PD and any 
Administrators  digital tools necessary to ensure the plan’s success 
● Provide biweekly observations and feedback during the first 
stage of the plan, followed by monthly observations in 
subsequent stages 

● Provide weekly observations and feedback during the first 

stage of the plan, followed by biweekly observations 
contingent on the success of the plan as determined by 
Instructional Coaches   collected data 
● Model relevant practices, strategies, and tools as needed 
● Report general observations and related recommendations 
to Leadership Committee  

● Provide content-related support and resources 

● Provide training related to content-based digital programs 
District Content Specialists  ● Complete quarterly observations of teachers during the first 
year of relevant content implementation (ELA during year 
one; math & science during year two; ESL during both years) 

● Model practices, strategies and tools as needed 

● Implement blended learning according to plans as outlined 
by District Technology Specialists 
Technology Leaders within JMES  ● Collect and analyze data and report to Change Management 
Team 
● Respond to feedback from ICs, administrators, and 
specialists and make adjustments as necessary 
 ● Implement blended learning according to plans as outlined 
by District Technology Specialists 
● Collect and analyze data and report to Change Management 
Teachers 
Team 
● Respond to feedback from ICs, administrators, and 
specialists and make adjustments as necessary 
 

 
 
 

RESOURCES NEEDED ​(See Guideline 4 in ​Facilitating Change In Our Schools​) 

● Human 
○ Director of Student Achievement 
■  
○ District Technology Specialists 
■ Develop & deliver training 
■ Bimonthly classroom observations 
○ Administrators 
■ Biweekly classroom observations 
○ Instructional Coaches 
■ Weekly classroom observations 
○ Leadership Committee 
■ Time allotted in regular biweekly meetings to plan and discuss plan and data 
○ District Specialists 
■ Development of training and resources to support teachers 
■ Quarterly classroom observations 
○ School Technology Leaders 
■ Development and modeling of blended learning plans, activities, and assessments 
■ Participation in collaborative team meetings to share and analyze data 
■ Provide support to teachers and Change Management Team as needed 
○ Teachers 
■ Participation in professional development and coaching sessions 
■ Development of blended learning plans, activities, and assessments 
■ Participation in collaborative team meetings to share and analyze data 
○ Site Technicians 
■ Support with troubleshooting technology issues and organizing students’ account 
information 
 
● Physical/Technological 
○ Chromebooks or iPads 
○ GSuite Accounts  
○ Basic/free accounts for the following platforms 
■ EdPuzzle - will be utilized to engage students during independent and small group 
tasks and to provide useful data 
■ Flipgrid = will be utilized regularly to provide an opportunity for students to explain 
and demonstrate their understanding and their use of academic language, and for 
ELLs, their language proficiency levels 
 ■ SeeSaw - will be utilized regularly to create student portfolios, collect data, and 
engage students in engaging activities 
○ Paid subscriptions for the following platforms 
■ Lexia - will continue to be utilized for independent activities during ELA to support 
students at their individual levels 
■ Imagine Learning - will continue to be utilized to support ELLs during independent 
tasks by providing content and activities at their individual levels 
■ iReady Math - will continue to be utilized to provide independent practice at 
students’ levels 
■ Nearpod - will be utilized regularly to engage learners, both in whole group, small 
group, and independent tasks, and to provide useful data 
■ Flocabulary - will be used with all content areas to engage learners during whole and 
small group and independent practice 
■ Kahoot Premium + - premium features will allow teachers to create more types of 
questions and more easily insert media into questions 
■ Quizlet Teacher - will be used in all content areas to practice vocabulary and support 
gamification 
■ Pixton EDU - will be used in all content areas for students to create and share 
products to demonstrate and explain concepts 
■ Infini-D - will be used beginning in year 2 of the implementation to provide 
interactive simulated science experiences 
■ NetRef - will be used to monitor internet usage and manage devices 
● Financial 
○ Most platforms require users to request a quote for a school or district license; therefore, to 
avoid an inbox full of messages from sales representatives, the prices below are based on 
individual teacher accounts, and are likely higher than the actual price would be. Excluding 
the platforms above that the district has already purchased, to my knowledge, the costs for 
the plan are the following 
■ Flocabulary 
● $10 per month × 10 months = $100 per year × 20 teachers = ​$2,000 yearly 
■ Kahoot Premium + 
● $6 per month × 10 months = $60 per year × 20 teachers = $ ​ 1200 yearly 
■ Quizlet Teacher 
● $3.99 per month × 10 months = $39.90 per year × 20 teachers = ​$798 yearly 
■ Pixton EDU 
● $99 per year × 20 teachers = $ ​ 1,980 yearly 
■ Infini-D 
● $14 per student per year × 414 students (2020) = $ ​ 5796 yearly 
■ NetRef 
● Unknown - no pricing info is listed on their website. 
○ Total estimated yearly cost = $11,774 
■ While the actual cost would be lower as a result of school or district-level discounts, 
this price would likely be unreasonable for JMES to include in its budget. Therefore, 
the Leadership Committee, with input from district specialists, technology leaders, 
and teachers would need to discuss the proposed platforms and evaluate which of 
them would be most beneficial and aligned with the school’s mission and goals 
before deciding on which to purchase. 
 
 
 

CHANGE MANAGEMENT PLAN ​(See Guidelines 3 & 9 in​ Facilitating Change In Our Schools​) 
● Stakeholders 
○ Teachers 
■ Impact: High 
■ Expectation: Participate in PD and implement plan to fidelity; regularly gather & 
analyze data and use it to inform lesson planning; report data to team 
○ Administrators 
■ Impact: High 
■ Expectation: Oversee and ensure the implementation of the plan; provide regular 
observations and feedback throughout the process; report data to district-level 
administration 
○ Classified staff 
■ Impact: Medium 
■ Expectation: Lead small group activities and individual interventions; supervise and 
assist technology usage 
○ Students 
■ Impact: High 
■ Expectation: Engage in digital and traditional learning tasks; create products as 
assigned to demonstrate understanding and growth; communicate regularly with 
peer groups and teachers 
○ Site Technicians 
■ Impact: Medium 
■ Expectation: Be familiar with commonly used platforms and able to troubleshoot 
technology issues; Help to organize students’ account information 
○ District Specialists 
■ Impact: Medium 
■ Expectation: Provide support in the form of professional development, resources, 
observations, and coaching 
 
 
● Timeline 
○ A proposed timeline was created through Venngage. ​Click here to view it. 
 
● Communication 
○ Collaborative Team Meetings (CTMs)  
■ CTMs will involve grade-level teams, ICs, administrators, and specialists, as necessary 
in order to collaboratively analyze data, provide support and address concerns.  
○ Faculty Meetings 
■ Updates related to the plan will be included in regularly scheduled meetings, and 
time will be allotted for needed discussions 
○ Email 
■ All stakeholders will utilize email to communicate between scheduled meetings 
○ Videoconferencing 
■ Monthly meetings involving stakeholders at different sites (district leadership & 
 specialists, etc) will occur through videoconferencing in order to eliminate time & 
travel obstacles 
○ Google Sheets 
■ Data will be posted to a shared spreadsheet to provide access to all necessary 
parties and to view continually updated data all in one place 
 
 
 
 

POSSIBLE OBSTACLES ​(See Guidelines 5 & 6 in ​Facilitating Change In Our Schools)​   

This plan, like any, is likely to encounter certain obstacles at the period of time in which it is introduced or 
during its implementation. As Campbell (2016) outlines, common obstacles to change include “...attitude 
and emotional issues; process factors such as lack of coordination, planning, or communication; and lack 
of resources'' as well as “unanticipated crises, competing demands, limiting physical environments and 
perceived low or minimal control among those involved in the change effort”. She warns that some may 
“openly, verbally resist the change”, and leaders must be prepared for that.  
 
To prepare for and/or prevent these possible issues, I have built in several collaborative discussions with 
all stakeholders, and included teachers in the process as much as possible to provide input and create 
buy-in. To address issues related to coordination, planning, and communication, I have outlined various 
communication platforms and methods that will be utilized in order to facilitate the sharing of information
and requesting support between different stakeholders. Additionally, I have anticipated the need for 
support from district-level specialists and allotted regularly scheduled time for them to meet with 
teachers and school teams to offer guidance and support. The third mentioned obstacle, lack of 
resources, will be addressed by the Leadership Committee as they select the most appropriate digital 
tools for the school’s academic and financial needs. Many of the fee-based platforms included offer more 
limited free accounts that can be utilized in place of paid versions. However, I do not believe that a lack of 
resources will be a factor, as there are several district-purchased valuable resources that would align well 
with the goals of this plan. 
 
   
 References 
 
Committee of Practitioners. (2019, February 28). ​School improvement updates.​ Utah State Board of
Education.Retrieved from
https://www.schools.utah.gov/file/3c257953-a90a-4377-92ee-3af46d1631b0

Giarla, A (2016, February 24). The Benefits Of Blended Learning. Teach Thought. Retrieved from
https://www.teachthought.com/technology/the-benefits-of-blended-learning/

ISTE (2016). ​ISTE standards for students. I​ nternational Society for Technology in Education.
Retrieved from ​https://www.iste.org/standards/for-students

Lynch, M. (2018, June 18). 5 Major Benefits of Blended Learning. Retrieved from
https://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/education_futures/2018/05/5_major_benefits_of_blended_learn
ing.html

MacRae Campbell, L. (2016). ​Creating the Future. Perspectives on Educational Change.​ Johns
Hopkins University. Retrieved from
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1s_9GLl2_9UUVrZeqFMzyp6uJLeVHfXlhOWkB1-13LBE/edit

Schechter, R., Macaruso, P., Kazakoff, E. R. & Brooke, E. (2015) Exploration of a Blended Learning
Approach to Reading Instruction for Low SES Students in Early Elementary Grades, Computers in the
Schools, 32:3-4, 183-200. Retrieved from
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07380569.2015.1100652

Said, S (2018, March 9). How to Use Blended Learning to Empower English Learners. Mawi Learning.
Retrieved from
https://www.mawilearning.com/blog/how-to-use-blended-learning-to-empower-english-learners/

USBE (2019). Data Gateway. Utah State Board of Education. Retrieved from
https://datagateway.schools.utah.gov/