Education Week - April 15, 2015 - Special Report - S12

S12 |
EDUCATION WEEK n
April 15, 2015
Blended Learning: Breaking Down Barriers > www.edweek.org/go/blended-barriers
Research on
Research Uneven, Tough to Interpret
By Sarah D. Sparks
B
lended learning is gaining considerable popularity
in American classrooms, but the question
remains: Is there strong evidence that
the strategy helps K-12 students?
"The answer right now is still no," said
Sarojani S. Mohammed, a partner and lead
researcher at The Learning Accelerator, a Cupertino,
Calif., nonprofit group that helps districts implement
blended-learning strategies. "We don't have definitive
evidence that blended learning works or that it doesn't,
though we do know some things about specific aspects."
Blended-learning practices have steadily evolved in
classrooms, but there is little consensus on what, exactly,
the term encompasses. This further hamstrings efforts to
build a solid understanding of whether, when, and how the
strategy of combining face-to-face instruction with technology-based
lessons actually works.
Research on blended learning has begun to accumulate
only in the last few years, with the U.S. Department of
Education, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Michael
& Susan Dell Foundation, and others having recently
supported studies of its uses in classrooms.
"Whether blended learning works or not is a frustrating
question because the answer is always going to be 'it
depends,' " said Michael B. Horn, a co-founder and the executive
director for education at the Clayton Christensen
Institute for Disruptive Innovation, in San Mateo, Calif.,
which studies technology in society. "Depends on how it's
implemented, how well teachers are trained. ... It's unlikely
to be that blended learning magically causes better learning,
and more likely, that it offers better opportunity to provide
each student with what he needs when he needs it."
Even defining "blended learning" has proven difficult.
Blended Learning
Terms go in and out of fashion-hybrid learning, virtual
learning, technology-based instruction, personalization, and so
on-and can describe virtually identical or radically different
instructional models with disparate levels of technology use.
"Blended learning should be defined as a continuum," said
Susan D. Patrick, the president and chief executive officer
of the International Association for K-12 Online Learning,
based in Vienna, Va. "It's really important for us to realize
blended learning is not only a combination of online and faceto-face
learning, but that students have some control over
time, place, path, and pace."
Coming to Terms
In a 2014 report underwritten by the Michael & Susan Dell
Foundation, the research group sri International studied 13
low-income charter schools using a "rotation" model of blended
learning, in which students move among online and in-person
stations for different parts of the school day. The sri researchers
who conducted the study found all the schools provided a formal
education program with at least some online instruction and
some coursework delivered outside the home, and students had
some level of control over how they went through the material.
But even within a single model, blended learning looked
different from school to school. In some cases, teachers had a
big say in which programs students used at different times,
while in others, in-person teachers had little connection to the
separate labs where students worked online. In still others,
self-directed online programs were more likely to be an enrichment
for advanced students, while other schools focused
on remediation for struggling students.
"In a traditional environment, you're assuming a teacher
is teaching the same thing at the same time, so you
can code what's happening [in an observation study].
That's much harder with personalized learning," said
PAGE S14 >
"Mean What You Say: Defining and
Integrating Personalized, Blended, and
Competency Education"
International Association for K-12 Online
Learning (2013)
Provides overview of literature from previous
few years; looks at definitions, strategies,
tools for personalization, and standards for
competency education.
"Personalized Instruction: New Interest,
Old Rhetoric, Limited Results and the
Need for a New Direction for
Computer-Mediated Learning"
National Education Policy Center (2014)
Reviews studies, finds modest gains at best
from personalized learning. Examines effective
strategies, indentifies potential in combining
tech-based, person-to-person instruction.
"Does an Algebra Course With Tutoring
Software Improve Student Learning?"
Rand Corp. (2013)
Researchers examined popular math program
Cognitive Tutor Algebra I; found no significant
results in the first year; in second year,
students improved performance by 8 percent.
SOURCE: Education Week
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Education Week - April 15, 2015 - Special Report

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Education Week - April 15, 2015 - Special Report

Education Week - April 15, 2015 - Special Report
Contents
District Establishes Wi-Fi In Local Community
K-12 System Loans Hotspots For Connectivity
Businesses Sign Up To Give Students Online Access After School Hours
On the Road: Wi-Fi Access on Wheels
Districts Weigh Control Over Software Buying
Centralized Purchasing Brings Rewards for D.C.
District Allows Schools To Lead on Buying
Research Uneven, Tough To Interpret
Behind a Looking Glass: Teachers Help Peers Master Technology
A Charter School Designed For Ed Tech
Librarians Adopt New Role: Guiding Blended Learning, District Tech Efforts
Education Week - April 15, 2015 - Special Report - Education Week - April 15, 2015 - Special Report
Education Week - April 15, 2015 - Special Report - S2
Education Week - April 15, 2015 - Special Report - Contents
Education Week - April 15, 2015 - Special Report - K-12 System Loans Hotspots For Connectivity
Education Week - April 15, 2015 - Special Report - Businesses Sign Up To Give Students Online Access After School Hours
Education Week - April 15, 2015 - Special Report - On the Road: Wi-Fi Access on Wheels
Education Week - April 15, 2015 - Special Report - S7
Education Week - April 15, 2015 - Special Report - Districts Weigh Control Over Software Buying
Education Week - April 15, 2015 - Special Report - S9
Education Week - April 15, 2015 - Special Report - District Allows Schools To Lead on Buying
Education Week - April 15, 2015 - Special Report - S11
Education Week - April 15, 2015 - Special Report - Research Uneven, Tough To Interpret
Education Week - April 15, 2015 - Special Report - S13
Education Week - April 15, 2015 - Special Report - S14
Education Week - April 15, 2015 - Special Report - S15
Education Week - April 15, 2015 - Special Report - Behind a Looking Glass: Teachers Help Peers Master Technology
Education Week - April 15, 2015 - Special Report - S17
Education Week - April 15, 2015 - Special Report - S18
Education Week - April 15, 2015 - Special Report - S19
Education Week - April 15, 2015 - Special Report - A Charter School Designed For Ed Tech
Education Week - April 15, 2015 - Special Report - S21
Education Week - April 15, 2015 - Special Report - S22
Education Week - April 15, 2015 - Special Report - S23
Education Week - April 15, 2015 - Special Report - Librarians Adopt New Role: Guiding Blended Learning, District Tech Efforts
Education Week - April 15, 2015 - Special Report - S25
Education Week - April 15, 2015 - Special Report - S26
Education Week - April 15, 2015 - Special Report - S27
Education Week - April 15, 2015 - Special Report - S28
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