Stefanie Crema

OLTD 511

Blenderized Learning Environment

Problem/Guiding Question: How do I adopt a blended approach in my
own learning environment with limited supports or infrastructure?
Original Learning Environment
My current classroom is a grade split class in a traditional inner city public
school. I have 23 students in my class and several students working on Individualized
Education Plans (IEPs). I have one student that is working on a completely modified
program, and of course many of my IEP students are working with adaptations to their
programs. I suspect, that by the end of this year after further testing that I will have one
or two students who have switched to a partially modified program as well. I currently
have 2 Education Assistants (EAs) who work in my class providing one on one support
to two designated students.
I currently share the position with a job share partner. I work two days per week
and she works the remaining 3 days. I am responsible for teaching my own stand alone
math units as well as delivering the science curriculum. We both teach language arts,
however I tend to focus more on writing and my partner on reading. For the remainder
of the subjects, we try our best to work together to deliver a balanced education for our
students.
My classroom is set up with a regular desk and chair for each student with one
extra rainbow table for collaborative work. We have a small carpet area equipped with a
chart for carpet lessons.
In terms of technology, I would say that we have a fairly technology rich school.
At our school we have been lucky enough to be a part of several pilot projects over the
years that have given our school increased access to tools. We have a few iPad carts, a
new computer lab with desktop computers as well as laptops. We have a smart board
and an apple TV, however these tools are left in the library learning environment. In my
classroom I have my own laptop, ipad, ipod as well as digital projector. While we do
have access to these tools, more and more teachers are making use of the technology
so scheduling time to use them can be difficult at times.

Issues To Be Addressed
By making the change to blended learning, there are a number of problems that I
hope to address.
1. Interest, Focus & Engagement: In 10 years of teaching, I have never
encountered a group quite like the one I have this year. The ability to focus in a
traditional classroom is severely lacking which makes teaching in this type of
environment difficult and unmotivating. When I ask my students to share their
weekend with the class or what they hope to do after school on any given day,
the vast majority of them respond with some type of activity involving screen
time. Many of them watch a great deal of TV, play games on their computers or
parents phones or some other activity involving technology. While Im not in
favour of this type of afterschool activity consistently, I feel that bringing some of
what they are interested in into our classroom might help to motivate them to
learn and keep them interested and engaged.
2. Achievement Levels in Math: My current group is very low and is comprised of a
widespread range of abilities. I would love to create a personalized math program
for my students to allow them to succeed at their level and move forward at their
natural pace. At this point in time, I see blended learning as being the best option
in making this a reality.
3. Achievement Levels in Language Arts: Writing can often be a difficult subject for
young students to get motivated, and often times this can be more true for boys.
Some programs allow for students to post their writing and have others read and
comment. Im hopeful that incorporating something such as this will motivate
students to write, and write with all of the strategies learned in mind.

What Will Students Control?

To truly deliver a blended program to students, they need to be in control of their
learning by controlling time, place, path or pace. In the case of my blenderized
classroom, I would like students to be in control mainly of pace and to a degree path.
Because of the young age of my students, I would not expect them to be responsible for
learning at home and I dont feel that they are ready to control time at this stage of the
game. With the software programs that I have in mind, students will in fact be in control
of their pace as they wont progress until they have successfully mastered a concept.
Students will also be given choice when it comes to assignments and representation of

their learning, so I feel that with both of these options my blended learning
re-organization accurately fits the definition.

Role of the Teacher

The role of the teacher in my blenderized environment is to facilitate the learning
and provide intervention and support where its needed. My plan is to provide students
with access to software that aligns with the topics and concepts we as a whole class are
studying in any given subject. The programs that will be used will allow for the students
to reach mastery or understanding of these topics at their own pace and at times they
will reach different levels of understanding dependent on where they are in their
development. The purpose of using the software and iPad/computers as a station in my
classroom is threefold.
1. It will allow for the personalization of learning to occur for each child. This will
provide me (the teacher) w
ith information/data about where precisely a student
is struggling and where I can provide intervention.
2. It will grant me t he time to work on t argeted instruction with students of similar
levels who I wouldnt normally get a chance to work with in small groups during a
whole class lesson.
3. It will hopefully increase interest and motivation in my students who are very
dependent on technology and entertainment outside of their school days.
The difference between my original classroom environment and my new
blenderized classroom is that the teacher no longer dictates everything a student does.
They are there for help, guidance and to provide targeted instruction and intervention,
but the focus is more student centred. The teacher will create the program, but based
on students individual needs rather than the needs of the collective class.

Physical Classroom Environment Changes

The physical classroom environment is one that desperately needs changing if a
blended program is to work in my classroom environment. At the current time, students
rotate desks monthly and typically sit in pairs or sometimes in groups of 3 facing the
whiteboard at the front. This really isnt all that different from the rows that I sat in as a
child. I would like to have groups of either 5 or 6 students sitting together and not have
the whiteboard used as a focal point. If Im truly blending the class, the need to look at
the front of the room should not be vital to student success. Ideally I will scour the
school to see if there are any tables that are free to swap with the desks. Having tables