Blended Learning Hits a Homerun!

Yesterday I met Payge Scoggins, freshman at Richland High School.  Payge and the freshman class at the three Birdville ISD High Schools are the first group of students to experience blended learning in their English Language Arts classrooms.  Blended is being implemented in Birdville ISD as a result of being awarded the Raising Blended Learners grant in April 2016.

This spring rather than completing a traditional research paper project, teachers Kate Chambers and Heather Palmer instead engaged their students in a research based Passion Project.  A focus of blended learning is to personalize learning for students and engage them in relevant learning experiences.  Kudos to all Birdville teachers striving to do exactly that each day!

Payge says, "I decided to put together this softball game event at first for a school project but soon it became even more special and meaningful to me.  My dream for my future career is to work with kids and adults who are disabled or have special needs.  My passion is to play softball so I thought I could put the two together and create this charity softball game.  All the donations we receive will go to the Special Olympics foundation."

Each member of the girls' softball team partnered with a special needs student and all enjoyed a fun game of softball - batting, running the bases, and playing the field.  One of the special needs students sang the National Anthem just before Laura Holt, Director of Special Education, threw out the first pitch.  NBC-5 covered the event and you can see the story here: http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/sports/Richland-Softball-Game-Raises-Money-for-Special-Olympics_Dallas-Fort-Worth-425404194.html

Payge saw an opportunity and hit a homerun by planning and coordinating the first Richland Charity Softball Game, raising $448 for Special Olympics.

See the Richland High Facebook story here:

Celebrating Successes!

Birdville ISD is implementing a Raising Blended Learners grant initiative.  There are many definitions and iterations of blended.  Our focus is to create student-centered learning environments in which students are authentically engaged in the learning process.  This can occur when both students and teachers are actively using data to determine progress and next steps in the learning cycle.  Students must become active participants in the process and remain the focus of all planning and professional learning that occurs.

I recently had the opportunity to visit the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta, Georgia.  It is not a blended learning environment; however what I observed fits into blended models being implemented in Birdville.  Students at RCA are highly engaged in rigorous, student-centered activities every minute of the school day, and are learning at least two grade levels above.  RCA serves students with all needs and learning styles - it is not a gifted academy comprised of only high-achieving students.  In fact, many students enter the academy below grade level; yet in by the time they leave are performing at very high levels.  

What I bring back to Birdville from this experience is that blended provides an opportunity for our teachers to receive additional professional learning and support that will allow us to completely shift the way students in our classrooms interact with content achieve results similar to RCA.  I believe Birdville teachers are among the best and have exceptional content knowledge and strategies. Through blended, we are adding more opportunities to increase rigor and engagement.  

We are nearing the end of the school year, and our first year of iteration of blended learning.  There have been lessons learned and successes noted.  As we continue to plan and iterate for the 2017-18 school year we must take time to step back and celebrate our successes!  Students have shared that their English class is different, more fun, and that they know their teachers really care about them.  Teachers report that through blended learning they see higher levels of engagement and have shifted teacher practices to keep the student at the center of planning and instruction.  School leaders are supporting teachers and students throughout this process to enhance the learning environments and provide time for professional learning and planning. We are still early in the game, learning, and responding to needs but the future is bright. Thank you Birdville teacher, deans, coaches, and school and district leaders for your continued passion toward creating the best possible experience for our students!

#BirdvilleBlended Station Rotations

As the 2016-17 school year began, so did Birdville Blended Learning (#BirdvilleBlended.)  One of the biggest changes in implementing blended learning involves a new model of teaching and learning that includes station rotations.  Stations in and of themselves are not new, however, applying this structure to a high school English class is a new concept for Birdville ISD teachers.  Admittedly, this is a challenge in some classrooms yet not one that won't be overcome!   As Mike Wilson, Haltom High School English 1 teacher stated early in the first week of school, "The kids are much more adaptable than we give them credit for."

So if this model is such a challenge, one may wonder, why bother?  I went back to the work of our blended academies this past summer and am reminded of the reasons Birdville ISD English teachers stated as to why stations:

1. Individualized learning (and pacing)
2. Focused, small group instruction
3. Differentiated lessons to meet students needs
4. Student choice and control (agency)
5. Engaging, novelty, and peer interaction
6. Build life skills such as communication, kindness, and supporting others

If we step back and take a look at the real purpose of blended learning we find that this model is about designing a student experience that focuses on preparing students for their future: college ready, workplace ready, and future ready, the BISD Portrait of a Graduate.  To achieve this goal students need to engage in rigorous learning that causes them to collaborate, think critically, create, and innovate.  Students need to be involved in goal setting and taking ownership and responsibility of their learning.  Every BISD student is a unique individual, with unique learning needs.  It is our responsibility to end average and provide the learning experience that our students deserve.

Cheryl McKnight

Raising Blended Learners Project Manager