Learn & Develop

• Face to Face - We could return to the original schedules. Think about how you can still use digital resources even while face-to-face in your classroom so that you are ready the next time a crisis (whether virus or snowfall) tries to postpone learning. Some districts may consider only bringing the elementary students in, and spacing them out over several buildings.

• Entirely Online/Virtual - We could return to be teaching just as we were when we left school at the end of Spring 2020. What would you need to do to prepare your students to learn and collaborate online? Some districts may choose to do this with only middle and/or high school students to allow the spacing out of elementary.

• Blended - We could have some mixture of online and face-to-face learning which could include:

  1. Smaller class sizes and/or streamed video learning

  2. Staggered schedules for students to attend only on certain days

Be Prepared: A rise in COVID-19 cases could result in a return to entirely online learning. Consider what tasks and activities must be done face-to-face with your new skills and experience and which ones can be done virtually. You may need to be able to do both.

• We have a collection of Best Practices which were shared in the Spring of 2020. (Re)read and remind yourself of best online practices, using the prompts as a guide to discover more resources which you may use in your classroom. These practices were originally designed to support online learning, but consider what they might look like face to face and in a blended learning environment as well.

• Explore this interview with Melanie Kitchen by Jennifer Gonzalez entitled "9 Ways Online Teaching Should Be Different from Face-To-Face" for ideas.

• Consider this publication by MIT, "The Science of Remote Learning," for extra considerations for your learners and how they may best learn online.

• Consider these questions:

  • How do you and your school or district plan to communicate with both caregivers and students?

  • What tools would you need more practice with or want to review to make yourself more comfortable?

  • Where are you going to find your digital content so that you're prepared for online learning if it occurs again?

  • What will be the most important task to orient students to your learning space online and in a classroom - how can you prepare a class for both?

Individualized instruction acknowledges that:

• Each student learns differently.

• All students are talented in different ways.

• We must meet the unique needs of all students including those with special needs.

• Both differentiated and individualized instruction are needed in order to reach all students.

• Careful and continuous assessment of individual progress must be carried out to support all students.

Blended learning is a combination of online learning and face-to-face learning in which students can control some aspects of pace and path. The educator is a curator and a resources to students in blended learning models. Both face-to-face and online learning are cohesive and integrated. There are several different blended learning models - and not all may fit the current situation or your students. Watch these videos or reach these articles and reflect on what this might look like in the classroom or how it might help you if you needed to move your class online. How might you facilitate this model through synchronous and asynchronous digital learning?

1. Station Rotation

2. Individual Rotation

3. Flipped

4. Flex/Disrupted

In total, Blended Learning Universe identifies 7 different models, but you may find that blends or switching between these models is what works best for you and your students. Explore more about these models and others at the Blended Learning Universe website.