Blended Learning Best Practices: Rigor and Mastery

Blended Learning Focus: Rigor and Mastery

When thinking about an amusement park, the roller coasters loops and turns are those of the most rigorous rides.  The thrills of the roller coasters, the scrambler and the rides that drop are intense and provide riders with an unexplainable adrenaline rush.  

As we move forward this month with rigor and mastery, it is important to consider the goals and objectives that students need to master by the end of each unit of study.  If you want your students to master  standards in a meaningful and relevant way, rigor is the key.  Rigor is also what makes a learning unit robust, engaging, and appropriately challenging.  (ASCD.org) Just as the most intense amusement park rides can be intimidating the adrenaline rush is what intrigues the rider to get on.  How can you intrigue/motivate your students to remain engaged in the unit of study? 

Here are a few things to consider as you look at building a lesson that promotes rigor/mastery.  

• The Importance of Adding Rigor and Relevance to Learning

• The Ultimate Guide to Academic Rigor

• Rigor in the Classroom: What it is and isn't

• How to Bring "Mastery Learning" to the Classroom

• Mastery of Learning: What is it and hot wo implement it?

Rigor and Mastery Resources 

(*While these resources are free, they are not district-supported).

• Kahoot: Students compete against each other to answer questions quickly and correctly.  The teacher receives feedback on who answered correctly and who did not.

• Quizizz: Create lessons, conduct formative assessments, assign homework, and have other interactions with your students (for all grades) in a captivating way.  

• Flipgrid: Hear what students are thinking as they explain (and show) what they know about the focus standard. 

Resources 

BL Resource Website: Visit our website for all things blended learning.  Locate your blended learning specialist, find out about our virtual course offerings, 

District-Provided Tools Database: Want to know what digital resources we have for you?  Check out the district's Air Table.  You can filter to find the information you need.

Resources Document for Best Practices:  If you like the Blended Learning Look-for document but feel like you need to know more, please check out our resource page that directly aligns with each of the blended learning focus areas.

Digital Learning Resources Canvas Page: Need help with one of our GCS district-provided resources?  Visit our digital learning resource page to find video tutorials and instructional guides on anything from Swivl to Canvas.