Day 38--Student Agency and Empowerment

On page 137 of Blended, it points out one of the most important finding for designing a blended model, is that when schools get the design right from the students' perspective students show up to school motivated and eager to learn! It's not unusual to hear from parents at student-centered schools that their children complain on Saturdays because they can't wait until Monday for more school! Check out the highlights from our Students from Day 38!

Student in Mrs. McNeils's 3rd grade class explains to me how
she used Baibord and Showbie for her assignments! 

5th Grade Students are starting their
own PBL! 

Ms. Rossi has implemented the safety patrol team! 

A 5th grade student created this and is heading up a project that will be
displayed on a bulletin board for the school! 

Day 37-Tracking Data--SMART rallying cry

To go along with our Digital Data Wall which is an awesome living document we use to collect, analyze, and evaluate our data, our teachers have created data walls to motivate themselves and their students as we march on to our SMART Rallying Cry for DE Benchmarks, Reading 3D, and EOG proficiency scores!

1st Grade Data Gauge! 

5th Grade Data Tracker! 

K is stretching forward to their goals! 

Day 36--Whose on the bus?--I hope you!

A popular phrase used in education is 'get the right people on the bus' as you build your team. Not downplaying that phrase because it is critical to have the right leadership team, teachers, support staff, etc when building your team to meet the needs of your students. But equally important is to make sure that as leaders in your school that you actually physically get on the bus! Yes, our schedules and days are slam packed with after school activities, meetings, and events when the students start their travels home. The last few days I rode the bus home with students. This something that is the highlight of my day when I am able to do it.

As the year starts to increase at warp speed this is an often overlooked area that is neglected by administrators. By riding the bus we are reminded of the community we serve and where are students are coming from. It is a very healthy and humbling practice to ride the bus with your students. You will experience many different epiphanies during this time. Since this is a blog and not a research paper, I will not get into all the details. I will leave those up to you to experience if you 'get on the bus'!

BL T.O.W.---'was able to level my groups, my classroom transformed.' Day 35

HDES BLENDED LEARNING T.O.W. 

MS. ETHERIDGE

Ms. Etheridge is always full of great energy and is passionate
about helping students! 

Q. How long have you been teaching?

3 years 

Q. What grade do you teach?

First grade! :)

Q. How has your 2 months been with BL implementation?

It’s always difficult to adjust your teaching practices but the blended learning model and support from colleagues made this easy to implement.  Once I got the hang of the three station rotations and was able to level my groups, my classroom transformed. Having only three centers cut my planning time in half and allowed me to differentiate instruction for each group.  Every student is working on their personal level in the independent center on Smarty ants as well as in their guided reading group with me.  The group center allows for shared learning and collaboration. 

Q. How has BL changed your thoughts about teaching? 

Blended learning has helped me teach and read with every student, in a small group setting, everyday. I can also practice a more gradual release model. I start by introducing a concept in my guided reading and the next day the students will practice that content or skill in their group center. I have also been able to integrate technology into all the centers to keep my students engaged. I also have a more accurate report of what my students can do independently through my weekly Smarty Ants report and am now able to adjust their instruction accordingly. 

Q. If you had one word to describe BL what would say and why? 

Differentiated!  

Day 34--TGIF or BLF

Highlights from Day 34 on Blended learning Friday at HDES. 

3rd grade art lesson 1st thing in morning. Ss using
stamps and stencils.

Student of the week in Mrs. McNeil class. All the students get
their iPads and gets pictures of the star! What incredible energy in Mrs. McNeil's class!

Coach V always has something engaging for her students in PE! 

5th grade collaborating with K! 

5th grade students are becoming great leaders in the school! 

1st grade data thermometer to track Ss progress towards our SMART rallying cry! 

Scientist of the week 5th grade Class 1!  

5th Grade Scientist of Week Class 2! 

5th grade Scientist of the week Class 3!

Day 33--Blended Learning Science Rotations and Thinking Thursdays

On Day 33, we are highlighting high quality blended learning science station rotations and 5th grade Thinking Thursday PBL on what will be the next Olympic sport. With the upcoming Olympics, this is a great way to enlarge your students global perspective.

Blended learning science rotations is a great way to develop the scientist in all students! 

What a great collaborative PBL activity for the afternoon! Students love to think and create! 

Day 32--Consistency and Stamina

In order to maximize the potential in students it is imperative to remain consistent with your expectations and stay true to rigorous, engaging lessons that are data driven and mastery based. Below are the highlights from Day 32 at HDES!

Mrs. Daye ELA Blended Learning
Station Rotation Model was flowing this morning! 

PE is always a hit due to Coach V and her creative lessons! 

Mrs. Stepp had to leave for a half day and look what she returned to see! 

Ms. Craven's 1st grade class reached a new height in stamina reading
15minutes!

Ms. Schultz and her students embrace the continuos improvement model every day in every class!