There is Another Option: Blended Learning

 I recently read this thoughtful blog post by Kristi Oda titled, "The Viability of Virtual School." She raises questions that must be considered if  legislation is passed to fund a virtual school here in Hawai`i. Kristi asks: What if we can design online learning that can adequately serve the medically fragile in time of need, differentiate across the ocean and sharpen students whose career pathway requires more significant online expertise? How can we go beyond considering and move to effectively organizing a permanent Virtual School for an even more robust system? Does Hawaii need to ground our vulnerable and precious youth community in an inclusive space where we can learn how to connect, care for and share life with our fellow humans of diverse backgrounds? Great questions, moving forward.

I agree that the Hawaii Department of Education needs to offer more options for students. The pandemic pointed out that in-person learning cannot be the only option. With so many colleges and universities offering on-line coursework and degrees, it makes sense for our public school students to have that option as well. Our son completed his military service and obtained his university degree on-line. I speak with the baristas at our local Starbucks, and many of them are attending on-line universities while they are working. The beauty of virtual school should be the flexibility it affords to students who manage to juggle school, work, family, or other responsibilities.

This school year, the Leilehua-Mililani-Waialua Complex Area is piloting virtual or distance learning for elementary school students via the Pineapple Academy. A teacher is assigned to each grade level and students enroll from any complex area elementary school. They meet daily, except that it's a virtual classroom, not face-to-face. Creating a classroom culture is just as important for these distance learning classes as it would be in a face-to-face classroom. Their model could be replicated in other schools or complex areas.

Another option for schools or complexes to consider is blended learning where students come to school for part of the week and work virtually at home on the other days. This means that students have in-person connections as well as virtual connections with their teacher and their peers. 

Back in 2011, our school had a huge increase in the number of students primarily due to the completion of brand new homes in our geographical area. We were able to apply for and receive a Department of Defense grant to pilot a blended learning program where students spent three days of the week at school and the other two days at home. This allowed the two blended learning teachers to share a classroom when we were severely overcrowded. The program allowed for flexibility; for example, when teachers noticed that students were struggling, they could ask them to come in on their at-home days to provide additional support. On October 4, 2012 after the first quarter, I wrote this about our blended learning classes.  Our fourth and fifth grade blended learning classes are blazing trails!  The teachers have created a rigorous and relevant curriculum which challenges students to be self-directed, critical, and creative thinkers, and students have exceeded expectations with their ability to adapt to this new means of learning.  I had the opportunity to view some of the  individual projects, and I was amazed at the work of some of these students when given the chance to explore something they wanted to learn more about.  I look forward to seeing these students continue to blossom as they take charge of their own learning.  In December of that year, I shared about the blended learning classes in a blog titled "Virtual Learning."  

We would have loved to continue and even expand the blended learning program at our school, but we ran into a couple of roadblocks. First, the grant funds were time-limited, and we were not able to support the program using only State funds despite the fact that we had more students in our second year than in our first. More importantly. our parents were very interested, but because of the transient nature of our military-impacted community, we did not have the necessary number of students to sustain the program after our grant expired. 

We were ahead of our time. Now that most students have had experience with virtual or distance learning, parents may be more open to the idea of having their child in a blended learning classroom. In this 21st century world, critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creativity are the 4C's of a successful learner, and our blended learning students had many opportunities to demonstrate these attributes. They were truly a learning community.

Kristi shares this question in her blog: "Youth need love and experiences of a communal classroom to belong to and thrive away from their home environment and I wonder, can the online one sustain them?" It is possible. The Pineapple Academy and our blended learning classes are proof that students can thrive in an online environment IF there is an emphasis on relationships between the teacher, students, and families and IF technology is used as a tool for learning for students to explore, discover, create, and share. This is what good teachers do whether it's face-to-face, blended, or a virtual/distance environment.  The pandemic has afforded schools opportunities to be creative and to try new ideas. I would love to see blended learning as an option for students and families in our Hawai`i public schools!

"In every crisis lies the seed of opportunity"

 

This week, I had the opportunity to speak with school leaders in Hawai`i and I shared that despite the Covid crisis, teachers and schools are doing amazing things. Out of this crisis came opportunities to try new ideas and to do things differently with their students. I shared a number of examples.

  

In the spring of 2020 when schools suddenly pivoted from in-person learning to distance learning, many teachers were unprepared. Yet, they quickly learned how to use new technology tools such as Padlet, Seesaw, Google Classroom, and Jamboard to communicate with and engage their students and families. They discovered other tools they could use as well for different subject areas. Now that most schools have returned to in-person learning, teachers have new resources to use to integrate technology into their classrooms. The beneficiaries are the students and the teachers. 

Lianna Lam, Kaimuki Middle School teacher, shared a Padlet she had created for their STEAM Innovation Lab which opened to the whole school community during the pandemic. There are hands-on activities for students, teachers, and families to explore and discover. This STEAM Center activity she shared shows how students at her school are concerned about problems in our community. They will be exploring an important question about restoring and conserving our fresh water. These middle school students are getting a head start on examining environmental and social problems that impact the quality of our lives. 

Derek Minakami, principal of Kane`ohe Elementary School shared this on Twitter: "Social distancing necessitates that 1/2 of each upper grade classroom eat outside their classrooms. A 4th grader got fed up with the metal folding chairs falling down when stacked against the wall & designed this device to hold the chairs."  The fact that a fourth grader would be able to see a problem and design then build a solution is a testament to the school and the educators who encourage meaningful and real-world thinking processes. Amazing!

When school resumed for in-person learning, many schools created outdoor spaces for classes to meet because it was safer than being indoors where Covid germs were more likely to spread. Jennifer Lee, a first grade teacher at Hale`iwa Elementary School shared that much of the teaching and learning in her class these days is outdoors. Her students love working in their vegetable garden as well as their butterfly garden. They are becoming keen observers and are learning so much by being in their outdoor classroom. They are not only raising butterflies, they are also growing food. The kids are reading, writing, sciencing, learning math, and learning to work together on their projects. Jennifer's excitement when she speaks with me is contagious; I can't wait to visit her classroom!

The Leilehua-Mililani-Waialua complex area knew that some parents would want an option for their elementary school students, so the Pineapple Academy was created to provide distance learning. Students are enrolled from different schools in the complex area, and a teacher is assigned to each grade level. Teachers plan activities to address grade level standards, and students meet with their classmates and their teacher daily. From all I have heard, the Pineapple Academy has been successful. Students are thriving, parents are very satisfied, and the teachers have learned so much from this experience. Hopefully, the program will be expanded to create more distance learning opportunities for students, not just in the Leilehua-Mililani-Waialua complex area but throughout the state as well. 

I shared about Ka`u Dream at Ka`u High and Pahala Elementary School in an earlier blog.  This is a  project that has the potential to revitalize the  Ka`u community, and it is so exciting that the school is at the center of the changes. 

 As the Chinese proverb states, "In every crisis lies the seed of opportunity."  I am sure that all schools have examples of being innovative despite the challenges of teaching during a pandemic. It's time for schools to share these successes!