The Role of Leadership in the Implementation of Successful Blended Learning Programs

• Rachel Goodwin, Administrator, Chicago Virtual Charter School• Jacquii Leveine, Director of Professional Learning, iLearnNYC , New

York City Schools• Eileen Marks, Implementation Manager, iLearnNYC, New York City

Schools• Cary Matsuoka, Superintendent, Milpitas Unified, Ca

September 2013

Blended Learning

• “a formal education program in which a student learns at least in part through online delivery of content and instruction with some element of student control over time, place, path, and/or pace and at least in part at a supervised brick-and-mortar location away from home…” - (Horn and Staker, 2013)

Tech-rich = blended

Teaching and Learning• What the student is

doing and where the student is.

What the teacher is doing and where the teacher is.

What and where the content is.

Webinar Focus

• Leadership and Implementation of Blended Learning Programs– District Perspective– School Perspective– Teacher Perspective

Cary Matsuoka

• Superintendent, Milpitas Unified

• Milpitas, Ca (Northern California)

Blended Learning in Milpitas Unified

• Started in the 2012-13 school year• Why?

– Schools are still operating with an industrial, factory model, one size fits all, sequential use of time and delivery system – the complete opposite of differentiated instruction

– Blended learning offers the possibility of customized learning, putting the student in charge of their learning

How we got started• By posing a single question – “if you could

design a school of the future, what would it look like?”

• With accompanying design guidelines, we started with design thinking conversations with our principals and teachers.

• We have had two spring design cycles in our district in 2012 and 2013

• The spring 2012 cycle led to two full K-6 blended learning schools in the fall of 2012

Communicating with Concentric Circles

• Communicating the vision in the right order was essential

• Started with the Board• Then the management team AND teacher

union leaders• Then school staffs• Then the parents, once schools were ready• Then the local community via the media

Implementation Stages

• Year 1, 2012-13– 2 elementary schools and a preschool

• Year 2, 2013-14– two elementary schools and pre-school

continue– Blended learning is expanding to 7 other

schools– 9 out of 14 schools are using a form of blended

learning

Role of Leadership

• Vision – answer the question of why, present the need for a paradigm shift

• Defined autonomy – let school-based teams design their model, provide support and boundaries

• Get the infrastructure right – hardware, software, wireless

• Get ready for lots of problem-solving, meetings

Getting Started

• Read, do field trips, visit other schools and districts

• The importance of models – the best models are happening in our charter schools when it comes to blended learning

• Network and learn from others – this is very new work

Other Reflections

• Common Core and blended learning are complementary

• Go open source as much as possible – we have adopted Google tools, Gmail, Chromebooks as our primary standard

• Be willing to risk

Questions?

Contact InformationMilpitas Unified

• Cary Matsuoka, Superintendent

• cmatsuoka@musd.org

• www.musd.org

Rachel GoodwinChicago Virtual Charter School

• K-8 Academic Administrator

• Master in Elementary Education

• Currently finishing a Masters in Administration and Leadership

Chicago Virtual Public School

• K-12, 651 students (cap of 680)

• Students living in Chicago city limits. 

• Public school so all students are welcome

• As charter school, some flexibility of structure and management

Chicago Virtual Public School

School PerspectiveBlended Learning Journey

• When and why?– CVCS opened their doors in 2006 (K-8)– Curriculum and management services provided by K12– Board and K12 had a vision to provide a state of the art

curriculum and create an environment where students can learn at their own pace

• How started? – K12 worked with the state in allowing a hybrid school to

open in Chicago, then worked with CPS to be the charter authorizer, and then worked in establishing a board had a vision in making this model a reality.

• What was focused on first, second, etc?– Getting the right teachers in place– Developing a mission– Developing a strategic plan– Developing the right culture

• How was support for the blended learning direction developed with Board…with staff…with community? – Constant communication– Clear objectives– Review of data

Implementation Stages

• Where we are now• We are outperforming the neighborhood schools• Increase in State assessment scores each year• Increased the student cap and now have a complete K-12 school

• Where we are going• We want to be the best hybrid school• Improving our support programs• Use data more effectively to drive our instruction and support, but

also to determine the type of individualized teacher PD we can provide

Our Blended Learning Model

• What does it look like? Learning Center one day a weekVirtual leveled groups sessions twice a week Individual or small group virtual sessions focused on curriculum

or provide academic interventions Students who are behind receive additional support at the

Learning Center and virtually by the Academic Support Teachers.

Students receive their curriculum and we allow a certain amount of flexibility.

Leadership and Implementation

• Key aspects of leadership– Effective communicator– Mission driven– Able to develop relationships with all stakeholders– Risk-taker – An advocate

• What daily/monthly leadership activities take place to support blended learning direction?– Weekly staff meetings to review data, school

operations, and instructional PD– Monthly PD- presenting current research, scaffolding

instructional approaches, reviewing data as a school, and reflective converations

– One on one weekly meetings– Formal and informal observations

Leadership

• Promising Practices:• Data meetings, ILSP, check-in meetings, PD that

allows teachers time to implement and reflect

• Lessons Learned• Being transparent• Having a clear direction• Understanding the student body• Providing quality PD and training for the staff

• Recommendations• Have high expectations for all stakeholders• Developing a year and 3 year PD plan to support the

teachers moving into a blended model• Listen to the students and teachers• Working as a team• Willing to be reflective and change what is not working• Using data effectively

Questions?

Contact InformationChicago Virtual Public School

• Rachel Goodwin, K-12 Administrator

• Email: rvelazquez@k12.com

Jacquii LeveineEileen Marks

• New York Public Schools

iLearnNYC is a blended and online program that enables teachers to differentiate instruction by coupling online content with face-to-face instruction to allow for student control over time, place, path and space.

HistoryYear 1 (2010-11): 40 schools – pilot programYear 2 (2011-12): 124 schoolsYear 3 (2012-13): 196 schoolsYear 4 (2013-14): 240+ schools

Middle Schools and High Schools are using blended and online learning for many purposes:

Providing Credit Accumulation / Credit Recovery

Sharing Instruction across multiple schools

Infusing technology into the traditional F2F classroomfor differentiated instruction and improved engagement

Supporting Students with Interrupted Education

Providing Credit Accumulation / Credit Recovery

Lab Rotation Model A• Content is homogeneous• Teacher of Record (TOR) supervises the lab

Lab Rotation Model B• Content is heterogeneous• Facilitator supervises the lab• Teacher of Record (TOR) may push in

periodically, mostly works virtually with students

Sharing Instruction Across Multiple Schools

Self-Blended Model• Advanced Placement• World Languages• Electives• Independent Study

AP SPANISHSCHOOL 2

SCHOOL 3SCHOOL 1

TOR

Infusing technology into the traditional F2F classroomfor differentiation instruction and improved engagement

Station Rotation Once a week Three times a week Daily

Delivery 1:1 computing Small group work Whole class presentation

http://www.iLearnNYC.net

Blended Learning:Six Success Indicators

That Guide Implementation

• Proactive and reactive instructional strategies • Engaging content experiences• Structured and integrated approach to data collection

and measurement • Data driven, student-centered instructional strategies • Evaluation and ongoing improvement strategies• Online communication tools and student collaboration

Leadership and Implementation

• Key aspects of leadership

• Professional Development

• Implementation Managers / Support Staff

Leadership

• Promising Practices

• Lessons Learned

• Recommendations

Questions?

Contact InformationiLearnNYC, NY

• Jacquii Leveine, Director of Professional Learning, jleveine@schools.nyc.gov

• Eileen Marks, Implementation Manager, New York, EMarks@schools.nyc.gov

Future iNACOL Webinars

• http://www.inacol.org/events/webinars/