Three Tips to Prepare for a Blended Learning Environment

1. Use virtual classrooms while in-person.

• If students will be attending in shifts, or you expect a high absentee rate, consider having all students sign into your virtual classrooms, not just students who are remote. Then, all students can answer questions online, turn in assignments, and participate in chats. This improves continuity and community and has the added benefit of providing a new source of formative student performance data.

2. Start PD early. Many, mini works best, with a focus on the “you do.”

• If you expect to operate in a virtual or blended environment this school year, training can’t start soon enough. We have the most success with many, mini trainings, that is, a lot of short PD’s spread out over several weeks. This allows multiple opportunities to iron out the fundamentals like logging in, getting equipment started, etc.
• Training should be in small groups with educators in charge. Facilitators should be helping teachers take action using the technology, not running a glorified product demo.
• PD should be mastery-based: training is over when a teacher demonstrates confidence and expresses comfort, not when the training series arbitrarily ends on the schedule. Set up your PDs so that tech-savvy educators can graduate out of the classes quickly, while those in need of support can continue training until they feel confident.

3. Assess earlier.  

• Educators need data as early as possible. Most students are starting the school year with a double summer slump. This is a school start unlike anything most educators have ever experienced, but the more data you have, the more targeted you can be with student support. We are recommending that our clients who are using our TruScore Practice Testing and Analysis software run at least a partial practice test within the first four weeks of school starting.