#44. Putting All the Pieces Together

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I began this blog in 2017 to chronicle the development and implementation of a blended learning curriculum in my classroom. My original purpose was to collect data and critically analyze the effectiveness of this model. Over the last three years I have shared the different methods and strategies that I have used in my own class. This has been a process of growth and revision. Recently, I turned my focus to developing self-paced and mastery-based blended lessons. It was obvious to me based on the number of comments and questions that I received on my last post "The Case for Mastery Checks" that self-paced and mastery-based learning really resonates with a lot of teachers.

The most common question that I received was regarding the logistics  of a self-paced, mastery-based classroom. I will share what mine looks like with a few caveats. First, this is not a one-size fits all approach. This is meant to inspire what your class can look like, not to dictate what it must look like. Secondly, this is 100% a work in progress. I continue to add, tweak and learn more about this model. Lastly, I highly recommend that you complete the Modern Classrooms Project training. It is FREE and will answer any questions that you may have about this model that I do not answer here.

What does it mean for a class to be blended, self-paced, and mastery-based?

Blended Learning

Blended Learning is a formal education program in which a student learns:

(1) at least in part through online learning, with some element of student control over time, place, path, and/or pace;
(2) at least in part in a supervised brick and mortar location away from home;
(3) and the modalities along each student’s learning path within a course or subject are connected to provide an integrated learning experience” (Blended Learning in Action, p.6)

It is characterized by a combination of in-person and online instruction. Some instructional methods used in blended learning are the station-rotation, student playlists, flipped classrooms and project-based learning.There are a number of benefits to blended learning. First, it gives the students ownership of their own learning.  Secondly, when the teacher gradually relinquishes control of the learning environment it requires the the students to develop the executive functioning skills that they need to be successful in college and beyond. I think one of the BIG lessons that I learned from remote learning is that we need to intentionally build executive functioning skills with our students. 

Self-Paced

A Self-Paced classroom is one in which the students are able to progress through learning at their own pace.  In a self-paced classroom, the content delivery is off-loaded,or "flipped," into instructional videos. The content is divided into "must-do, should do, and aspire to do" lessons. This allows the teacher to differentiate instruction based on an individual student's needs. It is not a free-for-all. The students are provided with a pacing guide and the teacher tracks their progress daily. There are a number of benefits to self-pacing including personalized learning, increased feedback opportunities, accessibility, and creating connections with students.

• Personalized Learning: Students learn at different paces and are starting their learning in different places. Self-paced instruction meets them where they are currently at and allows the teacher to tailor the individual learning experience.
• Feedback: Because the teacher has off-loaded the content delivery, they now have the opportunity to provide immediate feedback and coaching to the students.
• Accessibility: There are a number of reasons that education can be disrupted. By off-loading content delivery the content is available to learners when they need it.
• Building Connections: Angela Duckworth just wrote a fascinating article for Education Week called "What Your Students Will Remember About You." In the article, she shares a lesson in which she asked students to characterize their mentors using two dimensions: support and demand. The gist of the article is that students valued adults who challenged them with high expectations but also provided a high degree of support. A self-paced classroom facilitates this type of support between the teacher and student by building in time for it to happen.

I'll be honest, for me this was the most intimidating part of this model to me.  I had no idea how I could manage a classroom in which all of my students were learning different things at the same time! I will share how I navigated this at the end of this post.

Mastery-Based

According to Sal Kahn, mastery learning is allowing a student to continue to work on a skill until they can master that skill or concept." In a traditional education model, the teacher organizes learning units and assesses the student learning at the end of the unit.  In a mastery-based model, the teacher sets the instruction goal, the students are regularly assessed on their progress towards meeting the goal and provided additional learning opportunities to target skills, if needed. Learners are re-assessed until they achieve mastery. There are a number of benefits to shifting to a mastery-based learning model, including;

• Effectiveness: There is a large body of research that indicates that mastery-based learning leads to higher levels of student achievement.
• Differentiated Instruction: It provides personalized support and instruction through providing corrective and enrichment learning opportunities, as appropriate.
• Self Efficacy: According to Angela Duckworth, mastery-based experiences are a key determinant in developing self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is the belief that each individual holds regarding their ability to succeed in a situation. Through the successful completion of mastery-based experiences, students learn that they can overcome obstacles and experience success through hard work and dedication.

What does this look like in a real classroom? How do all of the pieces fit together?

The first thing I do when I begin my planning process is identify the instructional goals. After I know what I want them to learn, I begin to explore the different ways that I can teach the content. Next, I identify the "must-do" lessons and build my unit. My classes are a combination of self-paced and whole-class instruction. During self-paced instruction, the students navigate through recorded lessons and classwork. I provide my students with a pacing guide at the beginning that tells them what to expect if they are on pace. Due to the nature of my course, I operate on the assumption that all of my students are on pace - but the "must-do" assignments are the essential assignments if a student falls behind.

Each unit has multiple mastery checks. My mastery checks consist of multiple choice and free response questions designed to mimic the AP exam. However, this is not the only option! The student needs to demonstrate their mastery of the learning objectives - how they do that is up to the student and teacher. While designing your unit, consider how you will make this practice sustainable,  I use self-grading assessments and side-by-side grading practices to make it more manageable. 

Side-by-side grading involves working with a student to discuss his or her progress on an individual assignment. For example, one of the skills that many of my students struggle with is answering an AP-style Free Response Question (FRQ). I provide them with a lot of written feedback on their practice FRQ's, but I don't think many students really look at it - much less internalize it. By using a blended, self-paced format, I can build in time to meet with each student to grade their practice FRQ's together. If you would like to learn more about side-by-side grading, you might find this article to be helpful "Rethink Your Grading Practices."

Logistically, I control the pathway of my students learning through our district Learning Management System (LMS), Canvas. I build modules for the students to navigate through and within each module I have built in requirements for the must-do assignments. The students cannot take the mastery check until their formative work is completed. If a student does not demonstrate mastery, they are provided with corrective supports including tutoring, practice opportunities, or instructional videos. This is only possible because portions of the class are self-paced.

Self-pacing has been a HUGE change for me as an educator. I am a veteran teacher with twenty years experience who was educated in the 1990's. Back then, the teacher was the "sage on the stage." I really struggled with my role as a teacher in a self-paced classroom. However, I realized the very first time that I did this in class that although my role would look different, it would be even more impactful.

VI. Exemplar Unit - Developmental Psychology

Self-pacing is one type of instructional method that I use in my classroom. I still use many of my favorite in-class demonstrations, collaborative learning experiences and discussions. The big difference is that my content delivery is off-loaded because I want students to be able to navigate through it at their own pace and have access to it any time that they need it. A good rule of thumb is that instructional videos should be no longer than 10 minutes.

To help you envision what this looks like in the everyday classroom, I would like to share my pacing guide with you for my next unit, Developmental Psychology. I have denoted my "Must-Do" assignments with an asterisk. Each lesson represents a 40-minute period.

Module	Course Content	Learning Activities
6.1	The Lifespan and Physical Development in Childhood	Whole Class Pear Deck: -Prompt: 3 words associated with each decade of life -Define: Developmental Psychology
6.2	The Lifespan and Physical Development in Childhood	Self-Paced Assignment: -Watch:“Baby Brain: Poverty Begins in the Womb” -Processing Questions: ** Describe what toxic stress looks like for the individuals in the documentary. How does toxic stress affect prenatal development? Describe the interventions used to reduce stress in the documentary.   How is this an example of epigenetics?
6.3	Cognitive Development in Childhood	Self-Paced Assignment: Flipped Lecture: Jean Piaget**
6.4	Cognitive Development in Childhood	Self-Paced Assignment: -Toy Assignment: Research toys online, identify one appropriate for each developmental stage. -EdPuzzle: Vygotsky v. Piaget**
6.5	Social Development in Childhood	Self-Paced Assignment:  -Mastery Check (6.1-6.4) - "Discovering Love" Storyboard** S's read an excerpt and create a storyboard by dividing the reading into 6 sections with a title, write a short summary, illustration, and question for each section.
6.6	Social Development in Childhood	Self-Paced Assignment: Flipped Lecture: Forming Attachments**
6.7	Moral Development	Self-Paced Assignment: -Mastery Check (6.4 & 6.6) Journal Assignment: Heinz Dilemma
6.8	Moral Development	Whole Class Pear Deck: -Theory of Moral Development** -Craft exemplar answers to the Heinz Dilemma for each stage.
6.9	Adolescent Development	Self-Paced Assignment: -Flipped Lecture: Adolescent Development"** -SciShow: Teenage Brain Explained
6.10	Adulthood and Aging	Self-Paced Assignments: -Mastery Check (6.6-6.9) -Flipped Lecture: Erik Erikson**
6.11	ALL	Self-Paced Assignment: Humans of Cary-Grove
6.12	ALL	Self-Paced Assignment: Humans of Cary-Grove
6.13	Gender and Sexual Orientation	Whole Class Presentation: -Brain, Buddy, Book: Piaget, Kohlberg, Erikson** -Flipped Lecture: Gender and Sexual Orientation
6.14	ALL	Unit Mastery Check

Conclusion

As I began this process I took a lot of baby steps in my transition to a blended, mastery-based classroom. I began by clearly indexing my lessons according to unit and day. Next, I created landing pages for each day in Canvas. After that, I experimented with Mastery Checks. Then, I implemented flipped lessons using Pear Deck and Screencastify. Lastly, I built in a self-paced components into my units. My point is this, This has been a process. Do not feel like you have to dive in head first. Take it one step at a time.  If you are interested in hearing from other teachers implementing this model, consider checking out the Modern Classrooms Project podcasts!  I hope you found this post to be helpful.