"It's Easier to Learn"

I first met Mentor School’s Superintendent, Matt Miller, and Director of Educational Technology and Curricular Innovation, Jeremy Shorr, in the twittersphere over a year ago.  As we continued to tweet and get to know each other professionally we learned that we had a lot in common. We all value student-centric learning environments, are passionate about the power of education, believe that the classroom teacher will always play a central role in education, see the power of technology tools to transform education, and aren’t afraid to step out of our comfort zone (or push others outside of theirs). Over the past year, I’ve had the opportunity to interact with Matt and Jeremy at various national and local conference (e.g., iNACOL, ISTE, OETC, etc...).  Each time that we run into each other we end up talking about blended learning. So, when I saw Mentor Schools named as a school to visit in a recent Getting Smart blog post, I decided it was time to stop by and see how Mentor was using blended learning.

Matt and Jeremy met me at Ridge Middle School where I was introduced to principal Megan Kinsey. We started by talking blended philosophy. Ridge Middle School’s blended learning model hinges on small group instruction. By definition, it’s a station rotation model, but what struck me from our conversation is that everything came back to small group instruction. The Mentor team understands that blended learning isn’t about the technology - it’s about using tools (many of which included technology) to allow the classroom teacher to personalize learning through small group instruction.

Blended learning is new to Ridge this year and they are starting with 7th grade students. Each student has an iPad and teachers use Schoology to organize content in the digital learning space. Classrooms have been reconfigured using flexible furniture to allow for fluid movement. Cinderblock walls have been covered with clear plexiglass so that students can use them as impromptu writing spaces when working collaboratively. The classrooms are designed so that there is no “front of the room.” This may seem trivial but it’s at the heart of what blended learning means in Mentor - it’s about putting the students in control of their learning with the teacher there to guide and redirect as needed. There is no purpose in the teacher standing in the front of the room, thus there is no front of the room.

One classroom that we visited had the learning targets posted on a board. Students in the classroom placed postage sized pictures of themselves under the target on which they were working. The students told us this was so that they knew who else was at the same place they were so that they could work collaboratively when they needed help. This also gives the teacher an easy visual of where each student is along the curriculum continuum.

As I was leaving one classroom today, I asked a student what he thought of this new learning model. His exact words to me: “It’s easier to learn this way.” I think that sums up why blended learning is so important. The student didn’t say his classes were easy, he said, “It’s easier to learn this way.” Classes shouldn’t be easy, but learning should be. When we implement high quality blended learning we personalize the classroom for individual students and remove barriers that make the act of learning difficult.

Thank you Matt, Jeremy, and Megan for giving me a chance to see how Mentor Schools is implementing blended learning and more importantly for putting the educational needs of Mentor students in the front of your classrooms.