Effective Blended Learning Practice

Abstract

Effective blended learning is a teaching technique that utilizes face-to-face teaching and online or technology-based practice in which the learner has the ability to exert some level of control over the pace, place, path, or time of learning. Schools that employ this method of teaching often demonstrate larger gains than traditional face-to-face programs due to their increased ability to differentiate, scaffold, and assess students using a variety of methods. This study sought to determine ways blended-learning models, as perceived by administrators and teachers, contribute to student success; to what extent practitioners in blended models attribute their students’ success to the models they employ; how blended-learning schools are measuring student effectiveness; and how administrators are supporting teachers in their use of blended techniques. Results yielded five consistent themes: an understanding of the needs of students to drive individualized instruction, varied and individual success criteria, strong relationships with students tied to decision-making that fosters individual achievement, student needs as a driving force behind the development of school structures, and programs, and an increased level of student choice to combat low levels of motivation.