CLEAR BLEND: The Michael and Susan Dell Foundation (MSDF) has released the first of five blended learning case studies researched and written by FSG. US Education Program Director for MSDF, Ms. Cheryl Niehaus, writes that the studies stem from a "need for more and better evidence of what does and doesn’t work to help teachers and students." The five participating organizations -- KIPP LA, Summit Public Schools, FirstLine Schools, Alliance College-Ready Public Schools, and Rocketship Education -- are part of a blended learning cohort that the Dell Foundation funded in some part during the 2011-2012 school year.
The first release profiles a rotational blended learning model implemented at KIPP Empower Academy. You'll find a ton of useful information here on classroom instruction, operations, and finances so be sure to bookmark the 40-pager for a quiet Saturday morning, but here's a tweet summary: K-1, 14 students per teacher; Four rotations: math, science, reading, and writing; Dreambox, Compass Learning, iStation, and Learning.com.
While the reports presents great evidence in favor of blended learning, it also echoes some of the pain points found in the less rigorous BlendMyLearning pilot in Oakland. Similar to Khan Academy used at Envision Academy, the report finds that online programs used at KIPP Empower are not easy for teachers to incorporate in daily instruction: "...while Empower’s software programs are age-appropriate and carefully selected, they are not able to directly align with or inform the day-to-day classroom curriculum." It only underscores the fact that while fancy algorithms may adapt to individual learners, programs as a whole (or at least those sold to schools) need to also adapt to the learning environment.
