Difficulties or hurdles in creating a blended learning environment

 ·         Changing  the mindset of people  -

Convincing  everyone  on the board about  the advantages of blended learning and getting a buy in.

·         Changing the school culture  -

Changing organizational structure, roles and responsibilities of staff and students, introducing  new policies,  changing the school schedule and timings, getting students and teachers attuned to the features of blended learning.

·         Infrastructural constrains -

The size of the school building, number of available rooms, labs, PCs with different browser versions, Internet  speed  and connectivity, resources.

·         Financial constraints-

Maintaining the budget, controlling expenditure on infrastructural changes, cost of learning material and software.

·         Software Constraints-

Getting the right software that aligns with the requirements, quality of the software, flexibility and ease of use.

·         Time Constraints-

Time spent over procuring the right resources, training staff and students.

·         Having an effective team-

It is extremely essential to have a team that believes in the concept of blended learning and is equally confident and motivated  to work ,one that is ready to take up challenges and overcome the obstacles and make it possible.

·         Technical expertise-

Training the teacher and students to use the software, developing basic debugging and problem solving skills.

·         Difficulty measuring results-

Developing an effective evaluation system to validate the software, assess the performance and progress of students

Blended learning or Hybrid Learning

I believe high quality blended learning can also be called as hybrid learning as it is an effective mix of various methods and approaches of imparting knowledge.

Key features of blended learning-

• Technology is optimally utilized to provide students ample opportunities and time to experiment, enhance their existing knowledge, and get hands on experience, feel of study material.
• It is a combination of classroom learning where students can attend lectures, have discussions with their teachers and online learning where they can read information, take online tests, quizzes.
• It is personalized, recognizes that students have different levels of understanding, grasping knowledge, and different ways of learning.
• It focuses on gaining thorough knowledge and developing expertise to enable the student to utilize the learning in real life scenarios.
• Caters to the needs of each and every student.
• Helps to break monotony in the classroom and triggers enthusiasm in the students.
• Instrumental in promoting deep thinking and reflecting.
• Encourages linking of previous ideas and beliefs.
• It makes learning global and accessible from various locations and time zones.
• Students can perform to their fullest potential when they have efficient tools to learn and less time, pace and place constraints.
• Students can learn, take lessons and tests in class or at home.
• Students can focus better when they can choose when, where and how to study.
• As students have a control over the learning they experience a sense of ownership.

Creating a positive learning space

A place that spells warmth and comfort; which instantly makes you feel pleasant and welcoming is a positive space. It helps you to relax, be yourself and focus on your priorities and tasks. You feel happy to be in this place and look forward to spending time in this space. A positive ambience is one of the prerequisites for learning. Hence it is extremely essential that we create a space that is conducive for learning. Every aspect of the space, shape of the school building, the layout of the classroom, the ventilation in the room, light and spacing, color of the wall contribute to creating an ideal space.

The ambience of a conventional classroom setting is very formal and often makes you feel grim. It exudes discipline, adherence to the decorum of the classroom. It is difficult to feel relaxed and at ease. In the traditional classroom layout wherein the teacher’s desk is near the blackboard and benches are arranged in the straight rows .Here the teacher is unable to interact with all the students as he/she can hardly see the faces of all her students.

An interesting classroom layout can be designed to make the learning space look appealing. . The color of the walls should be carefully chosen in order to make the classroom look warm, welcoming and spacious .There should be sufficient ventilation and illumination in the classroom. A classroom can be divided into sections each pertaining to a specific objective.

For whole class lecture, the benches can be arranged in a semicircular pattern, allowing the teacher free space to move while explaining the concepts to the students. It will also provide the teacher easy access to each students to help solve their queries. A separate area for teacher led small classroom discussion can be created in the room by using colorful rugs on the floor for the students to sit with the teacher. This will allow the students to receive personal attention and create an intimate learning environment. A U shaped area for students group work can be created by placing tables of different shapes and colors. It will allow the students to easily interact with each other and facilitates collaboration. Bean bags, comfortable chairs and sofas can be set up in the library to allow the students to read their books or read their course material on their tablets/laptops. Displaying the posters, charts, projects done by students on the classroom walls or soft boards personalizes the classroom. It helps in creating an ambience where students feel comfort and confidence on seeing their work. It also gives them a sense of ownership, feeling of accomplishment on seeing their work displayed in the class and scoring good grades. They will look forward to come to the classroom every day and work hard to contribute to the class. 

Keeping in mind the space, classroom strength, feasibility, financial and other constrains, the best option is to optimize the available resourses. There is never a generic solution, understanding the needs of students and catering to them is of utmost importance and hence an optimal layout should be chosen.

Importance and Implementation of Talk moves

Utilizing various Talk moves is the key to initiate, build and maintain a productive conversation. I feel talk moves can help to make the transition from a simple conversation or discussion to critical thinking/accountable talk conversation. The moves allow this transition to happen in a structured and organized way. The various talk moves are generic and applicable to various settings. These moves are practical and easy to try. In a classroom setting these moves can be mutually beneficial to the students and the teacher. On implementing these talk moves; the teacher will get satisfaction and sense of achievement of making the students understand the concepts thoroughly and students will feel confident about their learning’s. The scope of student learning and student participation both is widened in this manner. Talk moves ensure that students are paying attention to what is being discussed. They feel responsible to listen to what others are saying and build the conversation. While pursuing a course on Accountable Talk I learnt the various talk moves in depth and I could also devise some talk moves to apply in my learning community.

• Marking:

Marking is a way of appreciating a student's contribution and drawing other student’s attention to it. The student whose statement was marked by the teacher will feel more confident and be enthusiastic to contribute his views the next time. It will also encourage the other students to pool in their views and ideas. 

• Challenging a student’s statement:

Challenging a student’s statement will allow him/her to clarify his ideas in detail using justifications based on facts and theories. It will promote deep thinking rather than just stating opinions. It will be instrumental in clearing misconceptions or wrong notions.  

• Revoicing:

Revoicing can enable a teacher to add important concepts or scientific terminology to what has already been said.  It can help to engage the students and ensure that they are all on the same page.

• Restating:

Asking a student to restate another student’s contribution in a discussion in his/her words will provide entry point for students who are unable to initiate or contribute to a conversation on their own. It also gives the student the opportunity to reflect and build on ideas discussed so far in the conversation.

• Merging:

Merging the various contributions helps to interconnect the different valid ideas.  It will establish a logical thread in the discussion and be instrumental in deriving a conclusion.

• Recapping:

Recapping helps to summarize the learning and create understanding of the concept. It helps to connect and link various important concepts together and emphasize on the key learning’s.

• Elaborating:

Asking a student to elaborate his/her statement will allow the student to explain his ideas in detail using examples or citing references or facts that formed the basis of the statement. The students can probe each other and ask for explanations in order to better interpret the ideas.

• Agree/Disagree:

Asking students whether they agree or disagree will help them to challenge each other’s ideas and counter statements using facts. They can agree and build on common ideas,  also disagree respectfully by validating contributions made by each other.

Lecture– Pros and cons

Most of us are familiar with the format of a lecture. It is the most common format or teaching method used in schools and universities. The instructor or teacher teaches orally to a group of students. Teachers usually read out a text from a book or a projector and sometimes write the keywords, important points on the board. The duration of a lecture may be 30 minutes or an hour.

Majority of my learning as a student was via lectures and only on rare occasions I had an opportunity to participate in group discussions, debates or presentations. During my college days, I remember that I and my friends would attend lectures only for the sake of attendance. The professors would come to class and read out texts from reference books. There was hardly any interaction between the professor and us. We would by busy noting down the important points or trying to understand the key words and sometimes lose track of what was being said. We would easily get distracted by commotion outside the classroom or whispers and comments passed by fellow students. There was no effective learning happening in the classroom. There was no specific method or time allotted for us to raise our doubts, rectify misconceptions or provide feedback for the lecture. Whenever we needed a clarification, we would raise our hands and pose our query. The response from the teacher would not be very encouraging, and in most cases we would not get satisfactory answers or our questions were left unanswered.

Many years later when I decided to become a teacher, I pondered over my experiences with my teachers and my expectations as a student. I made a small list of the pros and cons of the lecture format.

Pros

• It is an economical way to deliver information to large number of students.
• Lectures can be used to convey theories, ideas, facts and information to students.
• Information from various sources with latest developments, current statistics can be delivered in an organized and structured way.
• Gives the instructor/teacher the liberty to design the content, the pace and the aim of the lecture.
• The teacher is in full control of the class..

Cons

• Students do not get an opportunity to raise questions, or seek clarifications.
• There is hardly any dialogue or interaction between the students and the teacher, it usually one way communication
• Students are busy in jotting down the points and do not reflect on what is being said.
• The lecture must be carefully designed to cater to the students based on the requirements and understanding level of the students.
• Sometimes students do not find any relevance and get distracted and hence lose track of the lecture.
• It is difficult to track if the students are actually paying attention.
•  It is does not provide a medium to check the students understanding of the topic.

I vowed not to make these mistakes or follow the typical tried and tested method. I made a conscious effort to implement various formats such as group discussions, student presentations, role reversals, fish bowl along with the traditional format of lectures. The students took some time to get used to these various formats but eventually I realized that there was more enthusiasm in the classroom and the students began to enjoy the sessions. The students are now eager to learn and willingly participate in various methods and activities and to facilitate learning. The novelty factor is maintained as different formats are used and reused in different ways. I now use these formats more often than the lectures and am very pleased and contented with the positive outcomes.

Conflict between your personal values and institutional values

All of us have certain beliefs, values that are inherent. Some values have been inculcated in us ever since our childhood. These values defer depending on our nationality, religion, race, cast and creed. These values have such a deep impact on our mind and we tend to behave accordingly. In order to change our existing values or accept other values, we need to make a conscious effort. There are some values such as non-violence, truthfulness, tolerance and respect for human life that are universal so it may seem that these values may be shared by everyone. All of us have some personal values and beliefs which we developed based on our education, experiences, learning’s and community.

 As a teacher or a trainer I am sure most of us have faced a situation wherein we experience a conflict between our personal values and institutional values. I experienced a similar situation last year when I was training MBA students. Usually in colleges or institutions, the management is always under pressure regarding the performance of the students. They expect good and consistent results from their students in order to market the current students performances, achievements and  gain more admissions the following year. They are unwilling to be patient and try various approaches to obtain such results. In such a situation no one wants to pay attention to the slow learners and try to improve their performance. They focus primarily on the brighter students and cater to their needs and ignore or humiliate the others.

 I believed in motivating students in order to improve their performance in class whereas the head of department believed in humiliating them. According to her, if such students were humiliated and made to feel that others in class can do better than them and they will make efforts to improve themselves. I tried to explain to her that humiliating, embarrassing students will have a negative impact on them. They may go into a shell and refrain from making efforts. They will avoid participating in the class activities and eventually lose interest in the subject. They may even stop attending classes and their performance will further decline. I persuaded the HOD to let me follow my belief try my method of motivation.

 I began with appreciating even the smallest effort taken by such students. I started asking more open ended questions to begin my sessions, I initiated discussions, organized debates. I tried  to encourage the non performing students to participate and contribute in the classroom activities, discussions. I made them feel important and valued their contribution. I would  help them to elaborate the points they stated in discussions. Later while summarizing the discussion, I would link the key the points and emphasize the ones made by the so called weak students. Gradually these students began taking more interest in class and began participating in the classroom discussions. Eventually their grades and  performance improved. I am glad that I stood by my belief and proved my point and hence helped to extirpate a redundant belief that proved hindrance to students’ progress.