Caitlyn Gironda's Focus - ERIC

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MathteacherswhospendanytimeonTwitterlikelyknowCaitlynGironda’sname.Anactivememberofthe#MTBoScommunity,Girondalovedthesupportshefoundonlineforherteaching—especiallyasshetookonthechallengeofdesigninganhonorsprecalculusblended-learningclassatCentralCabarrusHighSchoolinConcord,N.C.

Paidtocreatethecourseinthesummerof2014,beforethedistrictlauncheditspilotblended-learningcourses,Girondapreparedwhatfeltlikeachallenging,innovativecurriculum.Becausestudentswouldbeintheclassroomwithheronlyeveryotherday,shereliedontechtoolsshethoughtwouldengagethem:interactivevideos,adaptivequizzesusing“ALEKS”software,onlinecollaborativeassignments,andguidedactivitiesononlinegraphingcalculators.

Thensheaskedherstudentsforfeedback.“I would like more worksheets. I feel like I, and probably some others, would work at a faster pace and get a lot more out of practicing a

couple dozen problems than spending whole class periods on an activity involving just a handful of problems.”“More work on paper. Less ALEKS. I really don’t like ALEKS.”Andshestartedtorethinkthings:WhyamIdoingthis?“Iknewthiswasanexperiment,”Girondasaid,lookingbackaftertwoyearsofteachingtheblendedclass.“Iknewtheyweretrusting

me.Ifeltalotofresponsibility.Iaskedforfeedbackandtheywerehonest.Butit’swhatpushesme.Ineededtoseewhattheyneeded.Sofeedbackfromthembecameacriticalelementinshapingthecourse.”

CentralCabarruswasoneofseveralCabarrusCountyschoolstocreateblended-learningteacher(BLT)positionsaspartofcreatinganOpportunityCulture,inwhichschoolsextendthereachofexcellentteacherstomorestudents,forhigherpay,withinregularbudgets.Girondacouldnowreach50precalculusstudentsinasemesterversusabout35(whowereallinonelargeclass)inpreviousyears,becausehalftheclasswaswithheron“A”days(Monday/Wednesday/everyotherFriday)whilethe25“Bday”(Tuesday/Thursday/everyotherFriday)studentsworkedathomeorinaschoolcomputerlab.Fordoingthis,sheearnedapaysupplementof$3,500.

OPPORTUNITYCULTURE.ORG

caitlyn gironda’s focus: in-class collaboration, feedback to improve

PIONEERING BLENDED-LEARNING TEACHERS REACH MORE STUDENTS

AN OPPORTUNITY CULTURE VIGNETTE SERIES

fact file for central cabarrus high schoolCentral Cabarrus High School in Concord, N.C., has about 1,500 students in grades 9 through 12.

?   48 percent of its students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

?   53 percent of its students are white; 24 percent are African-American; 17 percent are Hispanic.

?   In 2014–15, Central Cabarrus had 4 blended-learning teachers, who taught Honors English IV, Spanish III and IV, Precalculus, and Biology.

?   In 2015–16, Central Cabarrus added a STEM-focused blended-learning teacher for World History.

?   Maximum annual pay supplement in Cabarrus County for blended-learning teachers (based on number of course sections taught): $14,000

?   Note: Since this was published, independent research in 2018 showed that the blended-learning model described in this vignette achieves the best student learning outcomes when combined with Multi-Classroom Leadership. Click here for details.

Sources: Data from 2014–15 and 2015–16 as available: student population numbers from http://www.ncpublicschools.org/fbs/accounting/data/; FRL data from http://www.cabarrus.k12.nc.us/Page/4864; demographics from http://www.cabarrus.k12.nc.us/cms/lib09/NC01910456/Centricity/Domain/497/GRS%20Month%201.pdf

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AfterthepilotyearofblendingoneclasseachofEnglish,Span-ish,math,andscience,CentralCabarrusaddedablendedhistoryclass,madeblendedbiologymandatoryforsophomores,andex-pandeditsotherclasses,havingseenthat“allstudentsgrew”onstate value-added measures, Gironda said. Her precalculus stu-dents exceeded expected growth, according to state results, inboth2014–15and2015–16,despitereceivinglessface-to-facetimewithherinblended-learningclasses.

“Blendedlearningputsyouinagrowthmindset.Itpushesev-eryoneoutoftheircomfortzone,”shesaid.“I’mmuchmoreflex-ibleasateacherandanalyticalofmyownteaching,inandoutoftheblended-learningclassroom.”

leaping into blended learningIn-class time“BecauseIamsuchaninquiry-basedteacher,Ihatelecturing.Anydaywhere Ihaveto lecture, I’mprettymiserable,”Girondasaid.“It’sjustnothowIengagewithkids,andalotofthatgoesawayintheblendedclass,becausetheycangetthebasicideaathome,andthenwecanstartapplyinganddivingintoit.”

Gironda“flipped”herclassroom,havingstudentswatchvideosofherinstructionontheiroffdays.“Thatallowsin-classtimetofocusoncollaborativelearning.Ithinkthepeopledoingthetalkingaredoingthelearning.AnylecturethatIhavetodo,Itrytokeepoutsideofmyclassroom.”

Becauseablendedclass limitsherface-to-facetimewithstu-dents,Girondasaidclasstimefeelsespeciallyprecious.

“Thatistimewherethekidsareworkingingroupsdoingprob-lem solving, doing inquiry-based activities to really dive intocontent, and trying to challenge themselves and challenge eachother.They really like that. I think it’sanadjustment forkids—alotofstudentsareusedtoroad-mapinstructionanditbreaksmyheart,butit’swhatthey’reusedto—andso,whentheydon’t

caitlyn gironda’s keys to her blended classes

?  Use the “flipped” model, having students watch very short videos of her instruction on at-home days

?  Use class time for group collaborative problem-solving and

hands-on activities

?  Adapt available software to suit your needs and do simple

grading (crucial to handling many more students without

extra planning periods during school)

?  Adapt online programs to give you the data you need

?  Ease students into the skills they need for successful

online learning by guiding them on how to manage their

time, learn from videos, and check for understanding

?  Seek feedback: From students, colleagues, and in online

communities of similar teachers, to keep refining the

course

?  Push your school to give you the time you need: Gironda

had no extra planning time or time to collaborate with

other blended teachers during the school day—a key

component of most Opportunity Culture schools

seemeuntilprecalculusandallofsuddenI’mchallengingthemtoproblem-solveandtochallengeeachother,andwhentheyaskmeIsay,‘Idon’tknow,youhavetoaskyourgroup,’theydon’tlikethat.”

Butstudentsquicklygotusedtoit,shesaid—andshegotusedtogivingupcontrol,nolongersimplygivingthemtheinformation.

Flippingalso“openeduptimeforustododifferenttypesofac-tivitiesinclass.Inevertrytotakeonaprojectforthesakeofsaying‘wedidaproject,’butarewegoingtospendtimedoinghands-onactivitiesthatwenormallywouldn’thavetimefor?Absolutely.Arewegoingtospendtimebuildingmodels?Yes.”

Out-of-class timeAll students could leave school on their off days from the class,buttheyalsoallhadaccesstoamonitoredcomputerlabtostayon campus and work. Additionally, the school’s midday “powerblock”—timeforclubmeetings, intramuralsports,andotherac-tivities—gavethemanotheropportunitytousethelabasneeded.

“Typically,whenstudentsarehomeItrytousethatastimefortwothings:oneisbackgroundknowledgeandtheotheristimeto

Gironda’sblended-learningstudentsexceededgrowthtargetsinboth2014–15and2015–16,despitereceivinglessface-to-facetimewithher.

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reallyhighlightskillsandpracticethem,becausethosearethingsthatindividually,Ithink,studentsreallyneedtimetositandthinkontheirownabout,”Girondasaid.

Having taught precalculus repeatedly before starting theblendedclass,andworkinginadistrictthatdoesnotadopttext-books, Gironda already had a variety of resources to create hervideosandonlineassignments.Butshedidnothavedigitalcon-tent,sosheusedthecounty’s“ALEKS”adaptivelearningsoftwaretogivestudentspre-assessmentsandtheworkthattheprogramdeemsthemreadytolearn.

“That’ssomethingthat Iuseforremediationandalso justforhomework assignments because it would auto-grade what thekidsweredoing,itwouldgivethemfeedbackonit,anditwouldletthemre-attemptit—anditwassomethingthatIcouldusewith-outhavingtobreakmybackasfarasgrading.

“If it’samoreformative,beginning-of-the-unitattempt, Iwilllet them retake as many times as they need to and I’ll just say‘youneedtohavea100bythisdate.’Andso,theycanlookatitandeveryquestiontheygetisthesametopic,butit’salldifferentquestions,”shesaid.“Sotheyaren’tseeingthesameexactques-tionsagain,versusatestretakewheretheymight.”

Theassessmentdatashegotfromtheprogramshowedapiechartofeverythingstudentsshouldknowbytheendoftheunitversuswherethey’restarting.

“IuseitmuchmoreasatoolthatIcontrol,”shesaid.“ItendtouseittogetformativeassessmentdataformyselfandthenpullthathoweverIseeitneeded.Butforme,therealblessingisthenthatitwillgradeanditwillgivemefeedbackimmediatelywithoutmehavingtogothroughanddothatbyhand.”

Thensheadaptedmanyofherothermaterials towork inhervideos.

“Ireallybelievedinmakingmyownvideos—thatwassomethingthatwasimportanttomebecausethelanguageIuseinclassforsomethingmightbedifferentthanthelanguageKahnAcademyoranothersiteuses,”shesaid.“Theideaofconnectionbetweenhomeandschoolwasimportant,thattheyheardthesameanalo-giesathomeandatschool.SoIuseEduCreationsasmysoftwaretodothat,andIwouldjustcreatemyvideosandinthesametimeIcouldmakeananswerkeyforstudentstodoanassignmentandcreateavideogoingoverthose.”

Girondaendedupwithabout150videosonherschoolwebsiteavailable to students at any time—to watch an explanation re-peatedly, to catch up after being out sick, or to review for finalexams.“Iftherewasanythingyoudidn’tunderstand,itwasthere.”

GirondaalsoreliedonGoogleDocsforcollaborativeat-homework,andtheDesmosonlinegraphingcalculator.“Mykidsbegtousethatatthispoint—theyloveusingit.Icanalsodesignguidedactivitiesandsendthemtothekidsthroughit.Theyhavetographthings,anditcol-lectsthedata.AnyactivitywhereIwantthemseeingpatternsmeansIcoulddesignanactivitythewayIwouldhavesentaworksheetinthepast.It’snotastagnantthing—theycanmanipulateit.”

She also turned frequently to the #MTBoS—math Twitterblogosphere—toseeteachers’blogsandsharedactivities.

adapting online programsAlthoughGirondafoundtheALEKSsoftwarehelpful,es-peciallyforpre-assessmentsandlayingoutthestandards,nothingprepackagedistrulyreadytouse,shesaid.

“IactuallywentthroughanddesignedmyowncoursebasedonwhatIfeltthestandardswouldneedtobe,butonceyoudothatonce,youhavethat,”shesaid.“IwentthroughandjustpickedandchosewhatIthoughtwouldworkformykids,andso,IwasverystrategicaboutwhatIassigned.Mostofthecomplaintsthatwegetfromkidsisthattheyseesomethingontherethatdoesn’tconnecttowhatthey’redoinginclass,andsothat’swherethatschool/homeconnectioncomesbackforme.”

gironda’s tips for creating videos✱ “ThebiggestquestionIgetfromotherteachersis,

‘howdoImakevideos?’You’rejustwalkingthroughtheproblem.Putalotofpromptslike,‘pausethevideonowandtrythis,’andgivetheanswerverbally.”

✱ “Kidswilleasilytuneoutvideos.”SoGironda’svideosfrequentlytoldstudentstostop,answeraquestion,andsubmittheanswertoher(throughtheCanvasmessagingsystemthatCabarrusCountyuses).“Makesuretheyknowsomeonecaredaboutwhatwashappening.Othersoftwarethatwedon’thavewillactuallystopthesoftwareandmakethemanswer!Embeddingquestionsisbetterthanfindingoutjustiftheydiditornot.”

✱ “Lastquestiononanyvideoisalways,‘whatdoyoustillhavequestionsabout?’”ThatgaveGirondadatatoreviewbeforethenextclass,sothatshecouldadaptherteachingplansorchangestudentgroup-ingssostudentsworkontheirweaknesses.

✱ “IknowthatIcouldn’tsitthrougha30-minutevideo,andsoItrytokeepallmyvideosunder10minutes.”

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Giventhatsomuchlearningoccurredoutsideoftheclassroomandschoolday,Girondafounditnecessarytoputlimitsonwhenshewouldrespondonlinetostudents.Studentsknewthatiftheymessagedherafter7p.m.,therewasnoguaranteeshewouldre-spond.Shealsoconsideredaddingdigitalofficehoursinthefuturewhenstudentscouldtalktoher.

Despitehavingtosetsomelimits,shesaidshebondeddiffer-ently—and more strongly—with herstudents online. “I justgettoknowmystudentsinadifferentway.Studentswhonormallydon’ttalkinclassbecausetheydon’twanttobethepersonwho’sspeakingupina30-personclassroomarewillingtotalkviaadigi-tal medium, whether that’s a chat, whether that’s their assign-mentsonline—Iseeadifferentsideofmystudents,and I thinkthat’sreallycool.”

early lessonsAlthoughastrongadvocateofblendedlearning,Girondasaidshelearnedsheneededtoeasestudentsintoit.

“Onemistakewasgoingtoodigitaltooquickly.Myfirstsemesterwastogetcompletelyawayfromworksheetsandgetkidswork-ing digitally. I had some really strong and really weak students.Studentsatthehighlevelcouldconnectthedotsforthemselves.Theywerereadytofly.Othersinthemiddlecouldseethevideoandatleasttrytoapplyit.Butthestudentsatalowerlevelreallystruggledwithan independentactivity.Theyneededeverystepandthenaworksheet.

“Italsocreateslotsofroomforexcuses.‘Myinternetwentout.’Or, ‘I submitted it and it just didn’t go through,’ et cetera. Theyjustwantedpaper.Theydidn’tknowhowtotakenotesindepen-dently.Ithinkabout11th-and12th-gradershavingthoseskills.Buttheyreallydon’twithoutguidance.Ihadtogobackandteachsoftskills.Ithastobeanaturalpartofmovingintoablended-learningenvironment.”

Gironda developed guided notes that students could workthrough on their own, allowing them to understand what she

foundimportant.“Then,astheyearwentonIcouldweanthemoffthosetoreallygetthemtolearnhowtomakedecisionsaboutwhat’simportantandwhat’snot.…Itbuiltmajormetacognitiveskills:WhatdoIknow?WhatdoInotknow?WhatdoIneed?”

Girondaalsorealizedsheneededtoshowstudentshowtolearnfromavideo,workingwithpartnersinclassonseveralvideos.“Wetalkaboutwhatotherstrategiesyoucoulduse,andIdidnotdothat my first year in blended. My second year, I knew that theyknewhowtowatchaYouTubevideoifit’ssomethingfun,buttheydon’tnecessarilyknowhowtolearnfromaYouTubevideo.”

Students quickly saw the value of videos, she said, for beingabletorewindiftheydon’tunderstandaconceptorfast-forwardiftheydo.

Shealsorestructuredmanyvideosbetweenherfirstandsecondyears,addingthecheck-inpointsandmorevisualsandanalogies.

And Gironda realized that, on several levels, students neededmorestructurefromher.Seeinghoweasyitwastoputoffdigi-talassignments,shehelpedthemgetintoaroutine,andbecamemuch clearer about her expectations. “It does cut down on theemailsifyou’reclearwithexpectations.”

Shehadstudentsdomorecollaborativework,problem-solving,and inquiry-based activities at home. “Then when they got toclass,we’dbeabletotalkaboutwhattheythoughtaboutitsowecoulduseclasstimefordiscussionandnotjustalwaysexploration.So itwasa lotoftweaksthatseemsmall fromtheoutside,buttheymadeaverybigdifferenceinclass.”

Girondaalsoaddedmoreschedulingstructure,suchascheck-pointsinvideosandcheck-inswithpeersforpeerassignmentsandfeedback.“SoalotoftimesI’llhavethemreflectonwhatapeerhasdoneorwhattheyhavedone...it’salotofmakingthemturninalotoflittlethings.”

ongoing challengesDespiteeffortstoeasestudentsin,ablendedclasswillcontinuetobeachallengeuntilstudentsareexposedatanearlieragetoindependent,onlinework.

“Forthefirstsixweeks,youfeellikeyou’retorturingthem.We’renotusedtoit.They’reusedto‘Ido,youdo,wedo.’They’reusedtohavingtheirhandsheld.EverysemesterIgetpushback,”shesaid.“Butthatdiscomfortgoesaway,andyoustarttoseethefreedomcomein.Astheylearntime-managementskillsandvaluethefree-dom,theystarttofeelthatit’sanexperiencewheretheylearnedmath,buttheyalsolearnedothervaluable21st–centuryskills.Ihadastudentcomebackafterfreshmanyearofcollegewhosawhowmanystruggledwithtimemanagement.Shesaid,‘Ididn’tappreci-ateitthen,butIreallyvaluehavingtakenblended-learningclasses.IknewIhadtoknowwhatIdidn’tknow,soIcouldgotoofficehoursandask.Itwassomuchbettertohavebeenintroducedtoit.’”

Girondaseescollaborative,small-groupproblem-solvinganddiscussionsaskeytohowstudentslearn.

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Butkeepingstudentsmotivated—andnoticingwhenthey’renot—remainschallengingthroughoutasemester.“You’renotwiththemallthetimetomakesurethey’reontask,or,they’redoingwhattheyneedtodo,butaretheydoingitwhilethey’redoing10otherthings?Becausethisreallyisamultitaskinggeneration,andtheyaren’tnec-essarilycomfortablewith‘youhaveavideotowatchoryouhaveanassignmenttodo,focusinonit.’Sothat’sdefinitelyachallenge.

“I think in a model where you have kids in a (computer) labwheretheyhaveaTAwhoisextremelyinvolvedintheplanning,itcouldworkforstudentswhoaren’tatthatveryhighlymotivatedlevel.Italsodoesn’tworkforsomehonorskids—therearehonorskidswhoareinhonorsbecausetheyaresuper-smart,notbecausetheyworkreallyhard.”

Therearealsosocioeconomicinequitiestoworryabout,Girondanoted.“Ihavehadsomestudentswithout Internetaccess.Theyhavetoprioritizewhathastohappenatschool.Theywerebrightand motivated, but it affected the pace of the work. It affectsthem,butwedothebestwecantogive themoptionsandusethemwell.”

Whilehelpingherstudentsmanagetheirtime,Girondanotedthatmanagingherownwasachallenge.“InthesamewaythatIthinkyoulearntochooseyourbattlesinteachingingeneral,youhavetolearntochooseyourbattlesinblended:Whatassignmentsareworthmetakingthetimetoreadthroughandgiveveryspe-cificfeedbackonandwhatassignmentsaren’t?That’sbeensome-thingthatI’vehadtotaketimetolearn.”

Gironda’s school, with its block schedule, also did not giveblended-learning teachers more school-day planning time, whichGirondasorelyneeded.“Igettoschoolat5:30a.m.mostdays.Noteveryteacherisgoingtobewillingtoputin12,13,14,15hoursaday.”

Most Opportunity Culture schools nationally change schoolschedulestoaddplanning,teachercollaboration,andgradingtimeduringschoolhours.InthemodeldictatedbyGironda’sdistrict,thetimesavedbyhavingaclassofstudentsworkingelsewhereiscon-sumedbytakingonanotherclass.Asaresult,shegainednonewplanningtime.Tofreeplanningtimeforareach-extendingteacher,secondaryteacherswhouseTimeSwapsinatleasttwoclassperi-odscanextendtheirreachinonebutnottheother(orroughlyhalftheclassperiodsinwhichtheyuseswaps).Thisfreesaclassperiodeveryotherdayforextraplanningandgrading,whilereaching50percentmorestudentsoverallineachpairofclassperiods.

being a glutton for feedbackAslongasshedidn’ttakealltheircommentstooper-sonally,Girondasaid,shefoundstudents’feedbackin-valuableinhelpingherconstantlyimprovehercourse.

“Idosomethingcalled‘FeedbackFridays,’soeveryFri-daywedoeitheralittleexitticketoraGooglesurvey…wherewereflectonwhatwe’vedonethatweek,andwhattheyfeltlikeworkedwellandwhatdidn’t.IttookmeawhiletorealizethatIactuallyshouldn’tbetakingthatstuffpersonally,”shesaid.“Ishouldbelookingatitfromaperspectiveofa16-year-old,thattheyhavealotofvaluablefeedbacktogive,butwhenthatfeedbackis‘Idon’tlikethisbecauseIdon’tlikeit’…maybetheydon’tlikeitbecauseyou’reaskingthemtothink,andforme,that’ssaying,‘OK,weneedtodothatmore.’“

Andblogging,whichshedidn’tstartuntilshebeganherblendedclasses,alsohelped.

“Youhavetosay,‘here’swhatwe’redoing’andputitouttothewholeTwitterverseof‘whatdoyouthink?’I’vegottensomuchstrongerfromthatbecauseI’vehadtoa)believeinwhatI’mdoingenoughtoputitoutthereandb)bereadytohearpeoplewhoarealotsmarterthanmehavegreatsuggestions.

“IthinkthebiggestlessonI’velearnedsofarinblendedformyselfhasbeenthatI’mextremelyinterconnectedtoallsortsofdifferentpeoplearoundme.I’mextremelyconnectedtomystudents,andnoneofthisworkswith-outfeedbackfromthem,becausethey’renotjusttheoneslearning,I’malsolearning,andIneedfeedbackfromthemtomakemyselfbetterandmaketheclassbetter.I’mconnectedtopeoplearoundthecountrythatIdon’tknowwhoaretryingtodothesamethingsI’mdoing,andIneedtotalktothemandtoreallyworkwiththem.AndIthinkit’spushedmetobemuchmorecollaborativewithstudents,parents,andotherteachers.”

Gironda’sstudentssitatsmalltablessoshecanintroduceatopic,thenletthestudentsineachgrouprelyononeanothertoworkthroughproblems.

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blended learning’s impactForGironda,takingtheblendedrolegaveherthehappysenseofbeing “at the cutting edge of something; I feel like I’m pushingmyselfandI’mlearningjustasmuchasmystudentsare.”

And she liked the unexpected results she sometimes saw forstudents.

“I’veseenkidswhomightnothaveachievedashighlyinaregu-larclassroomreallyachieveatamuchhigherlevelbecausetheyhadtheextrahelpandtheextraoptionsofthevideosandtimeinclasstotalkaboutwhattheydidn’tunderstand,notjusttotrytocopydownnotesasquicklyastheycould.I’vealsoseenstudentswhoIwouldexpecttobemuchhigherfallbehindbecausetheyaremakingchoicesbasedontime-managementskillsthatarenottheirbestchoices.Andso,that’swhenwestarttohaveconversa-tionsaboutlearninglessonsfromit,thatIwouldmuchratherseeyoufailinmyclassroomwithme,whoknowsyouandlovesyou,andwithyourparentswhoknowyouandloveyou,thanwhenyouare a first-semester freshman at college and you’ve just throwntensofthousandsdownthedrain.So, it’sunexpectedacademicresults,bothpositiveandnegative.”

Blendedlearningisnotapanacea,shenoted.

thoughts for schools and teachers planning to blend learning to extend teachers’ reach

Havingseenblendedlearningworkinmultiplesubjects—butknowingthattherearepotholestoavoid—Girondahasstrongopinionsaboutwhatschoolsshouldthinkaboutaheadoftime.

✱ Chooseblended-learningteachersveryselectively.“Youhavetohaveateamofteacherswhoarereallypassionateaboutit.”

✱ Letteachersoptinearlyon.Forcingnewrolesthatrequiremoreworkwithoutaddingtimeorsupporttodothemwill“spreadnegativity.”

✱ Giveteachersautonomyindevisingtheircourses—anddeepguidance.“Wedevelopedadigitallearningteamofabout10andwenttoobserve[anotherdistrict’sOpportunityCultureschoolsusingblended-learning].Wegottochoosehowtostructurethecourse—everyotherday,everyday,etcetera—anddifferentteacherschosedifferentoptions.”

✱ Ensurethatteachersarepreparedandunderstandhowmuchtheywillneedtoreviseacourseastheygo.“TheotherthingIwishIhadknownwasjusttheamountofworkitwouldbe.IthoughtifIfront-loadedallofmyvideosandIreallyhadactivi-tiespreparedthatIwouldbereadytogo—butasablended-learningteacheryouhavetobeconstantlyadaptive,becauseyoureallydon’tknowwhatthey’regoingtogetandwhatthey’renotwhenthey’reathome.”

✱ Useformativeassessmentsextensivelytokeeptheclassmanageable,togettoknowallthestudents’abilities.

✱ Rememberthatstudentsneedtobetaughtmorethancontent—theymustlearntimemanagementandhowtolearninadifferentway.“Thatwashugeforme.”

✱ Giveparentsdetailedinformationonwhattoexpect.“I’vebeenveryluckytogettrustfromparents.ItrytofeedthemasmuchinformationupfrontasIcan—Isendhomealistoftipsfromstudentsofthingsthathaveworkedorbeenbeneficial,andpitfallsthatIknowthatkidsfallinto.I’vealsotriedtobeasavailableforthemasIcan.OnethingthatIstarteddoingthisyearwasdoingaweeklynewsletterofwhatcantheyexpecttoseethisweek,wherecantheyfindtheassignmentsforthestudentsiftheywanttocheckin.”

“Ithinksomethingthatblendedlearningstillneedstodoisiden-tifywhatmodelsworkfordifferentkids. I thinkthere’samodelthatcouldworkforeverykid,butthey’renotallthesame.”

Butitdidgiveherstudentssomeofwhattheyneedforsuccess-fulfutures,shesaid.

“Ialwaysfeellikekidsareinmyroomtolearntobethinkersandtosurviveintherealworld.Idon’tcarein10yearsifyoucantellmethequadraticformula;Icarein10yearsthatyoucanwalkyourwaythroughaproblemandthatyouknowwheretofindinformation.Andso,forme,that’swhatit’sabout—learningtocollaboratewithotherpeopleandlearningtobeproblem-solvers,andifwecandothat forkids, that’s thepurposeschoolshouldserve.Everythingelse,computersaregoingtobeabletodo.Sowehavetobeabletodowhatcomputerscan’t.”

“That’s what it’s about – learning to collaborate with other people and learning to be problem-solvers…that’s the purpose school should serve.”

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building anopportunity culture for america’s educators

Acknowledgements

ThisvignettewaswrittenbySharonKebschullBarrettofPublicImpact.AngieSpongconductedresearchandcontributedtoearlydrafting.ThankyoutoEmilyAyscueHasselforediting,BeverleyTyndallforshep-herdingthisworkthroughproduction,andAprilLeidigforthedesign.

Theworkforthispublicationwasperformedunderasubcontracttothe American Institutes for Research andfundedbyananonymousfunder.

ThestatementsmadeandviewsexpressedaresolelytheresponsibilityofPublicImpact.LearnmoreatOpportunityCulture.org.

©2017–2018PublicImpact,ChapelHill,NC.

PublicImpactencouragesthesharingandcopyingofthesematerials,butwerequireattributionforalluse.If you adapt the materials, you must include on every page “Adapted from OpportunityCulture.org; © 2017–2018 Public Impact.”Materialsmaynotbesold,leased,licensed,orotherwisedistributedforcompensation.SeeourTerms of Usepageorcontact usformoreinformation.

Pleasecitethispublicationas:PublicImpact:Barrett,S.K.(2017–2018).Pioneering blended-learning teachers reach more students: Caitlyn Gi-ronda’s focus: In-class collaboration, feedback to improve.ChapelHill,NC:PublicImpact.Retrievedfromhttp://opportunityculture.org/wp-con-tent/uploads/2017/01/BLT_Vignette_Caitlyn_Gironda-Public_Impact.pdf

Watch: Ashort videoaccompaniesthisvignette seriesonOpportunityCultureblended-learningteachers,featuringCaitlynGirondaandScottNolt.

AndreadaboutScottNoltinthevignetteprofilinghim—Pioneering Blended-Learning Teachers Reach More Students: Scott Nolt’s Focus: Criti-cal Thinking, Student-Led Personalization.

Read:ColumnsinRealClearEducationbyotherCabarrusCountyblended-learningteachers:LoriTreiber,inFor Truly Personalized Learn-ing, I Had to Try, Try Again,andScottNoltinBlending the Best: Better Learning for More Kids

for an overview of opportunity culture:

visit ☞ www.OpportunityCulture.org

visit ☞ Time-Technology Swaps

view ☞ Videos of teachers and administrators working in Opportunity Culture schools across the U.S.