Making Use of Blended Learning to Improve Math Skills
What if technology might help us improve our ability to teach mathematics in the classroom? What if stations were designed to meet the needs of digitally advanced 21st-century learners? Blended learning is not new, but it can be ineffective in math courses. There is mounting evidence that blended learning helps students improve their critical thinking skills.
Small group instruction, computer time, and independent study, on the other hand, are sometimes treated as three distinct entities rather than as a cohesive one to assist students' mathematical knowledge. And I'm wondering how we might incorporate culturally responsive education using stations to help students improve their procedural skills and fluency, conceptual knowledge, and application, all while developing critical-thinking abilities.
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The Memphis school district has advocated for blended learning activities that go beyond just directing kids to online platforms without considerable and targeted intervention. There are three stages that aid in my understanding of how to facilitate blended learning in the elementary arithmetic classroom.
PHASE 1: THE PROCESS OF PLANNING
I decide what my pupils need to do by the end of class based on exit tickets, previous days' classwork, and math conversations. If they require additional assistance with multi-digit subtraction, for example, I use an equity-centered approach and build my blended learning stations around this issue.
Teachers are less stressed when they plan because it fosters confidence in the execution of all the moving components of blended learning. You can finish arithmetic projects, obtain the necessary resources and math tools, and plan differentiated work days or weeks ahead of time.
The planning process, in my opinion, is interesting, meaningful labor that is culturally responsive and student-centered—not busy work. When I work with kids in small groups, it's vital that the students who aren't at my table feel comfortable doing exercises on their own. Blended learning is difficult to implement if activities are boring, do not clearly target a skill that students need to master, or cannot be used in a real-world environment.
PHASE 2: INSTALLATION
My district promotes blended learning in three stations: teacher-led, offline, and online. Blended learning was place in my previous school at least once a week on Fridays, but it gradually extended to twice a week if time allowed.
When we are doing integrated learning, I usually post the agenda on the board (with written directions) to remind students, school administrators, and guests what to expect at each station.
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Teachers conduct small groups where students (in groups of up to four) can focus on a single arithmetic skill while receiving fast feedback and having opportunity to participate in productive struggle.
There are manipulatives, whiteboards, markers, and an easel behind me with an anchor chart paper that outlines an exemplar of the task when needed in the teacher-led station. I like to think of this as a math dialogue based on facts I've gathered over the week. "What do you think?" "Can you clarify your model for me?" "How can you check if your solution is correct?" I ask pupils. "What if I altered the units, and how would your answer change?"
Beyond proper or incorrect replies, these questions assist me assess my pupils' knowledge of the subjects. "Correct answers are merely the beginning," math instructor Marilyn Burns recently stated at the 2022 National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Conference. The ultimate goal is to understand how kids reason."
Offline Station: Students solve a math task or set of problems separately or in small groups. The number of pupils in the small group will vary depending on the size of your class, but it can range from four to eight. Make any necessary tweaks to keep things manageable.
The offline station combines enrichment and intervention. A mixed group of students works independently for a set amount of time on a skill that will later aid them in solving math problems as a group. After class, I go over their finished work. Last year, I drew on my students' interests in animals and discovery through imagination for one project in which we pretended that a new fish species had been discovered in the Mississippi River in Memphis.
Due to cost and difficulties, students measured realistic fish cutouts rather than real fish. Students worked at tables with a note catcher (data recording sheet) to plot the fish lengths in a line plot. They used a ruler or a number line to measure the fish. To draw line plots across their tables, they used toothpicks, markers, notecards, and tape.
Students work independently on the computer through online math tasks and interventions at the online station.
Wakelet is a useful online station planning tool that allows students to learn at their own pace. In Wakelet, I type and record instructions, as well as give math-related images, Spanish translations, and videos, so that every child can access material in the method that is most convenient for them.
When I put up my online station in Wakelet, I frequently include a link to Gimkit, an online learning gameshow (with a free and premium subscription). I also try to be culturally sensitive by inviting all kids to share their perspectives on Flip by typing or speaking about how they would solve a math problem.
Last year, my students used math to travel the world by planning a trip to Memphis or anyplace else on a budget, including transportation, food, and entertainment. Many of my overseas students "visited" their home nations, which aided in my ability to relate with them as mathematicians. They also discussed their calculations and mental processes with others at the station in order to learn about their peers' cognitive processes and personal backgrounds.
The three stations work well with set protocols, and students spend roughly 15-25 minutes per station. Students should practice traveling to each station, working individually and collaboratively, accessing materials, and submitting work prior to deployment. If time allows, individuals can stay at a station that meets their specific mathematics needs or rotate after I ring a bell.
Before rotation, a class timekeeper gives pupils five minutes to clean up and turn in work. I occasionally check in on students' progress at the online and offline stations while they are finishing their work at my teacher-led station.
REFLECTION IS THE THIRD PHASE.
Blended learning is rarely flawless, and it is always possible to improve it in order to meet students where they are. "What went wrong, what went great, and what can I change?" I ask myself. Data analysis of online and offline student work, listening to or reading Flipgrid replies, and tracking student dialogues on a data tracker are all part of this reflection to determine next steps for each student for the following lesson or blended learning day.
Overall, blended learning has the potential to improve basic math student results. The most crucial part of this strategy is to think about what engages, aids, and expands pupils' mathematical learning.
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