Submitted by Karen Evans, Principal
Note: The information in this profile represents 2013-14 unless otherwise indicated.
School Overview
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School Description
The Manheim Township School District is piloting a grade- and subject-specific hybrid-learning program in the middle school. The program focuses on two courses, Math 7 and Introduction to Algebra, in seventh and eighth grades. The district aims to successfully benchmark student achievement and growth as measured by PSSA scores and the digital content assessments while tracking and benchmarking student mastery of the common core standards.
Blended Learning Program
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Program Model
Program model: Station Rotation
Model Description
Classrooms are set up for a three-station in-class rotation and students rotate between the stations at the teacher’s discretion. One station is set up for direct instruction from the teacher, another station is set up for independent and/or collaborative learning, and a third station is set up for online learning.
Program Description
How much time do students spend on campus in this blended-learning program? How much of this time do students spend learning online or with educational software?
Classes are 40 minutes in length, and the school has allotted two back-to-back periods for an 80-minute block for these math classes. Students spend approximately 1/3 of their class time on educational software.
Briefly describe the offline components of this blended-learning program.
Students receive direct instruction from the teacher at one of the rotations and work in a small collaborative student group on a project at another station. Collaborative activates can be brief or span multiple days. Occasionally, collaborative activities utilize technology, but most activities are done offline.
How are the online and offline components of the program connected to provide an integrated learning experience for students? How do data from different learning modalities inform each other?
Teachers are responsible for coordinating the stations and the lessons. They utilize the data received from online content providers as well as other assessments to create student groups and develop instruction.
How does this blended-learning program fit into the rest of the students’ school day?
Hybrid learning is taught during students’ regular class periods and therefore is a seamless part of their school day.
What are the teachers’ roles and responsibilities in both the online and offline components of this blended-learning program?
The teachers are responsible for creating all aspects of the blended-learning program. They develop lessons for the direct instruction component, create collaborative activities, and assign digital content. They create a Student Agenda for students to access that provides a roadmap for their week ahead.
What other adults are involved in this blended-learning program (e.g., paraprofessionals, learning coaches, counselors) and what are their roles and responsibilities?
The school has the support of an instructional coach provided through its local Intermediate Unit. The instructional coach is on-site regularly to help teachers implement the Hybrid Learning program successfully. The coach provides support in terms of class activities, data-driven instruction, and classroom management.
In addition, each hybrid-learning classroom teacher has the support of one paraprofessional.
Briefly describe the set-up of physical space for this blended-learning program.
The school has transformed regular classrooms to facilitate hybrid learning. In seventh-grade classrooms, all desks are set up in small groups of six, and the direct instruction happens in one of those groups; there are tables against the walls for independent learning. In eighth-grade classrooms, teachers have tables for collaborative learning, desks are against one wall for independent learning, and the front area is used for direct instruction.
How are students grouped within this blended-learning program?
Teachers use data from regular assessments to group students at a minimum of twice per month, but as much as once a week.
Do students have some element of control over the pacing of their learning? Are students tied to a semester-based course schedule or can they complete courses at any time? Briefly describe any requirements or benchmarks in place to ensure student progress.
Students can pace themselves within the independent learning station and the collaborative station in terms of how quickly work is completed. All teachers provide definitive due dates for this work.
Describe the academic results of the program, using quantitative data where possible.
The school just implemented the pilot program this year so no quantitative data has been collected yet.
Describe any other distinctive characteristics of this blended-learning program if they have not been captured above.
As a member of the Pennsylvania Hybrid Learning Institute (PA HLI), Manheim Township has a comprehensive and customized evaluation plan. The purpose of the evaluation plan is to provide information designed to improve educational programs and to demonstrate accountability to program objectives. PA HLI uses a rigorous and systematic process to evaluate whether new hybrid school implementations are achieving their desired effects. In the PA HLI Evaluation Plan, every hybrid-learning task is tied to a specific desired outcome in order to track results. A program management analyst collects data through monthly visitations and observations, surveys of students, teachers and parents, and a variety comparative data. Manheim Township receives monthly status reports as well as quarterly program reviews in conjunction with its Intermediate Unit so it can work on any identified opportunities.
Have you or are you planning to scale your program model to more/other schools?
Yes.
Contact Information
Name: Karen Evans
Title: Principal
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.mtwp.net