Instructional design/Blended Learning Lesson Plans/Types of Blended Instruction

Types of Blended Instruction
Now that you have an idea of what a blended lesson is, it's time to investigate the different ways that blended instruction can be implemented. While there are many different models of blended instruction, most lessons that are used in today's classrooms can be classified in one of three categories:
 * Station Rotation: Students rotate through stations in the classroom on a fixed schedule or at the teacher's discretion with at least one of the stations involving computer-based instruction.
 * Lab Rotation: Similar to the station rotation model with the difference being that students transition to a different room for computer-based instruction, usually a computer lab.
 * Flipped: The primary form of instruction occurs outside of school while in-class time is spent working on engaging activities. Students access computer-based instructional resources on their own time, typically using their own devices.



The Station Rotation Model
Mr. Simpson wants his second grade students to learn how to add numbers that are three digits long. He begins his lesson by showing the class an instructional video on the classroom projector. While the video is playing, he walks among the students to ensure that they are taking notes and to answer any individual questions they may have. He pauses the video at certain points, giving students an opportunity to complete a practice problem. The video is then resumed, which walks students through the steps of completing the practice problem. After the video is complete, students are given a set of problems to finish by the end of the class period.

Mrs. Flanders teaches high school Biology. To teacher her students about photosynthesis, she decides to design a stations lab in which students will move in teams from station to station, interacting with whatever materials are at that station. One of her stations contains a large diagram of the structure of a leaf. Another station contains an iPad with an interactive diagram of the photosynthesis reaction. Still another station contains a poster with QR Codes that students can scan using their smartphones to find out more about the different parts of the poster. Mrs. Flanders allows students to rotate between the stations at their own pace, but asks them to submit a one-paragraph summary of photosynthesis by the end of the class period.

In both Mr. Simpson's and Mrs. Flanders's classes, students are experiencing the station rotation model of blended instruction. Students in Mr. Simpson's class are learning how to add three-digit numbers through a computer-based instructional video and practicing and receiving feedback in a face-to-face setting. Students in Mrs. Flanders's class are able to interact with real diagrams, which fulfills the in-class component of blended instruction. Students are also learning from iPads and their smartphones. In both cases, students are experiencing both the face-to-face and computer-based instruction in the same room, which illustrates the station rotation model of blended instruction.

The Lab Rotation Model
Unlike Mr. Simpson and Mrs. Flanders, Mrs. Burns does not have access to technology in her classroom. Instead, Mrs. Burns decides to use her school's computer lab in her 7th grade English class. She begins her lesson in the computer lab, where students work through a web-based module teaching students how to write sonnets. After 40 minutes, she takes her students back to the classroom, where the students split up into teams to provide feedback on each other's sonnets. After editing, volunteers from the class share their sonnets, then Mrs. Burns debriefs everyone on the key elements of sonnets. In her debriefing, Mrs. Burns introduces new vocabulary terms like iambic pentameter.

In Mrs. Burns's example, her class is participating in the lab rotation model of blended instruction. The key difference between the lab rotation and station rotation models is that students in the lab rotation model move to a different room for computer-based instruction. In the case of Mrs. Burns, her class moved to the computer lab for computer-based instruction, then returned to the classroom for face-to-face instruction. Lab rotation models bear the advantage that they don't require classroom access to technology, but often require more time due to class transitions between rooms. Lab rotation models are therefore often better used when students will be interacting with computers for extended periods of time.

The Flipped Model
Mr. Wiggum is struggling to fit all of his instruction for his Civics class into the school day. His state recently adopted a new set of state standards which place a heavy emphasis on the acquisition of skills like critical thinking and collaboration in addition to the content that he normally teaches. Mr. Wiggum realizes that he could use blended instruction to create more learning opportunities by giving students computer-based instruction for homework instead of lecturing during class. After all, he can't help students listen to a lecture, but he can help students practice and apply new skills. He finds a series of instructional videos online that align with his curriculum, so he instructs his students to watch a certain video in order to prepare for class each day. To assess whether students understood the main ideas from the video, he links the students to an online quizzing system where students answer a few short questions about the videos they watched. Mr. Wiggum can then review the feedback from the quizzes and tailor his in-class instruction to address any common points of confusion. With less time in the school day that he needs to spend on direct instruction, Mr. Wiggum focuses his face-to-face time with his students on applying the information, developing problem-solving skills, and giving students time to collaborate.

Mr. Wiggum's class illustrates the flipped model of blended instruction. In the flipped model, students spend time outside of the school day interacting with computer-based instructional material. Using this model means that the teacher spends less time on direct instruction, freeing up more time for interactive activities like labs, inquiry assignments, and collaboration. This model also requires students to take greater ownership of their learning and bears greater consequences for students who don't come to class prepared.

Check Your Understanding
For each of the following scenarios, determine whether the lesson demonstrates a station rotation model, a lab rotation model, or a flipped model. {Mr. Muntz teaches his 8th grade Social Studies class through long-term projects. His students typically spend three days each week working independently in the computer lab and the remaining two days learning from Mr. Muntz in the classroom. - Station Rotation Model + Lab Rotation Model - Flipped Model
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{Ms. Gumble creates instructional videos for her Calculus students. In order to create more time for targeted practice in the classroom, she assigns these videos as homework for students to watch before coming to class each day. - Station Rotation Model - Lab Rotation Model + Flipped Model
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{Mr. Skinner likes to get his 3rd grade students engaged for learning Spanish each day. He sometimes starts Spanish by showing a funny online video in Spanish on the projector and asking his students to work in pairs to interpret what the video is saying. He then replays the video in English. + Station Rotation Model - Lab Rotation Model - Flipped Model
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