The Field Guide

Accelerating Learning, Equity and Well-Being

TEACHING IN VARIED MODES

How do we adapt and reimagine learning to most effectively teach learners using multiple modalities?

WHY

Technology, when used well, can help educators personalize and differentiate instruction. Research has shown there are advantages to using a mixture of in-person and online learning over online or face-to-face approaches alone. Studies from the Policy Analysis for California Education and the US Department of Education also show that well-designed blended instruction can be as or more effective than in-classroom learning alone. Additionally, familiarity with online learning and collaboration practices will prepare students for the workforce.

WHAT

Maximizing teaching in varied modes means embracing the benefits of blended learning. Blended learning goes beyond online learning: it is the mixing of different modalities of teaching and learning to increase student achievement. This includes one-on-one, small-group, and whole-group instruction in both online and in-person environments (with the support of high-quality print and digital tools). Even if blended learning is not the main approach to teaching and learning in your school, the use of technology and learning online is here to stay—it is not just something that takes place during a pandemic.

The modern classroom incorporates many modes of teaching and learning. Leaders can leverage what they have learned and technology investments made over the pandemic to design learning experiences that incorporate a variety of teaching methods. Key to improved student outcomes will be integrating new modes of learning into daily instruction, offering choice and personalization, increasing engagement, and focusing on feedback and mastery.

THE BOTTOM LINE

DO NOW:

- If teachers are still teaching remotely, make sure they know about this free UCSD a course on effective online teaching .
- If your school is teaching in a hybrid setting, let teachers know about our CCEE chart with content-specific considerations for remote and in-person teaching.
DO NEXT: Consider how blended learning may become a staple in your future work with this Blended Learning Implementation Guide.

HOW

Integrating New Modes

Intentionally integrating various modes of learning is key to success. Different modes may include independent, remote, small group, one-on-one, and whole-group instruction.

Steps

Review your current model. Start by thinking about what you already do and have done across various domains, even before COVID. How did you use technology, print-based materials, whole-group instruction, small-group instruction, and independent work? How can some of these be even more successful with the new investments in training and technology, and the new lessons learned during COVID?

Understand and implement best practices for blended learning.
- Work with educators to develop and understand the needed competencies for effective online and blended learning. iNACOL’s blended learning teacher competency framework can be used to help build competencies for teachers in the remote space.
- Using tools like this Blended Learning Implementation Guide from GettingSmart and the Aurora Institute’s resource list can help you create a path to making the shift.
- Provide teachers with resources like this one from the Parabola Project, UCSD’s strategies for teaching online, Ventura COE’s distance learning opportunities, and Sonoma COE’s distance learning resources.
- Understanding equity and cultural context will be essential for the shift. Visit the Equity section for more tips.
- See Instruction Partners’ resource on Assessing Student Work and Providing Feedback during distance learning.

Create strong learning routines for in-person and remote instruction. Learning routines help educators and students maintain consistency and the space for deeper learning in the classroom. Additionally, in this time of transition, content-specific routines may help students feel cohesion across their learning experience. Help teachers establish these routines and connect them to the sections of their curriculum for easier use. Here are some routines to consider for math, ELA and general class management.

Choices & Personalization

Empowering students with voice and choice is a key component in helping them develop a mindset of self-direction and ownership. Developing ownership and agency has been shown to have significant impact on equity outcomes; see more about this in our Student Agency section. Below are some ways to personalize instruction in your program.

Steps

Provide choice. Offer options not only in terms of content, but also how much time is spent on a particular topic or activity, how a student learns materials, and what products they produce to demonstrate their learning. Sometimes integrating student choice is also referred to as personalized learning. For more resources, visit:
- the Learning Accelerator’s collection of nearly 100 strategies for implementing student-centered instructional approaches for each student based on specific strengths, needs, interests, and goals
- TLA’s Guide for Personalized PD at Dallas ISD with Look-Fors.
- iNACOL’s guide to Getting Started with Personalized Learning (resources for education leaders, teachers, and policymakers looking to redesign K-12 education around student learning with personalized learning and competency education)
- LEAP Innovations’ personalized learning tools and resources
- Learning Accelerator’s resources on subject-based “playlists” to enable self-paced subject learning, including customized versions and playlist data trackers
Explicitly teach self-management strategies. Simply giving students choice without teaching them how to self-manage the work may lead to frustration and a feeling of inadequacy, negatively affecting student agency in the long run. Instead, leverage resources to help establish a habit of goal-setting and a culture of revision.
- Empowering Ownership of Learning through Monitoring Learning Progress and Goal-Setting: This resource shares how important for academic growth it is to reflect on learning data and goals.
- Creating a Culture of Revision: This strategy highlights how vital culture is to true mastery-based learning and growth.
Scaffold independent learning. Have clear strategies in place for defining expectations and success. A clear pathway will make execution easier and contribute to development of student self-direction skills.

Increasing Engagement

Increasing engagement and attendance has always been at the forefront of educators’ minds. A shift to blended learning brought about by the pandemic has offered LEA leaders an opportunity to be even more intentional about creating positive student interactions with teachers, peers, and content.

Steps

With teacher: develop strong interactions independent of setting. The interactions between teachers and students are one of the biggest predictors of learning outcomes. According to education researcher John Hattie, roughly 30 percent of students’ total learning success depends on teacher behavior. This means that the ways in which we teach and work with young people really matter, and we need to be able to teach in a variety of modalities if we truly want to meet the needs of all learners. Leaders can try different strategies to increase interaction, including:
- Intentionally scheduling time for one-on-one time between learners and educators. Such interactions do not need to be long or occur in person, but they should be frequent. Here is a list of potential questions to help build rapport during virtual or in-person interactions.
- Creating opportunities for small-group interactions with teachers that allow for personal connection, to supplement one-on-one interactions. This LINC article shares advice and examples of what effective small-group instruction and differentiation looks like during remote learning.
- Having educators connect directly with parents on a regular basis to share student success stories. Students can be present during such meetings (virtually or in-person), to hear firsthand how their teachers are excited to have them in class and what they need to work on next.
With peers: Provide interactive learning opportunities. Engaging young people in their communities is a great way to encourage collaboration and interaction.
- Place-based learning is increasingly popular, especially with more learners at home and the need to think about experiences outside of a traditional school building. Watch this 5-minute Edutopia video and learn how to connect learning to your community and to places that learners care about.
- Many school districts are also teaching forward by thinking not just about academics in isolation, but how learners might need to apply their understanding to the real world. Tools like the Real-World Learning Roadmap can help you think more deeply about your community and how you might create experiences for young people that engage them in learning skills they’ll need in their future.
With content: increase engagement through more meaningful learning experiences. When experiences in school are more engaging and personalized, learners want to show-up and participate.
- Lessons from innovative school districts across the country point to increases in engagement when learning is more specific to individual needs, interests, and goals. Creating these types of experiences requires educators to know how to blend and personalize learning.
- All of this will lead to greater engagement and attendance but here are some other tools to create Multi-tiered attendance support systems from UC Davis, and Instruction Partners also offers Support and resources for ensuring that students are fully present in school each day, regardless of what school looks like. Refer to the accelerating learning section for more ideas and tips.

Giving Feedback for Mastery

Receiving adequate feedback and developing mastery of individual concepts are essential parts of any learning experience. Providing meaningful feedback is critical, particularly in remote settings, for driving student motivation and enabling students to progress. Below are some considerations to help with integrating feedback and mastery into your educational practices:

Consider using rubrics. One strategy educators can leverage to provide feedback and drive mastery are rubrics. Rubrics offer students (and families helping at home) clarity around expectations for assignments and help them self-assess as they work. Here are some useful resources:
- Look at an example of an analytic rubric that highlights what students need to do in order to achieve proficiency.
- Consider using a single-point rubric to identify areas of growth as well as areas of strength based on the given criteria for proficiency.
- Create your own rubric using a variety of templates.

Use multiple modes of feedback. Understanding the full picture and not just a single measure provides a bigger picture of what a student might have learned.

- Triangulating data about a competency allows for a more robust look at a student’s understanding.

- Pre-, mid-, and post- assignment formative assessments are also critical to glean where students started and where they are as a result of the learning experience.

Show student work. A big part of providing feedback and looking for mastery is providing students an opportunity to share their work. When students know their work will actually be looked at, they become more engaged and take greater care in their work products and processes. When students share their work often and with others, not just with their teachers, their work improves. They gain confidence in talking about their work and feeling comfortable with constructive feedback.

LEADING FORWARD PODCAST:

Learn how Placer Union HSD made the leap to mastery-based grading.

LISTEN NOW

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION

Based on the skills and mindsets you want students to learn, what are the implications for the design of the learning experiences (and equitable access to those experiences) we provide in our school systems? (You may have answered this question in the Defining Skills for Success Section)
What have you learned from the pandemic about blended learning? Online only? Small group instruction? Can you leverage this learning in the future?
In what ways are you currently delivering learning experiences? Are these effectively targeting the skills and mindsets you define as important? Why or why not?
Are teachers on your team trying out different modalities? Why or why not? What is getting in the way of trying something new?
How are educators receiving support for teaching in varied modes?
What national examples do you look to when it comes to teaching in varied modes? District examples?
How are you assessing student learning in varied modes? Do you have a common understanding of what success looks like when learning in different modes?

The Field Guide

Accelerating Learning, Equity and Well-Being

TEACHING IN VARIED MODES

How do we adapt and reimagine learning to most effectively teach learners using multiple modalities?

WHY

WHAT

THE BOTTOM LINE

HOW

Integrating New Modes

Steps

Choices & Personalization

Steps

Increasing Engagement

Steps

Giving Feedback for Mastery

LEADING FORWARD PODCAST:

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION

The Field Guide for California LEAs - Accelerating Learning, Equity and Well-Being

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Reimagining Education

Reimagining Education

Reimagining Education

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