School of One Mastery-Based Model
Blended Learning Model Overviews
In 2011, my school was awarded a grant that brought the School of One mastery-based blended learning model to MS88. School of One allows students to learn at their own pace in a totally redesigned, open classroom that can fit well over 100 students in different centers of the room. Students are assessed at the beginning of the year and given a “learning trajectory” for the entire year. Every day, each student is assigned new individualized lessons in different parts of the classroom in one of seven different learning modalities: virtual instruction/reinforcement, independent practice, small group/peer-to-peer collaboration, live investigation, and task projects. At the end of each class, we use an “exit slip” to evaluate and regroup students based on their progress. They are required to demonstrate mastery in each skill or concept before they can move onto new skills and concepts.
Number of Students: ~300 students
Number of Adults: six teachers; one Operations Technology Associate; SPED teacher(s) and/or paraprofessionals (as needed)
Length of Class Period/Learning Time: 92 minutes (divided into two 36 minute sessions)
Digital Content/Ed Tech Tools Used on a Regular Basis: proprietary web-based software; IXL, LearnZillion, VirtualNerd, Khan Academy, MangaHigh, Math XL, TenMarks, I Can Learn, Khan Academy, Engrade, Educreations, Padlet, Remind, Weebly, Google Apps for Education
Hardware Used on a Regular Basis: student laptops (1:1), iPads for teachers, SMARTboards
Key Features: competency-based; student agency;individualized learning paths; project-based; innovative use of time; innovative use of talent; co-teaching
Resources
Related Videos
Since I work with 3 large cohorts of 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students (100+ students in each cohort) my colleagues and I developed a Town Hall Meeting for the beginning of the year to explain our Rules, Routines, Procedures, and Consequences to the entire cohort at once. Having all of my students on the same system has provided tremendous consistency and stability and created a solid community foundation. Town Hall Meeting is a place where students not only hear the expectations but are encouraged to ask questions or make comments to the entire community. Delivering this presentation once to the entire cohort helps to set the culture in an efficient way.
Planning is an essential part of a blended teacher’s practice. In blended environments, where students can be at different points in a course on various modalities, blended teachers need to be very intentional about how they plan. Check out the video below to see how Tanesha plans for instruction in her blended classroom.