Strategic Questioning

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 Aaron plans for instruction in his blended classroom.

At the end of every class, my students must take a computer-based exit slip. This is an essential part of my blended program because these exit slips tell me whether or not my students are ready to move on to the next skill. If a student gets 4/5 or 5/5, he or she can move on. If not, he or she will be assigned a different type of lesson on that skill the next day.

My colleagues and I use a variety of hand signals in our classroom to avoid unnecessary disruptions and maintain focus and time on task. Three common hand signals: a signal to use bathroom; a signal for needing scrap paper; and a signal for asking a presenter to speak louder. We introduce all of the hand signals to students at the beginning of the year in a community-wide Town Hall Meeting.