Increase student engagement by providing student choice and voice in the blended learning classroom setting. The Field Guide showcases examples of how to gradually move both the students and the classroom teacher to deploying higher order choice activities.  Below explore how to gradually incorporate creation, collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and connecting activities into the learning studios.

When I am asked to put the twelve elements of student engagement and ownership in order starting with the most important, I always start with small group instruction. Small group instruction is the backbone for developing data-driven learning environments, building student relationships, customizing the learning paths for individual students, and providing learning opportunities in multiple learning styles. If a classroom teacher can successfully deploy small group instruction regularly, the rest of the eleven elements will be easier and more efficient to deploy within the classroom setting. 

Overview Sample One: Sample one mini-project is a two-day choice activity in that the students will spend ten minutes each day working on the mini-project. By the end of the two days, the students will have made a poster on Canva.com or a physical mini-poster (11X17) 
Overview Sample Two: Sample two showcases a choice board, brainstorming time, and three days to work on the mini-project with a partner. By breaking the mini-project into chunks, the students will gradually build, design, and work on the activity over four days, with fifty minutes dedicated to the creation project.  ​

The low prep activities start by providing students time to create and collaborate with choice creation activities. Please take a moment to explore some of our favorite creation websites, offline creation activities, and even phone applications that the students can pick from for the next partner mini-project.​ Click here to grab your copy of the choice activities. 

Coaching Notes from Marcia Kish: "Start Small". If you would like try to deploy small group instruction within your classroom setting, think about start out with only three learning studios.  

Setting up small group instruction can seem overwhelming if the traditional form of teaching is whole group delivery of the content. To bridge over to small group instruction, try to break apart the lesson into three different learning studios. The three learning studios include a Small Group Studio with the teacher, Independent Practice Studio, and Digital Content Studio. A third of the class will attend each studio for about twelve minutes. The timer will go off, and the students will rotate to the next studio. Another twelve minutes will go by, and the students will move to the last learning studio for the day. By breaking the lesson into three learning studios, the students and teacher will become accustomed to delivering the content through small group instruction. 

Have you ever wondered what Blended Learning looks like in a High School setting? Then take a moment to watch the video from CyPark High School. CyPark High School is located in CyFair ISD in Katy, Texas. If you have any questions after watching the video feel free to post to this blog post.

Direct Link to the video

What is the difference between a Phase One, Phase Two and Phase Three checklist?  This video will quickly cover the difference while also showcasing how to build a Phase Three checklist.  

Direct Link to the video

If you are looking for ways to increase student engagement and ownership in the classroom?  Then try to add in choice board to the checklist or lessons.  In this video, I am going to share out how to get started with choice boards, how to Differentiated checklist, and where to find sample checklist.  

Direct link to the video: 

Welcome to another school year and another edition of the Weekly Blend with myself, Marcia Kish. I am excited that you have found this blog and hopefully subscribed to our YouTube Channel. My goal is to share, guide, and be the idea person for Blended Learning that you are looking for to help support your classroom, school, and district. 
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With the Hybrid teaching behind most of our schools, I am looking forward to implementing Blended Learning into the onsite and virtual classrooms again this year. As I move forward with Coaching the Three Phases of Blended Learning, I remind teachers that even though the COVID shutdowns effective our classrooms, that Hybrid Teaching was challenging, and that moving back into a social distance classroom is complex, that all educators are true heroes. Without our educators being brave and willing to try something new, the children would have suffered. So first and foremost, thank you. Thank you for being Brave. Thank you for sticking your neck out there and trying. Thank you for failing and trying the next day again. Thank you for being the amazing human beings that are guiding support for our children. Thank you. 

Wow, what a summer of professional development learning opportunities for schools across the country.  With both virtual and onsite options, I was on the road meeting people for the first time, introducing myself to educators that I worked with for 365 days, and connecting again with educators from pre-COVID days.  It feels great to be back.  

In this weekly edition, I will be sharing out ideas for

• Getting started with small group instruction with our Weekly Deployment Plan 
• Phase One in action from Splendora ISD
• Organization Tips and Tricks 

The idea of adding in one thing to another hectic year is unreasonable.  However, small group instruction could actually eliminate some of the stress from the "COVID Slide" or Learning Gaps.  In this section of the Weekly Blend, I am going to talk about how to start small with breaking apart the lesson and meeting with groups of students while other students are working on independent practice or digital content.  I call these different activities learning studios. 

What I am about to showcase is a GUIDE and a RESOURCE.  I am showcasing examples of how to deploy small group instruction through the Three Phases of Blended Learning Model.   Please use the is Deployment Plan as it aligns to your curriculum and pacing guide.  If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out to me for help. 

Week One:

• Start out slow - Pick One class, one Prep, or one subject area to try out the Blended Learning Studios 
• Try to Deploy Two Studios two different days 
• Make sure to include Small Group Instruction each Studio Day
• Add a checklist for the students to mark off as they travel through each studio

Week Three:

• The day before the test, try to deploy three studios. 
• Before the test think about adding in a mini project that allows the students to showcase the learning and understanding of the content through a Future Ready Activity. 
• Make sure to set the timer for 10 to 12 minutes for each studio. 
• Good Luck, You've Got This.

Week Four:

• Once you tried three studios, try them two more times. 
• Talk to the students and explain the studios
• Reinforce the classroom procedures
• Don't for get to generate a checklist for each studio day. 

The Deployment Plan for the rest of the year will be posted through out upcoming Blogs and in the Three Phases of Blended Learning Guide Book. (Coming Soon) 

My first onsite coaching session of the 2021/2022 School year was at Splendora ISD in Texas. I had the pleasure of visiting with High School, Middle School, Intermediate, and Elementary classroom teachers. For only three weeks into the school year, these teaches were rocking checklists, learning studios, and so much more. I am so proud of the hard work that they all accomplished in such a short amount of time. 
My journey with Splendora ISD started in July with a three-day workshop with a cohort of educators. Together we went through getting started with Blended Learning, Phase One, Phase Two, and using data to drive the small group instruction examples. We even had time to plan together a lesson to be used at the end of August. 
​Below are examples and photos of all of the educators' hard work. 

All of the Splendora ISD Blended Learning Cohort Team did an amazing job.  Each team member earned their Phase One Blended Learning Sticker. --- Congratulations.  

Below I am showcasing one classroom that had all four studios up and running.  This is a quick view of Ms. Martin's 7th Grade ELAR classroom. Some of her key elements of her Studio Day include: 

• Studio Experts
• Checklist 
• Small Group Instruction 
• Future Ready Activities
• Flexible Seating
• Data Trackers
• And so much more. 

Wow, what a fantastic week of resources and ideas for getting started with Blended Learning. Next week on the weekly blend, we will break down all four learning studios and talk about what activities can be found in each studio. Make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel, so you don't miss any videos that we post. Have a fantastic week! --- Marcia ​