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Response to Intervention in the Blended Learning Environment

Sept. 22, 2015

A Guide to Common Core

Aug. 21, 2015

Three Strategies for Consistently Engaging Learners

Aug. 10, 2015

The importance of cultivating a growth mindset with students

July 15, 2015

Becoming a reflective educator

July 7, 2015

Developing prosocial behaviors and interactions within the classroom experience

June 30, 2015

Identifying at-risk learners. Two critical components

June 15, 2015

Three key factors in igniting the fire in learners

June 9, 2015

Memories of school veterans. Thank you

May 24, 2015

Keeping early course finishers engaged

May 17, 2015

The right curriculum for blended learning

May 11, 2015

Blended Learning Technology. Selection Process

April 26, 2015

Students who finish early. Four ways to keep grads-to-be engaged

April 20, 2015

Generation DIY. Benefits of blended learning that transcend instruction

March 30, 2015

Generation DIY. Benefits from the Blended Learning homefront

March 23, 2015

Top 6 Lessons from Madness. NCAA March Madness

March 16, 2015

Preventing the Dreaded: "Why Do We Need to Learn This?"

March 9, 2015

8 Blended Learning Space Considerations

March 2, 2015

5 Favorite Practices for Effective Communication

Feb. 23, 2015

Second-Order Change: The Blended Learning Mandate

Feb. 16, 2015

6 Ways to Match Blended Learning Models

Feb. 9, 2015

Using the SAMR Model in Blended Learning

Feb. 2, 2015

Planning for 1 to 1 Learning: Making the Blended Learning Model Local

Jan. 24, 2015

Eight Elite Questions to Ask When Selecting Online Content Providers

Jan. 17, 2015

Five Tips to Overcome the "January Syndrome" in Professional Development

Jan. 11, 2015

Blended education: Student-led discussions

Jan. 5, 2015

Next Generation Learning Spaces eBook offer and conference information

Dec. 9, 2014

Learning from Reality TV. Five Important Presentation Lessons for Teachers

Oct. 31, 2014

Six steps to great technology training

Oct. 27, 2014

Why I’m "Bullish" on Blended Learning

Oct. 20, 2014

Lessons from the One-Room Schoolhouse

Oct. 13, 2014

6 Keys to Deliberate Practice in Blended Learning

Oct. 6, 2014

Top Fifteen Skills Students Need for College and Career Readiness

Sept. 29, 2014

6 Ways Google Drive Docs Rocks in Blended Education

Sept. 22, 2014

Effective Instructional Probing Questions

Sept. 12, 2014

6 Career Types for Personalizing Learning

Sept. 8, 2014

Back to school thoughts

Aug. 29, 2014

Using data to inform instruction. Rigor, Relevance, and Results

Aug. 25, 2014

Teaching to Learn

Aug. 14, 2014

Social and Emotional learning matters

Aug. 9, 2014

Infographic: 7 Blended Activities to Start the New Year

Aug. 4, 2014

Tips for electrifying instruction (even when the lights go out)

Aug. 1, 2014

Lansing's Woodcreek Achievement Center: Blended Learning ideas to improve reading comprehension

July 26, 2014

Top Five Blended Learning Tweets (of the summer so far)

July 21, 2014

Infographic: 8 key points to include in digital citizenship

July 8, 2014

Deliberate practice makes remember-able perfect

July 4, 2014

The 'One Minute Manager's' advice to teachers and students

June 27, 2014

Ways to Get the Most from ISTE 2014

June 23, 2014

Educators advocate for new programs, more technology, increased funding. 3 simple steps.

June 16, 2014

7 Favorite Ways Students Like to Learn

June 9, 2014

Adapting Teacher Observations to Blended Learning Environments

June 2, 2014

Celebrating Successes. Student Learning in a Blended, Personalized Environment

May 26, 2014

Teaching in a Blended Environment: 12 Questions for Reflection and Discussion

May 19, 2014

Great ways to support teachers in blended, personalized, and online learning classrooms

May 12, 2014

Engagement doesn't necessarily equal buy-in. Working through pushback in Blended Learning environments

May 5, 2014

Connecting Classroom Instruction to Online Content

April 28, 2014

Blended Learning Classrooms Start with Blended Learning Professional Development

April 21, 2014

Top 3 Ways Blended Learning Really Works in Professional Development

April 14, 2014

Must Follow Organizations Supporting Blended, Personalized Learning

April 7, 2014

Great Probes for Blended, Personalized, Online Teaching

March 31, 2014

Four Key Considerations for Selecting Blended, Personalized, and Online Learning Tools

March 24, 2014

Four Creative Ways to Share the Vision for Blended, Personalized, Online Learning

March 17, 2014

Series: Planning for Blended and Personalized Learning: Blended Learning Goals

March 10, 2014

Planning for Blended and Personalized Learning Series: Crafting a Vision

March 3, 2014

News from the Field: eLearn Magazine – Call for K12 Blended Learning Articles

Feb. 24, 2014

Does Big Bird "Tweet"? Teaching Generation Z

Feb. 17, 2014

Five Characteristics of Great Blended Learning Teachers

Feb. 10, 2014

Empowering Students with the Top Four Blended Learning Models

Feb. 5, 2014

Three Interrelated Parts of Real Blended Learning

Jan. 28, 2014
Lansing's Woodcreek Achievement Center: Blended Learning ideas to improve reading comprehension
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July 26, 2014
Tags: reading comprehension, flex blended learning, lansing school district, woodcreek achievement center advancepath academy
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It's has been nearly ten years ago that an ACT Report found that there was a lack of resources available to prepare students for collegiate reading. In a fast-forward to today, we find a proliferation of quantitative and qualitative data in response to need and which address technological changes in instructional delivery. Blended Learning is quickly taking the lead during this welcomed instructional transition. There are many instructional models that utilize Blended Learning, with variations reflecting both the academic audience and the classroom's level of technological integration. With decades of research and through practical field experience, those of us involved in the AdvancePath Academies nationwide are most often utilizing a Flex Blended Learning Model in our instructional environment. I am affiliated with the Academies of Michigan and would like to share today, a fantastic example of Flex Blended Learning in action at Lansing School District's Woodcreek Achievement Center AdvancePath Academy.

At the Woodcreek Achievement Center, you will find a community of learning that celebrates student autonomy and flexibility that enables teachers to maximize the use of technology, small group instruction, and 1:1 student support. Principal Carl Word and the teaching team at Woodcreek are experts in leveraging technology and providing a personalized learning experience for all students. Students play an integral role in developing their learning plans and teachers are very creative in their approach to delivering instruction that is engaging and meaningful to their students.

Q: When the classroom includes fluffy pillows and a large-screen TV - what happens to learning?

During one of my site visits I had the opportunity to attend a wonderful example of learning in a positive, energized setting. Here instruction incorporated multiple modalities, matched to student learning styles - the Weekly Book Club Event. The classroom is a spacious "family room," furnished with plush seating, chairs, sofas, fluffy pillows, and a large screen television. Students arrived for the day's session with books that each had completed and ready to discuss. To my surprise, their teacher, Ms. Howe, turned on the television, "popped-in" a compact disc and dimmed the lights! The movie was the film version of the assigned reading and we were off to viewing its story in large-screen format.

A: Learning becomes a collaborative, lively event.

A few minutes into the film, Ms. Howe selected pause and begin to ask questions. For instance she asked, "Can anyone tell me how this episode is different from the book?" Oh my - a lively discussion was at hand! She continued the process through to the film's end.

A: Comprehension and analytical skills improve!

The Weekly Book Club Event helps students develop reading comprehension skills through an engaging format that understands how students engage with technology and develop comprehension and analytical skills in a collaborative environment. Students learn better when they can talk-share-pair opposed to reading at a computer screen or listening to a lecture. This creative Book Club Event helps prepare them for more challenging and complex text comprehension as well.

At the Woodcreek Achievement Center students are enabled to take charge of their academic success in a instructional environment that is engaging and meaningful.

These instructional interactions provide positive learning motivation for both the student and - let's face it - for the teacher. Here at Woodcreek Achievement Center, these teachers are on to something big. Learning is a collaborative experience. Socio-emotional development is infused into interactions at every level of the student/teacher experience - providing the basis for greater student confidence and further professional enrichment for the teaching team. Here, each staff member is invested in enriching the lives of every child who walks through their doors. Students hear: "Understand, learn and move beyond your past. Starting today, your successful future is OUR mutual goal!"
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