Personalized, Blended Learning in K-12: Benefits, Challenges, and Future Directions

• In Event: Online Learning Research and Innovation

Abstract

Perspective. With the increasing prevalence of online instructional resources for K-12 teachers that support self-paced learning and provide teachers and students with immediate feedback, the use of online instructional activities in conjunction with teacher-led instruction in the classroom is becoming more and more commonplace in K-12 schools. While recent evidence from meta-analyses points to blended learning environments being more effective than face-to-face environments, and at least as effective as online learning environments, at improving student achievement, there is little evidence of its effectiveness in K-12 and little practical guidance available to school practitioners interested in adopting blended learning models.

Objectives. This paper will describe prominent applications of blended learning models within K-12 schools, including “rotation” models within classrooms and in conjunction with learning labs, as well as self-paced, competency-based models with teachers acting as facilitators rather than as the primary source of instruction. We will also present research findings on factors that facilitate more effective uses of blended learning and some early evidence of the impacts of these models on student achievement based on two recent research studies which included a variety of K-12 school types and blended learning models.

Methods/Data Sources. In addition to a synthesis of the recent literature and reports on K-12 blended learning models, the paper will incorporate findings from the author's study of blended learning in 5 charter management organizations in SY2011-12 and a study of the use and impacts of Khan Academy in a set of public schools during the SY2011-12 and SY2012-13. Both studies included two site visits (observations and interviews) to participating schools during each school year, teacher and student surveys, analyses of automated system use data, and analyses of secondary student achievement data. Potential impacts on learning were estimated using quasi-experimental designs that varied based on the specifics of each of the participating sites.

Findings. Impact estimates varied by blended learning model and research site. These estimates should be considered preliminary as all of the schools were in their first two years of adoption. Select findings from the formative research include: technology challenges such as Internet outages and inadequate bandwidth need to be planned for with alternative instructional activities; access to one-to-one computing and extended instructional time in a subject area (more than 50 minutes) provides greater flexibility for how blended learning can be implemented; and in order for teachers to make better use of online content in their instruction, the content needs to be assignable, searchable, and aligned to local curriculum standards.

Significance. Blended learning environments, where students learn at least partially through the use of online instructional programs in an adult-supervised setting at least part of the time, are proliferating in K-12, but are doing so with limited knowledge of effective use models and supports needed for the instructional and operational dimensions of implementation. This paper will provide much- needed information on the important factors influencing the use and potential impact of blended learning on student achievement in K-12 education.

Author

• Robert F. Murphy, SRI International