For this lesson, we will breaking apart the class into four groups. The mini lesson will be provided to a 1/4 of the group every 10 minutes. The facilitator, aka teacher, will showcase the five key components from the book Mindset, by Carol Dewk. The video below will show case what the mini lesson can look like. For a copy of the Keynote, click here.
Watch the video below to get a quick glimpse of what the mini lesson would look like with your classroom or professional development workshop. A 1/4 of the class will be starting out in the Independent activity. The students can read the articles together or by themselves depending on their lexile levels. If you have low readers, record yourself reading the articles so the students can listen to the content. Once the students have finished reading about growth and fixed mindset, have them take a mindset quiz. (Again, for lower leveled readers, record yourself reading the questions and/or have the students read the questions together)
After 10 minutes, the students will rotate to the Digital Content activity. (Checklist can be found in the lesson plan template. Click here to get your copy) Click on the download button below to get your copy of the printable articles. 
A 1/4 of the class will be working on digital content. They will be watching videos on how the brain works as well as understanding the difference between growth and fixed mindset.
The students will click on the provided YouTube playlist found in the Lesson Plan when they reach this activity. After 10 minutes, the students will rotate to the 4C's Activity. Click here to get a copy of the lesson plan and the YouTube Mindset Playlist. 
A 1/4 of the class will start out in the 4C's activity. The students will first sort the growth and fixed mindset phrases. The students will complete this activity in groups of two or three.
After the phrases have been sorted, the students will the dice to see what they have to create with that phrase. See the video below to understand how the 4C's activity will work. Click here to get your copy of the App Dice
Complete online course to use with the students throughout the unit or school year.
More resources and ideas to use with the students or during a workshop
Learn and Explore
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Finding good technology tools that allow for creativity, communication, critical thinking, collaboration, and global connection can be difficult for grades 6-12. However, we have come up with our top 15 Tech Tools that can be dropped into any middle of high school classroom. Click the icon below to download a free copy of the Tech Tools
CUE LiveWhile walking down the hallway after our workshop on the Key Ingredients of Blended and Personalized Learning, I was asked to participate in CUE Live hosted by Chris Walsh. The idea of the interview was to share out resources, suggestions, and tips for setting up a blended or personalized learning classroom. The DSD Professional Development team was prevailed to present an hour and half workshop on the Key Ingredients of Blended and Personalized Learning. This workshop focused in on allowing participants to experience what it feels and looks like in a blended learning environment while learning about the aspects of blended.
We broke the lesson into five key areas
We concluded the 90 minute session with a quick overview of tech tools that would fit into a blended learning classroom. One participant asked me to name just three tools that I would put into an English Language Arts environment. My answer: Newsela, Actively Learn, and No Red Ink
Download the slides from the presentation by clicking the link below.
Grab a copy of the packet from the session by clicking on this link. Use the code: march17 to receive 50% off any of the products in the store. 
The DSD Professional Development Team had the previage to be guest at the Newsela Breakfast on the 16th of March. Not only did we enjoy a fantastic breakfast but we had the chance to talk with amazing educators from around the country. Thanks to Newsela for letting us join in on the fun and for breakfast.
One of the most common questions, we get while coaching teachers how to implement blended learning into the classroom, is "How do you get students to turn in their work?" There is no magic wand that will get students to turn in work in a traditional classroom or a blended learning environment. However, we have found a couple of ways that gets 90%+ turn in rate. This blog post will go over the following items to help keep track of student work as well as help to grade work faster.
 Student ChecklistA student checklist is generated by the teacher. The checklist contains items the students must complete within a given amount of time. Some teachers give a checklist for the day, the week, and even for a particular unit. We have found that teachers tend to revise their checklist multiple times before it fits perfectly into the different blended learning phases. The following tabs will showcase a Phase 1, Phase 2, and Phase 3 samples of checklist. Note: these checklist were generated by the teachers we coach. The school information, teacher names are located at the bottom of each checklist. Phase 1 blended learning checklist are normally handed out to students on a daily basis. We coach the teachers into developing a checklist early in the implementation stages of blended learning so that way the students get a costumed to using the checklist.
Phase 1 looks like the following:
The following is an example of a Phase 1 daily checklist. Even if a timer is being used, it is important to start to train the students how to fill out the checklist so when the timer is removed, students understand the concept of the checklist.
Contact to visit any of the schools that we work with that are currently in the implementation phases of blended learning. The schools are located mostly in Ohio, Indiana, California, New Jersey, and in New York.
Phase 2 transitions away from all of the students moving through the same activities from Phase 1 to allowing the students to move at his/her own pace through differentiated activities. The students are given the choice in place to learn by themselves, in a small group, with the teacher, online and offline.
The below checklist showcase content delivered in within a weekly timeframe. What you might not see is the fact that activities are differentiated based on the data collected from teacher formative/summative assessments and digital content.
Both Pataskala and Etna Elementary Schools are a part of the Southwest Licking School District, which is located outside of Columbus, Ohio. Both schools have teachers that are striving towards developing Phase 2 and Phase 3 learning environments. Fill out the following for to plan a school visit to see these amazing blended learning educators in action.
Phase 3 Overview: Students are working through the content at his/her own pace, place, and path. Project Based Learning and 20% projects become part of the checklist. Also, note that the students have the ability to test out of different topics in Phase 3. Therefore, a group of students can be in chapter 3 while an other group could be in Chapter 4.
This is a unit checklist in a Phase 3 learning environment in Honors Geometry class. Students were given the checklist at the beginning of the unit. The checklist included
The above checklists were generated by C. Fisher from Mentor High School. Fill out the below form to schedule a school visit to Mentor High School to see other fantastic educators implementing blended and project based learning.
Other Resources for Blended Learning
One of our favorite and most recommend language arts technology tools is Newsela. Newsela takes a current event article and transposes it into four different Lexile levels. Which means that a student can read the article at his/her own reading level and still be able to talk about the article with the whole classroom.
What we have noticed in the classroom is that the teacher assigns the article, the students read the article and then the teacher looks at the data from the online assessments. The teacher can then use the data to teach a mini lesson on the concepts that the students might not understand. For example, main idea, sequence of events, vocabulary words...
After hearing that the teachers are having a hard time engaging conversation with the students about the Newsela articles, we have developed a Newsela Scavenger Hunt that will go along with an article. Our example is used with the article about Bao Bao a US Panda Bear Bond for China
Watch and Learn
Watch the video on the main idea of the scavenger hunt. Stop the video to scan the different QR Codes
Step by Step Explanation of the Scavenger Hunt
Print out all of the attached documents and QR Codes found at the bottom of this blog post.
Can QR Codes work with Chromebooks?
Yes, QR codes can work with Chromebooks, Surface Pros, smart phones, and iPads. Below is a list of some of the QR Code Scanners that you can use with the different devices.
Grade Level
This activity can be used in the 3rd through 12th grade classroom. The Newsela article can be read at five different Lexile levels. Some of the activities can be modified ago fit the needs of the different grade levels.
Content Areas
This activity can be tied into the following content areas:
Length of Project
Blended and Personalized Learning Classrooms
If you are teaching in a Blended Learning environment, then this activity would be a part of the rotations. It took a class five days to complete during their rotation activities. Traditional Classroom Environment This activity can be broken up into two days. Start the whole group out reading the article and once they have finished reading the article, their group can search for the first QR Code (storyboardthat) Free QR Code Scavenger Hunt Print Outs
Checkout our other Resources
Educators are always asking me the questions, "What are the best technology tools for the K-5 classroom?" "Do you know of any good websites that will engage my students?" "How can I mange the use of technology while teaching in a mini lesson?" So I have developed a list of my top 14 Technology tools to add into any K-5 classroom environment. All of the applications are web based and most are free or will provide you with a free 30+ day trial.
30 Second Video on the Tech Tools
Checkout Our Other Resources
Transforming a traditional classroom into a blended or personalized learning environment might seem like an overwhelming task. The starting process alone of purchasing devices, deciding on wifi carriers, and internet security can sometimes delay the start of any new shift in pedagogy. However, once a school decides to move forward with blended or personalized learning a yearly game plan becomes a necessity towards making the movement happen within a classroom. Over the last eight years, the DSD Professional Development Team, has helped with the deployment of blended and personalized learning environments. Below are just a few tricks that will continue to push your school district, building, or even classroom forward. Think Big but Start Small Generating a blended and personalized learning environment usually takes an average of about three to four years if the right professional development and coaching is a part of the plan. For example, stating to the teachers that every classroom will be transformed to a blended or personalized learning is thinking big. The three year mini goals to get to the blended or personalized learning set up is part of the starting small. Below is a typical three year roll out plan that we have used with the different school districts.  The Six Levels of Blended and Personalized LearningIn order to insure success with the blended and personalized learning program, the DSD Professional Development Team has developed the six levels of teacher progression. Each level contains ten areas to look for while in the classroom or during the coaching session. By breaking down the levels into ten areas, the teacher now has the freedom to focus in on mini aspects of the big picture. The sample below showcases the six different levels with assessment and data.  Tracking and Goal Setting After the ten areas have been identified and explained to the teacher(s), the instructional coach will help to define goals for each individual teacher. The goals will focus in on the targeted areas that will help the teacher to keep progressing through the different levels. The coach will not only support the teacher through the process of deploying blended and personalized learning but will also track the different levels of implementation. The scores for each level are listed below. The circle graph to the right showcases the current level of the 203 teachers that we are currently working at DSD Professional Development.  Coaching Software System A software tracking system has become a major key factor in helping our teachers progress through the six levels of blended and personalized learning program. As part of the blended and personalized roll out plan the coaches, principals, and classroom teachers can input data points and notes into the tracking system. The tracking system will measure the different rubric points, provide possible goal setting strategies, and email out next steps to the teacher and principals. The tracking system will also keep track of the number of contact hours with the each teacher and their current level score. All of this data can be used to generate goals, workshop topics, and evaluation of the success of the blended and personalized learning rollout.  Start Planning Now for the Future
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AuthorsMarcia Kish - Blended and Personalized Learning coach that designed the Three Phases of Blended Learning Categories
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