We have to continually be jumping off cliffs and developing our wings on the way down.

“We have to continually be jumping off cliffs and developing our wings on the way down.” 
- Kurt Vonnegut

Good teaching requires risk taking. This year, I've jumped off too many metaphorical cliffs to count... and I've taken 22 first graders with me! 

Blended and personalized learning is not about the technology, but in my case the tech was the spark that started me on the path of personalized learning. In November of 2012 I was lucky enough to receive 10 iPads for my classroom through a grant. I had used iPads in my teaching before, but never had access to that much tech at one time. It got me thinking that maybe there was a better way to "integrate" this new technology into my teaching. 

In the Spring of 2013 I took the iPad Innovations course through the Center for 21st Century Classrooms. I was so amazed at the potential that the iPads had to help me design much more authentic, transformational learning opportunities for my kids. I was introduced to the SAMR framework as a way of thinking about how/when/why I was using tech in my classroom.

SAMR framework by Dr. Ruben R. Puentedura

My lessons began to transform, incorporating more opportunities for student creation, sharing, collaboration and choice. I was excited about what I was doing, but also felt very isolated from my colleagues. It was difficult to plan as a team, since I wanted to take my lessons in different directions... some of which were far more difficult for my teammates to do in their own classrooms with far less access to technology to help accomplish goals.

Enter: Janus and the Blended Learning Grant. I'll fast forward through all of the logistics of the application process and roll out (as I'm sure I'll be writing about that in more detail later this year). The grant brought far more technology into our building than we would've been able to afford with our own budget. Every 1-5th grade classroom has at least a 2 students:1 device ratio or better. At the same time, I was lucky enough to receive a gift of a 1:1 iPad situation through a separate grant opportunity. 

Now, through the blended learning vision that our staff (including admin) shares we're able to accomplish much, much more. We're jumping off more cliffs than ever before, but we're jumping together.

So, what's the same? I'm still teaching reading, writing, math, science and social studies, and skills to first graders. What's different? Everything else.

The single best decision my team made this year was to change our daily schedule. In +Jessica Raleigh's blog she wrote about the frustration both teachers and students experience with whole group instruction, and the impossibility of reaching every student when teaching through that model. For any given lesson, a handful of kids will be confused, a handful of kids will be bored, and a handful of kids will struggle with behavior.

So, my teammates and I put our heads together and came up with a new daily schedule that included only 30 minutes of direct, whole group instruction. The rest of our day is split into blocks - reading, writing, math, science and social studies - with rotations in each. We meet with small groups throughout the entire day, meeting kids exactly where they are. When students don't meet with us, they rotate through related content area workshop model rotations with a choice of a few different tasks to complete.

Now I know the rotational model is old news for many secondary teachers, but it's pretty amazing to see it successfully implemented in a classroom full of six year olds who are just beginning to learn to read independently. I anticipated major behavioral issues because, throughout the whole day, two thirds of my class is responsible for working in pairs or independently, away from me. Without a teacher looking over their shoulders, how could they possibly stay on task for such sustained periods of time? I've learned that with the right supports, they can. My students have taken ownership of their learning to a degree I've never seen in a six year old. 

During any given rotation, students can decide if they want to work alone or with a partner, with technology or without. They can choose which task they'd like to complete and where in the room they want to work. They know what their next steps are, and they hold themselves and their peers accountable for their learning. The level of accountable talk, academic language, and peer-to-peer support is astounding. 

My role as teacher has transformed from the "sage on the stage" to "guide on the side." I am not depositing knowledge into my students little brains, but rather creating opportunities for them to experiment, play, collaborate, master, and share knowledge. My favorite student quote from this year, which I'm usually lucky enough to hear at least one a week, is "Mrs. Mitchell, what if _____?" 

• "Mrs. Mitchell, what if we use Book Creator to make eBooks about the different types of weather we're learning about in our unit of inquiry?"
• "Mrs. Mitchell, what if we make a movie on our iPads about our favorite book and do a retell?" 
• "Mrs. Mitchell, what if we want to take a practice test on Spelling City to help make sure we get 100% on the real test on Friday?"
• "Mrs. Mitchell, what if I finish early... can I work on an EduCreations lesson to teach my friend about vivid verbs?"  

These are questions I never would have heard if I'd been too afraid to jump off the cliff, or too afraid to take my students with me. It may be a slow, messy process... but we're all developing our wings together.