Title: Blended Learning: 

Closing Gaps with Adaptive Digital Programs

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This publication was written by three elementary school teachers from Victor Fields Elementary in McAllen, TX. Erika Peña is a 4th-grade teacher and both Veronica Balli and Ileana Reyna are K-5 dyslexia teachers.

 

Introduction

Blended learning has revolutionized the traditional classroom by harnessing the power of technology. By implementing adaptive digital programs within a blended learning environment, educators can move away from the one size fits all approach and move toward a student-centered classroom that enhances and personalizes learning by giving students the power to pause, rewind, or fast-forward instruction based on their unique needs.

We began implementing a station-rotation blended learning model during the 2021-2022 school year with the goal of creating personalized learning opportunities for our 4th grade and Dyslexia students. Within our rotations, we integrated new adaptive digital programs that assisted in increasing motivation and closing academic gaps caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Those adaptive programs were, i-Ready for all students and Lexia Core5 for our dyslexia students. 

Online adaptive programs such as i-Ready and Lexia Core5 provide students with lessons, skill-building practice, and mastery checks based on their unique instructional levels. These online programs provide additional practice for students who struggle with certain concepts and accelerate students that are beyond grade-level material while providing educators with real-time data (Rocketship Public Schools, 2013). Teachers are then able to use this data to immediately identify learning gaps or enrichment opportunities and are able to provide teacher-led targeted small group instruction. “The result is a data-driven and student-centered classroom that honors the importance of personalizing learning to meet the unique needs of each student” (Farah, 2018). 

 

 

I-Ready in the 4th-grade Classroom

The 21-22 school year was the first time we used the i-Ready adaptive program as part of one of our blended learning station rotations in the 4th grade and within that one year alone we noticed amazing growth and engagement. 

Before beginning the program, students take a beginning-of-year diagnostic test that adapts to individual student’s responses in order to pinpoint each student's strengths and weaknesses. i-Ready then creates a personalized path for each student based on their literacy needs. Teachers are able to see real-time data for each student and are able to assign specific lessons and skills to individual students or are able to use that data to provide individualized small group instruction and interventions as needed. Students not only felt successful because they were learning at their own pace, but they were also highly engaged in the lessons and readings because they had control over their learning. 

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Based on our end-of-year i-Ready diagnostic growth report, the median percent progress towards Typical Growth for our 4th-grade students was 195%. In other words, all students grew at least one grade level, with the majority growing more than one grade level while also closing foundational gaps caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. 

One of the many success stories that come to mind is that of a boy named John*. John’s beginning of year (B.O.Y.) diagnostic initially placed him at a 1st-grade level.  Although he scored well in phonemic awareness, high-frequency words, and vocabulary, his gaps in phonics and literary comprehension affected his overall understanding and growth. With the help of i-Ready’s individualized path and our teacher-led small group interventions, we were able to close gaps and help him grow exponentially. By the end of year (E.O.Y.) diagnostics, John had shown growth in all areas and was now at a 4th-grade reading level, helping him pass his STAAR state assessment at a Meets level. 

 

Lexia Core5 in the Dyslexia Lab

Lexia Core5 was introduced to our Dyslexia students as the new blended and adaptive program for the 2021-22 school year. Lexia Core5 understands every school has different needs, so their program is developed with individualization and best practices in mind. Within just one year of implementation, our students made tremendous gains.

 

At the start of the program, each student begins with a digital auto-placement assessment, which establishes a starting point for each student at their skill level. Students then work independently in Core5 which enables educators to be facilitators and monitor student progress. Lexia alerts educators when a student needs intervention by placing a red apple on their screen. These red apples indicate that a student is struggling with a specific skill, even after receiving scaffolded and explicit instruction within the program. As facilitators, we’d observe student progress and assess if they only needed minimal guidance or differentiated intervention in a teacher-led small group lesson.

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Additionally, Lexia includes an educator platform called My Lexia which provides real-time data and differentiated, scripted lessons to use as targeted instruction. The data provided specific insight into each student’s needs, whether it was a teacher-led small group intervention lesson, enrichment activity, or extra independent time on Lexia Core5. The educator platform is like having a real-life teacher assistant that helps plan prescriptive and personalized instruction.

 

Core5 guided students to become independent learners who became invested in their learning. Progress trackers provided by Lexia and the ability to “level up” to different parts of the world, captured student engagement. Students were encouraged to take ownership of their learning and set personal goals. They, in turn, encouraged and motivated their peers. Lexia Core5 reignited our students' love for literacy by becoming the program they insisted on completing daily, even after their time in the Dyslexia lab was over. We often heard about how their success transferred from the Dyslexia Lab to their other classes and home life. For example, Jane*, one of our 5th-grade students, stood out as an excellent example of how true learning happens when Lexia Core5 and personalized instruction are used with fidelity. Jane entered our program later in the school year as a shy student with low self-esteem.  When she took Lexia’s auto-placement, it revealed she was working at a 3rd-grade reading level, two years behind her current grade level. With the assistance of Core5's prescriptive lessons, the guidance of her classroom teacher, and interventions from the Dyslexia Lab, she began to gain self-esteem and become motivated to learn. Jane was not only able to pass the 5th grade Reading STAAR test, but she passed it at the Masters level. Miss Garza, Jane’s 5th-grade reading teacher, publicly praised the success of the personalized program and her work in the Dyslexia Lab by stating,

 

“We’ve seen such a huge change in her! Thank you for helping her!” 

 

Lexia Core5 has given our Dyslexia students the opportunity to feel successful. Students were able to become independent by taking control of their learning and were gradually released from the need to be solely taught by a teacher. They understood we were there to support them and facilitate their learning, but the learning was completed independently and at their level.  Because Lexia Core5 tailors lessons to the needs of each learner,  it helped bridge the foundational gaps our Dyslexia students had even before the pandemic. So much so, that many of our Dyslexia students have grown 1-2 grade levels in reading and were also able to pass the STAAR  standardized reading test, some even at the Masters level.

 

What people are saying about i-Ready and Lexia Core5

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“Malory* always has a lot of fun things to say about her Lexia group. I have seen so much growth and her confidence is the growth that stands out the most to us. Thank you.” -Mrs. Fernandez, Malory’s mom

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“Super proud of Alyssa’s* accomplishments in the Dyslexia Lab and grateful for her awesome support team.” -Mrs. Castillo, Alyssa’s mom

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“i-Ready has helped my daughter know what her literacy level is and where she needs to improve. She enjoys the lessons and it provides scaffolding in areas in order for her to progress. She is also able to continue to excel in her strong areas. Practicing through the platform provides her the opportunity to see her advancements throughout the year.” - Mrs. Trdla, parent

 

Lessons Learned about Using Adaptive Programs in Blended Learning:

• Usage needs to be consistent. By providing a scheduled time during our blended learning station rotations, students were able to actively explore and engage in the self-paced program with fidelity, leading to tremendous growth. 

 

• Teacher-led personalized lessons should be given in a timely manner. In order to provide the needed support to close gaps and extend learning, educators should review data in real-time and provide teacher-led targeted small group instruction in a timely manner. This will help students avoid getting stuck on a specific skill or lesson which can cause frustration.  

 

• Use technology as a tool. One major lesson we learned through this experience is the importance of using technology as a tool to personalize instruction. Technology allows students to learn at their own pace, by allowing instruction to be paused, replayed, or fast-forwarded. 

 

Conclusion:

Both i-Ready and Lexia Core5 produced visible and positive transformations in our students.  Since both programs are set up to give students choice and teach them at their level, they were able to decide on their own learning path and feel successful doing so. We began to see our students’ self-esteem flourish as they become motivated learners that developed a sense of ownership in their learning. By creating this student-centered blended learning environment that incorporated adaptive digital platforms, we were able to not only personalize instruction and close learning gaps but we were also able to motivate students and reignite a love for learning.  

 

*Student names have been changed for privacy purposes.

 

References:

Farah, K. (2018, October 25). Blended learning - Getting rid of the lecture bottleneck. Edutopia. Retrieved November 22, 2021, from

 

       https://www.edutopia.org/article/getting-rid-lecture-bottleneck  

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Rocketship Public Schools. (2013, November 12). Rocketship’s innovative instructional model [Video]. Vimeo. https://vimeo.com/79236820 

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