In this segment of the blended learning teacher training, Brian, Michael Horn, and several contributors discuss practical moves that make blended classrooms function effectively. They emphasize the creation of clear, systematic procedures—ranging from simple classroom organization tricks (e.g., visual cues for bookshelf order) to detailed lab entry routines and hand signals—that help students know exactly what to do and when. The conversation highlights the importance of predictable transitions between paper work and tablet use, and the need to teach students to treat devices as tools, not toys. A central theme is moving beyond proxy measures of engagement (such as whether a student’s headphones are on) toward direct evidence of learning, using software dashboards to identify students who are struggling and intervening promptly. Real‑world anecdotes illustrate how a student’s self‑reported progress on a laptop revealed genuine mastery, prompting a shift from surface observations to data‑driven insights. The speakers also describe leveraging student strengths for classroom management: assigning troubleshooting roles, using peer support, and establishing chants for quick log‑in/log‑out routines. They stress the value of brief, purposeful conversations with off‑task learners to understand their motivation and to return ownership of learning to the student. Finally, they outline the need to map out the purpose, expectations, and emotional tone of technology use—what it should look, sound, and feel like—while fostering honest feedback and empowering students to make decisions about their learning pathways.
Chapters
All teachers know that you need great systems in your classroom, even the little things. It's as if, if there's any one problem, create a system for it. I remember one of my teachers was frustrated by her bookshelf at the end of free reading time because the books were a mess. So after lots of lecturing, she finally decided to take a picture of what she wanted it to look like and post the picture on top of the bookshelf. And it essentially solved her problem. It's so simple, but if you find a structural, systematic approach, you. You can solve a lot of problems.
So blended learning teachers are coming up with great systems to make their classrooms run smoothly.
I would say, like, as far as systems go, there's not much different from a regular general ed classroom. So to say, like, the same directions apply. Like, we have signals for when they need to use the restroom. Like, we have, like, hand signals. We have, like, expectations for what you bring to class. Like we talked about in the first week of school, like, how we're going to pass out papers and what we expect you to do. I think the difference is, like, them having computers all the time and, like, how specific you need to be and, like, how important it is to teach them to, like, treat their computer with respect and like it's a tool and not a toy. We're not, like, looking up different things. Like, it's an educational resource for us while we're at school.
So the first two weeks are procedures, and that includes when they go to the computer labs. So Mrs. Sarah, who's my paraprofessional, she's going to show the kids how to walk into the lab. If they do not walk in quietly with their hands behind their back and sit down at their computer, she takes them out, lines them up, and they do it again. If they don't enter quietly, takes them back out, lines them back up. We can do this seven, eight, nine times if that's how long it's going to take. Most of the time it doesn't. And then they know. As soon as they get into the lab, Mrs. Sarah tells them she models what she wants them to do. She says, headphones on. They all put their headphones on.
Watch how smoothly it works when you have good systems for a student to know exactly what to turn in and then easily transition to working on a tablet. There's a clear theme that emerges from all these structures and systems, and it's that the teachers are creative. The teachers find solutions to the problems, and they're getting ahead of the problems. And Mapping out where we need to go.
And.
And we know that the things we've raised are just the tip of the iceberg. I'm sure at home, there's a lot of you who've already had a really great system or a structure that you've been thinking about that works really well in the blended learning setting. So we want to move that discussion onto the discussion board. So get online, post a good example of something you've seen or you think is essential, and let's vote up and down and get some really good responses bubbling to the top.
Now, there's one other idea that Brian and I have been toying with, which is that as we move to these blended learning environments, what are the right signs that we should be looking at to see if students are truly engaged in learning?
I think about this as stop measuring proxies of learning and start trying to actually measure learning. And I remember when I was running a summer pilot we've talked about with blended learning, there was a student who wasn't there the first day. So I came back the third day, and I saw this kid, and he was standing in the doorway eating an apple. And I kind of. I was an old school, like, law and order kind of principal. I went up to this kid, I was like, what are you doing in the hallway? Why are you eating an apple? Where were you day one?
And.
And he just looked at me and said, hey, slow down. I'm the top scoring kid in the class right now. And I took a breath and I said, come show me. And we walked in and he opened his laptop, and he had made more progress in his one day than everybody else had in two. So I said, go finish your apple. Right? It's like he had proven to me that he knew this material. And I could finally get inside the black box and see some indications of learning versus whether his headphones were in or whether his eyes were on the teacher the whole time.
Now, this idea of actually following the actual learning and paying attention to those signs, it's clearly not fully there yet. But the idea here is that as educators, we should start focusing on how we can move more toward actually observing signs of learning, rather than what we think of typically as engagement.
So kids get off task. As in any classroom, when I notice a kid's on. When I have noticed a kid is off task, I usually go over and ask them what they're doing. That might mean, as I'm walking over, they've just closed down the tab on what they were just doing. And we might Check the browser history or whatever. It depends on how much you actually care about that nonsense. But kids, I generally find that kids who are off task are not engaged or motivated or understand why that task is the right one for them at that moment to help them in their learning. So if you're convinced that it is the right task for them, that is the right module in Khan Academy or whatever it may be, then that's a conversation I think is worth having with the kids. And in a blended classroom, you often have the minute to three minutes it takes to have that conversation because other students are generally working hard and on task and you can get that done. It could be that that kid, particularly as you get into middle grades and high school grades, really disagrees with the task they've been assigned with them. And I try and respect that as much as possible. If that kid can articulate to me that they actually should be working on something else at that time, I generally say, sure, that works for me. And what's your plan for coming back to this and like put it back in their hands to take responsibility for coming back to that original learning.
The first move of a blended learning teacher is to explain the purpose. Before students interact with the program, they need to know the why of the program. The second move is to organize in a consistent and predictable way. So I have stations in each of my classroom where the technology is set up, where students are completely self sufficient in getting an iPad, moving to the spot on the carpet where they work on the iPads, getting a Chromebook, carrying it over to their seat, working on it there. The systems have to be predictable, have to be consistent. Third, have systems for troubleshooting. So in my classroom, I have a student who's assigned to be troubleshooting the iPads. I've seen that this student is really good at being the point person for this. Other students can go straight to her to help troubleshoot any issues before they come to me because I'm teaching a group on the carpet. So using the strengths of the students in your classroom in order to enable you to spend more time teaching.
So one of the things that most schools fail to do in a blended learning model is really look at the data that the software programs are providing. Almost all the programs can tell you these are the five kids that are in trouble right now on the software program. And I've seen cases where sometimes a teacher will let a student go three weeks with absolutely no growth. And the information was there every single day on that report that was never looked at. So we have each of our teachers or paras print out that report daily and know exactly who are the five kids I need to talk to tomorrow when they come in the lab about their performance from yesterday. That's become part of our staff culture, and it's been extremely successful at driving our achievement in blended learning and software programs. One of the most important components of using a lab or a Chromebook lab effectively is that the teacher is up and monitoring students at all times. We ask the teachers every two to three minutes to step back, scan the room, and look for behaviors that are not acceptable. You know, typically, you'll find students that may not have their headphones on when they need to have their headphones on. It's really about having your head on a swivel when you're in the computer lab, because kids will occasionally drift off and get off task. So just like in a traditional classroom, you want to be tracking the classroom at all times. We also have two different chants that we use when we're logging in and one when we're logging off so that we have a very quick transition from being on the computer to being ready to exit the lab. Another technique that's really critical to have is your blended learning program is a way to reward student performance. So we have several different awards that students can win in a week. Who grew the most? Which are the students that had the greatest improvement one week to the next.
Before students go on technology, we map out what it should look like, what it should sound like, what it should feel like. What it should look like is you are on your technology. Your eyes are on your iPad, your eyes are on your Chromebook, your hands are moving, you're interacting with the program. What it sounds like is it's quiet in the classroom, so the students on the carpet can work. What it feels like is it feels purposeful, it feels intentional. It feels like you are showing honor to the people who are learning, like you are showing love and respect. You feel happy. So mapping out the purpose and mapping out exactly what those clear expectations are is essential.
It's really important to help students understand that you're going to be honest with them. It takes a long time as a teacher to come to a place where you feel comfortable being honest with your students about what they know and what they don't know, because you're really worried that you're going to break their morale. But you have to do it. If you want to move the needle and you want to help students change the trajectory of their lives, you need to empower them with information. And so a lot about the next generation model is taking what students know and what they don't know and putting it in their hands and saying, you have the power. You have the power to decide what to do next. This is where you're at. What do you want to do? But we're going to be here with you and have that conversation alongside, and we're going to be here, and these are the tools and these are the structures that are in place so that we can support you. But I need you to understand that, like, we see what you see, and your parents see what you see, and you need to see what you see so that we can make movement.
Throughout the course of a day, found myself starting to just ask kids a lot more questions to help them come up with their own answers to things, whether that is to understand content, whether that is to understand instructions, or whether that's to, like, you know, resolve conflicts with their friends or problems they feel like they have with a teacher or another adult. I think it's. We've really tried to create this culture as much as a faculty that our job is to help kids learn how to solve their own problems. And I think it's been a great thing because I think instead of me just giving kids answers, it's really helping me push kids to come up with their own answers.
