Wednesday, August 5, 2020

Unique Version Of A Hybrid Model.

We just received word that the first couple weeks of school will be distance and then around mid September we are switching to a hybrid model.  In our model, the kids will be divided into two groups so group A will attend on Monday and Tuesday while group B is in school on Wednesday and Thursday.  Then for the other days of the week, I am expected to send work home to complete and be turned in when they come back for the next class meeting.  It is possible this will change before I have to set foot in class.

The sending work home part makes our hybrid model a bit different than the usual because the normal method has some face to face mixed with an online component. The district chose to do take home because many of our students do not have enough internet to watch multiple videos or complete online activities.  Since this schools model is a bit different, I'm having to make a few adjustments to standard model.

The in person section will require me to focus on key ideas and concepts so I make sure the students have at least been exposed to the material while designing the take home assignments to be completed independently or with little help.  Consequently, I'm having to  rethink the course structure so I meet the needs of all my students while covering all the course concepts.  I also have to look at how I'm going to assess their work to meet district requirements.  

One recommendation I've seen is to allow time for collaboration in a hybrid class via discussion boards, etc but that won't work for take home.  Instead, I can divide students into pairs so they can call each other with questions or work together to complete the assignments.  In addition, I can make small adjustments to the take home part of the assignment to encourage collaboration.  For instance, I can create pairs assignment where each student has different problems but the answers are the same.  If their answers do not agree, they can work together to see where the mistakes occurred.  This type of collaboration also allows students to participate in discussions because they have to communicate the steps and where they or the other person goofed.
 
Unfortunately, my students will not get the same amount of practice in class with only two days of in person meetings so I am going to provide practice with the take home.  I am taking two different activities and modifying them for students.  The first is to write out all the steps to solve a problem but leave the numbers out so they write in the numbers and the answer.  I only put in the operations and lines between steps.  The other is to write down all the steps except the last one for a few problems, then take away one step for so I've done all but the last two, then take away one more line, and continue until they are doing the problem all by themselves.  

As far as assessment goes, I will be including some actual problems for students to do totally on their own and without my guidance via the worksheets.  It would be more like a quiz and I do not plan to record a grade unless it is done well.  If there are mistakes, I plan to return it to the student to make corrections so the grade is higher.  Those three days at home will give time for students to make corrections and turn it in.  I am thinking of asking them to identify the mistake they made in the original problem. To help with error analysis, I plan to send home problems that have been done incorrectly for students to practice on but we will do some in class at the beginning of the year so students learn how it works.  I am still working on how to give tests so I do not have to give up the limited face to face time so I might be giving take home tests or including test questions as part of the homework assignment.

I don't know how this will work but I am starting to read up on ideas of things that could easily be sent home in paper form for my students.  I am also thinking about how to have videos available for students so they have them at home.  That is one of my next things to figure out.  I'd love to hear from everyone. Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.




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