What Drives the BLENDED LEARNING Classroom?

What Drives the Blended Learning Classroom?  Hopefully you said DATA.  Without data, the blended learning environment can not take place.  This is just a quick story on how I got a 3rd grade team onboard with using data in the classroom.  

I am currently working as blended learning coach with a third grade grade team in New Jersey.   The teachers have a great handle on third grade curriculum and what needs to be taught throughout the school year.  Therefore, the transition over to blended learning was easy except for how to use the data in classroom.  I tried to explain to them that they need to use the data to drive the classroom.  That did not really sink in with the teachers.  They felt like they were using data.  They were giving test and breaking the classroom up into groups based on the test.  

Using test data to break the students up into groups sounds good in theory but in reality, that test data was always summative not formative.  (Read this article to understand the difference between formative and summative data)  The teachers were using Achieve and Lexia as their online supplement to the blended learning classroom.  While working one on one with the teachers, we started to explore the data that was provided to the teacher through the online programs.   I remember that day very clearly, it was like a light bulb went off and the teacher finally understood the power of data. 

As a team, we started to explore the data, analyze the data, and started to group the students into groups based on the data.  The teachers now start their lesson plans with what the students need to learn, where they need to go, and celebrate where they have been. 

This 3rd Grade teacher is using data from the online programs within her classroom to break the students up into small groups.  The students are then taught the skills that they need or that they are ready to learn.