The Power of Culture

According to Horn and Staker in their book, Blended: Using Disruptive Innovation to Improve Schools (2015), and numerous blog posts on the topic, establishing a strong school and classroom culture is crucial to implementing a successful blended learning model.  It's only natural that I would spend some time analyzing my current school and classroom cultures prior to implementing any form of blended learning into my own classroom.

Healthy School Culture

At some point during the 2018-19 school year, my school's administrators decided to begin each Administrative Team Meeting (once per week) with "Toast" Moments.  These are celebrations of any kind - school, classroom, students, personal, family, etc.  Anything "toastable" could be shared.  I noticed that at the start, teachers seemed hesitant to share things that were not school-related.  Like it was taboo or cliche somehow to share something of personal nature.  But as time went on, the "Toast" Moments because a wide mix of shareable celebrations.  I noticed a shift in attitude amongst myself and teammates.  Going to our team meetings no longer seemed like such a downer.  We were all excited to start by hearing what was exciting in each other's lives.  

The rest of the meeting continued on smoothly because we were all in a celebratory, good mood.  As Horn and Staker (2015) describe when quoting a friend they observed, "The celebration is based on research that shows that teachers - and anyone for that matter - will meet more productively if they feel celebrated and appreciated by or connected with their coworkers" (p. 253).  With our team meetings being at the end of our day, it gives us something to look forward to, instead of something to dread.

Room for Improvement

While a school can have a healthy, positive culture, it can also have some areas needing improvement.  I see this within my school's Leadership Team.  The team meets monthly to discuss any changes or upcoming plans that will need attention at our school.  Ideas are brought to the table, but ultimately, the decisions are continuously made by the same one or two people on the Leadership Team.  Knowing that discussions and new ideas may have very little bearing on the final decision, many team members feel that their presence and motivation has been weakened to a point of, "Why bother?"  There is little drive left to push for what they believe in.  This translates to a lower moral and many of my coworkers who are not on the Leadership Team can sense what it going on.  It's creating a negative atmosphere, when they opposite should be happening. 

In an effort to make a change, I think the people who are a part of the Leadership Team should change yearly, or at least have the opportunity for greater rotation of members.  There could be an application and interview process, or perhaps members need to be nominated by coworkers.  Regardless of the process, by rotating out the members, there would be a greater opportunity for people to feel that their voice was heard.

Culture in the Blended Learning Environment

In order to have a successful blended learning model, a classroom culture that supports technology integration is needed.  Students need to know their limits and expectations, but they also don't want to be harped on.  I came across an article, How to Grow a Classroom Culture That Supports Blended Learning, written by a high school teacher in California, Esther Wojcicki.  Esther describes an acronym she created to help her establish a strong classroom culture that helps her facilitate a thriving blended learning environment.  I found her acronym, TRICK, to be particularly insightful and accurate.

               T = Trust

               R = Respect

                I = Independence

               C = Collaboration

               K = Kindness

Early in the year, boundaries and expectations are established, but ultimately, it comes down to showing that you, as the teacher, trusts the students.  You trust them to learn, to take action, and help each other through the process.  You need to have sincere respect for your students in order for them to show it in return.  Students need to be respected as individuals and know that you have set high standards for them to achieve.  Encouraging independence in a blended learning classroom can involve having students create their own research questions or topics, things they want to learn more about and investigate; rather than waiting for the teacher to provide all the details for them.  I feel that collaboration comes a the top of the list for classroom culture.  Working together as a united team helps students feel successful and provides them with feedback and encouragement, which in turn aids the trust, respect, and kindness.  Finally, as Ether points out, "kindness is self-evident."  If a student feels safe in a classroom because their teacher is kind, they will want to learn.

Creating a culture that works and fosters the appropriate environment for blended learning doesn't come easy, but it can be achieved with dedication and understanding that there may need to be some changes along the way.  With the right people on board, we can make it happen!