This course is designed to support leaders, instructional coaches, and teacher leaders who are advocating for blended learning at their campus and district.
Build upon the foundation of the first UTeach blended learning course in order to help you support your blended learning teachers.
The Blended Learning Coaching and Collaboration course focuses on:
- Implementation and support of best blended learning practices.
- Integration of effective technology to achieve student-centered outcomes.
- Observation and feedback of blended learning classrooms.
Collaboration opportunities through online discussions and synchronous Zoom sessions are an integral and required part of this course.
The Texas Education Agency will reimburse Texas school districts and open enrollment charter schools (local education agencies) for UTeach Blended Learning professional development through August 2023.
Prerequisite: Completion of Foundations of Blended Learning
Course length: 12 weeks
CPE hours: 20 hours
Module 1 Creating a Culture for Blended Learning (4 hours)
In this first module, you will create a foundation from which you can build your blended learning initiative. We will review focused research and discuss the purpose of blended learning, blended learning coaching, and vocabulary. To prepare to coach and observe your teachers, you need to have a fluid and concrete grasp of best blended learning practices to emulate, communicate, and reinforce. Share ideas with course participants in the discussion board and collaborative Zoom session.
- Research, reflect, and share why blended learning is important in your district.
- Summarize the findings of your research on best practices for coaching and supporting blended learning educators.
- Review the coaching cycle and determine how best to start using this resource in your role as a blended learning coach.
T-TESS Connection: Planning, Domain 1
Module 2 Implementation and Support of Best Blended Learning Practices (6 hours, GT credit eligible)
This module continues to build upon how you will implement and support blended learning in your district. You will reflect on your district’s vision for blended learning, review the blended learning models and strategies introduced in the Foundations of Blended Learning course, and determine which models and strategies will be the focus of your work as a blended learning coach. You will also consider what resources your teachers need and how will you hold them accountable for implementation of blended learning. An integral part of the module is sharing ideas with course participants in the discussion board and collaborative Zoom session.
- Reflect upon the vision other blended learning districts have proposed and consider how your district’s results will impact your coaching strategy.
- Outline relevant blended learning models and strategies for your district and suggest how your learning management system (LMS) will support them.
- Describe how blended learning will look in your district’s classrooms, as well as resources that teachers will need for implementation, based upon the UTeach list of blended learning components and strategies.
- Determine how you will hold teachers accountable for implementing your district’s blended models and strategies.
T-TESS Connection: Instruction, Domain 2
Module 3 Integration of Effective Technology to Achieve Student-Centered Outcomes (5 hours)
This module challenges you to reflect upon the purposeful use of technology in the personalized blended learning classroom. Your role as coach and leader is to support teachers to make the best technology choices. Reflect upon the technology tools your district uses, and consider how teachers can use the tools for blended learning with identified outcomes and not simply technology integration. An integral part of the module is sharing ideas with course participants in the discussion board and collaborative Zoom session.
- Rank the most important purposes of technology use in blended learning classrooms for your district.
- Describe specific technology applications your district uses and consider what the technology is used for, how it is implemented with students, and what the expected outcomes are.
- Reflect upon the appropriate use of instructional videos for teaching and learning.
- Address how you will support teachers with development of self-paced, personalized classrooms.
T-TESS Connection: Learning Environment, Domain 3
Module 4 Blended Learning Observations (5 hours)
This module provides support for conducting classroom observations of blended learning teachers. Throughout this module, participants will review the UTeach Blended Learning Checklist and the Raising Blended Learners Student Experiences Implementation Continuum, create SMART goals for blended learning observations, discuss how best to utilize Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) to accomplish blended learning goals, and develop a Blended Learning Coaching and Collaboration Action Plan. An integral part of the module is sharing ideas with course participants in the discussion board and collaborative Zoom session.
- Reflect upon your past experiences with teacher observations.
- Research blended learning observation tools and draft an observation tool that would be most effective for your district.
- Plan your blended learning observations using SMART goals and create an infographic demonstrating your plan.
- Discuss how you will use PLCs to accomplish your blended learning observation goals.
- Design your blended learning coaching Action Plan.
T-TESS Connection: Professional Practices and Responsibilities, Domain 4