Blended Learning/Flipped Classrooms

A few years ago, during a professional development session at the language school where I taught in Brazil, one of my colleagues presented us with the concept of "Blended Learning." Shortly after that, the director put me in charge of a new High School program based on the Texas Tech University K-12 online program. This program was modified by the educational team at High School Serviços Educacionais (HSE), which is a group that has found a way to give Brazilian students the opportunity to earn an American High School diploma alongside their Brazilian one. They now work with the Mizzou K-12 program, but the concept is the same. Students study content, do projects, and take exams online, like independent study, but also meet in classrooms several times a weeks to get instructional support from a native English speaking guide. This is a "flipped classroom" type Blended Learning approach, and it is proving to be very successful in graduating students from the HSE program. This could also be a good model for students who must travel a lot, such as actors, or homeschoolers.
It could also be a good model for bilingual students in the early grades because students could have the added benefit of family support. Institutions who are designing curriculum for blended learning should consider this point and design lessons that take the home languages into account.

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