Innosight Institute today released the report “Classifying K-12 blended learning,” which defines the emerging phenomenon of mixing online learning into brick-and-mortar schools.
According to the report, blended learning is defined as a formal education program in which a student learns at least in part through online delivery of content and instruction with some element of student control over time, place, path and pace, and at least in part at a supervised brick-and-mortar location away from home.
Innosight is a non-profit think tank co-founded by Professor Clayton Christensen of Harvard Business School. The white paper is co-authored by Innosight Institute Senior Education Research Fellow Heather Staker and Executive Director of Education Michael B. Horn. It identifies the four models of blended learning and provides working examples from schools including KIPP LA Empower Academy, Rocketship Education and Carpe Diem. It also identifies several new sub-models, including the Flipped Classroom and Station Rotation.
“Today, more than four million students are participating in some kind of formal online learning program, often blended into the traditional schoolhouse,” said Staker. “Our hope is to advance a common language around blended learning that will help educators frame the issues and not talk past each other, since language should not be the bottleneck to innovation.”
The paper refines the definitions and models Innosight Institute introduced last year in their research papers “The rise of K-12 blended learning” and “The rise of K-12 blended learning: Profiles of emerging models.” Following the release of these reports, the authors sought feedback from roughly 100 education experts and 80 organizations, which informed the revised definition and taxonomy.
To read the full report, visit: www.innosightinstitute.org/classifying-k-12-blended-learning/.
Innosight Institute has also created an online database of public profiles of organizations that are delivering K-12 blended learning. Visit the following link to add or update an organization’s profile: http://www.innosightinstitute.org/media-room/publications/blended-learning/.
