Hybrid learning: how innovative schools enable learning from anywhere
Author: Maggie Cassidy
Maggie Cassidy is one of our PLD facilitators and one of the authors on the project.
Hybrid learning is changing the face of modern education by delivering a continuous programme that’s accessible no matter where the learners are. Each school uses different systems and practices to let ākonga learn uninterrupted as they move between school and home.
Last year, The Pam Fergusson Charitable Trust observed hybrid practices at schools across Tāmaki Makaurau. Wesley Primary School|Te Kura Tuatahi o Wēteri, Tāmaki College, Greenhithe School and Te Aho o te Kura Pounamu (better known as Te Kura) all stood out for their robust learning architecture – the systems and practices they use to deliver hybrid learning.
So what does hybrid learning look like, and how can you set it up? From online learning environments to resource design, here’s how these schools put hybrid into action.
As Tāmaki College Vice Principal Russel Dunn says, “We want learning to happen no matter where you are, or when you are!”
Greenhithe ākonga Reuben, Yanxi and Max confidently self-direct their learning with Learning Slides.
Keeping Everything Together
Storing all ākonga activities and resources in one central, user-friendly online place is common hybrid practice.
At both Wēteri and Greenhithe, ākonga access learning via a weekly Google Slides presentation containing differentiated learning choices and links to external sites and resources.
“It’s essentially just putting activities that you would do into the classroom into a slideshow, so the kids can do them independently on their devices,” says Greenhithe kaiako Charlotte Pollard-Brown.
“I make sure all the bases are covered and they’ve got differentiated learning that they can do independently, which has been really big for them.”
“The great thing about hybrid learning,” says Charlotte, “is that whether I’m away or the kids are away, it doesn’t matter - it’s not a change in routine for them” to access their learning online.
“It’s just a continuation of their normal learning. When they are away, I don’t get millions of emails from parents saying, my child is bored, can you send home work? Because the kids know that everything they need is the same as what we are doing in class and they have access to it whether they are at home or school.”
Deputy Principal Russel Dunn of Tamaki College describes how with a hybrid setup, “We can be highly individualised. Those who need to go slower can get more support. And at the end of the day everyone’s needs are being met.”
Equitable access is a priority. With support from Fusion Network and government funding, Tāmaki College provides free internet for the surrounding neighbourhood. Russel says this “makes the hybrid learning possible” because when the school’s hybrid journey began in the early 2010s, many ākonga had no internet at home. “Kids were sitting around phone boxes or McDonald’s to use the internet,” he says “We’ve managed to close that gap.”
Similarly, Te Kura provides ākonga in financial need with refurbished devices and subsidised home internet access.
Senior Te Kura ākonga Sophie, Sam and Miriam appreciate the option to do hands-on courses and work experience placements.
Streamlining Online Mahi
““We can be highly individualised. Those who need to go slower can get more support. And at the end of the day everyone’s needs are being met.””
Tāmaki College is a founding member of the Manaiakalani Kāhui Ako. Russel describes how Manaiakalani was by “a group of like minded individuals who wanted to provide decile 1 communities with skills for a digital world.”
Manaiakalani’s goal is to raise student outcomes through digital technologies, media, and thoughtful teaching practice.
Russel describes the early conversations around a digital learning platform. “If we were going to bring in 1:1 devices and websites, could we have a landing page for learning that was open for the world to read, accessible to parents, so much so that parents come in and say “We know what the kids are doing, we have the calendar”? The question, he says, was “how can we design this so that our students can access anywhere in the world?
So, Manaiakalani schools designed a learner management app called Hāpara (meaning dawn), now used in over 40 countries.
Hāpara brings together information from multiple online platforms. “Google sites, blogs, slides, whatever tools that they have, you can bring it into one space.” says Russel. “So whatever the kids are creating, it’s in one place. I can find it, any teacher in the school can find it, and their parents can find it.”
Hāpara shows ākonga a dashboard with assignments from across their subjects and notifications for feedback alerts and due-date reminders. The kaiako dashboard shows each ākonga’s mahi across various apps.
Russel recalls when marking meant lugging books home: “I’m no longer chained to my crate,” he exclaims. “I’ve got all their books on my phone. So now I’m having more meaningful discussions with parents, because we can see all the learning right away and talk about the learning.”
“We are enabling the parents,” he continues. “Now they can access the kids’ learning themselves. They can ask, ‘how was that algebra lesson?’ instead of ‘what did you learn today?’ There's a more powerful conversation in that.”
Storing content online makes relief easy. Charlotte says, “That has been massive. When I’m away, I know the kids are getting quality learning.”
At Greenhithe, ākonga choice is guided by coloured ‘challenge-level’ symbols on the slides. Each activity leads to options for extensions or skill-building tasks. Max, in year 6, says, “I like the way Learning Slides are set up because they’re really easy to access and then you can just scroll down, decide what you want to do and then get on with your work.”
Using Learning Slides to choose tasks at Greenhithe.
Easy access to Hāpara from home has supported class-structure changes at Tāmaki College, starting with a trial where year 10-13 ākonga spent Mondays learning from home.
“We’ve had positive feedback from the young people,” says Russel “Honest feedback. Some missed the structure of the school day. Some appreciated the flexibility. Some students were doing a p-tech programme so they were at MIT on Mondays, and we started running Gateway and STAR courses on Mondays as well.”
“We’ve since brought our year 10s back in but the seniors continue to work from home on Mondays. Some of them come in to do mentoring with young people. Those who work part time can pick up extra shifts on Mondays. It’s going to prepare them really well for study when they are beyond school. This will give them the skills to work in that environment.”
This setup is enabling ākonga to stay in school longer than they used to. “The thing our students value most is family,” says Russel. “For families with an average income of $19 000 per annum, the struggle is real. And young people have given up on their learning to work and support their family. Generations have had to give up on their dreams to pursue a job or just to get by.”
“It’s tough … they have to support their family in times of crisis but they also have this burning desire to be better than before. So if they can log on anytime instead of being stuck within school hours, that’s how we can help them stay on the journey because at the end of the day we want them to get into higher-paying employment. Kids are accessing learning at 4 in the morning, they come back from a night shift and do a bit of work. They can because we've enabled it.”
“We can support you and your family with higher wages, that’s the aspiration.”
Wēteri ākonga know where to find all of their learning activities on a class site.
Learn, Create, Share
Also in the Manaiakalani network, Wēteri Primary School uses Manaiakalani’s “learn, create, share” pedagogy “as a basis for our students to take ownership over their learning,” says Sam Bound. “You don’t always have to start with the “learn,” you can start with the “create” and from the create hands-on experiences the students learn from that and are empowered to share their learning back.”
Ākonga blog to share their learning and gather feedback from their whānau and community.
The key is that ākonga choose what they share, and the pride they take in sharing motivates them to learn and create.
“It’s a really nice framework for the kids and really culturally responsive to our students,” says Sam. Financial support for device access at home means everyone can blog from home, and some even blog during the summer.
Ākonga at Wēteri co-constructed their learning programme each term. “We have student-led inquiries each term, where the students get the opportunity to find their passion and lead a project on that. We’re currently doing rubbish cleanups and looking at pollution. We really want to broaden their experiences according to what they want to do.” She says it’s key “for them to see those pathways are available to them and that nothing is impossible if they have an interest and passion.”
Ideas from ākonga are regularly brought to fruition, such as the iconic Kea News broadcast “where they capture snippets from the week that they’re excited to share with their whānau and the wider community.”
Tamariki even helped design furniture for the school’s new building, which was in process at the time of the interview. “We have the new build coming, and at the moment the students have been really involved in that process, designing furniture that they would like to take across to the new build.”
Elements of a successful setup
Together, these schools demonstrate key ingredients for hybrid learning.
First is a user-friendly online learning environment which is accessible for ākonga and whānau. Hands-on learning is a key component, and team teaching and planning facilitate adaptable programmes.
Most importantly, successful hybrid programmes value ākonga input.
This article is part of a three-part series detailing findings from case studies on future-focused education practices in Tāmaki Makaurau, conducted by the Pam Fergusson Charitable Trust with support from Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga, Aotearoa’s Ministry of Education. Access the full project at https://omgtech.co.nz/future-of-learning