Flex model of learning

Last updated

The flex model is a method of teaching for students who are non-traditional learners. Learning material and instructions are given online and the lessons are self-guided. [1] The teacher is available on-site. The students work independently and learn to develop and create new concepts in a digital environment. They work in computer labs most of the time. The schedules of learning modalities are customized individually and the teacher-of-record is on-site. Though most of the instructions are given online, the face-to-face support as needed by the student is given by the teacher-of-records and adults through activities such as group projects, small group instruction and individual tutoring. [2] This model provides the students a flexible learning environment. They are free to arrive and leave the learning premises within the given timing of the day. The teacher in this model acts as a mentor and give equal importance in delivering the proper instruction to the students. [3]

Contents

Reception

Flex learning has been shown to have a number of potential advantages and disadvantages for students. Some advantages of flex learning include the ability for students to carry out the learning process at their own pace. [4] their attention may be held better, [5] credit accumulation during the course of learning is facilitated, and the ability for schools to operate at a lower cost compared to alternative schools.

Some disadvantages of flex learning include the demand for larger spaces and many devices, [6] and for students to have reliable access to digital devices and fast internet. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually involved correspondence courses wherein the student corresponded with the school via mail. Distance education is a technology-mediated modality and has evolved with the evolution of technologies such as video conferencing, TV, and the Internet. Today, it usually involves online education and the learning is usually mediated by some form of technology. A distance learning program can either be completely a remote learning, or a combination of both online learning and traditional offline classroom instruction. Other modalities include distance learning with complementary virtual environment or teaching in virtual environment (e-learning).

Instructional scaffolding is the support given to a student by an instructor throughout the learning process. This support is specifically tailored to each student; this instructional approach allows students to experience student-centered learning, which tends to facilitate more efficient learning than teacher-centered learning. This learning process promotes a deeper level of learning than many other common teaching strategies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Problem-based learning</span> Learner centric pedagogy

Problem-based learning (PBL) is a student-centered pedagogy in which students learn about a subject through the experience of solving an open-ended problem found in trigger material. The PBL process does not focus on problem solving with a defined solution, but it allows for the development of other desirable skills and attributes. This includes knowledge acquisition, enhanced group collaboration and communication.

Blended learning or hybrid learning, also known as technology-mediated instruction, web-enhanced instruction, or mixed-mode instruction, is an approach to education that combines online educational materials and opportunities for interaction online with physical place-based classroom methods.

Collaborative learning is a situation in which two or more people learn or attempt to learn something together. Unlike individual learning, people engaged in collaborative learning capitalize on one another's resources and skills. More specifically, collaborative learning is based on the model that knowledge can be created within a population where members actively interact by sharing experiences and take on asymmetric roles. Put differently, collaborative learning refers to methodologies and environments in which learners engage in a common task where each individual depends on and is accountable to each other. These include both face-to-face conversations and computer discussions. Methods for examining collaborative learning processes include conversation analysis and statistical discourse analysis.

A learning management system (LMS) is a software application for the administration, documentation, tracking, reporting, automation, and delivery of educational courses, training programs, materials or learning and development programs. The learning management system concept emerged directly from e-Learning. Learning management systems make up the largest segment of the learning system market. The first introduction of the LMS was in the late 1990s. Learning management systems have faced a massive growth in usage due to the emphasis on remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Online school</span> School that teaches students entirely or primarily online or through the Internet

An online school teaches students entirely or primarily online or through the Internet. It has been defined as "education that uses one or more technologies to deliver instruction to students who are separated from the instructor and to support regular and substantive interaction between the students. Online education exists all around the world and is used for all levels of education. This type of learning enables the individuals to earn transferable credits, take recognized examinations, and advance to the next level of education over the Internet.

Educational technology is the combined use of computer hardware, software, and educational theory and practice to facilitate learning. When referred to with its abbreviation, "EdTech," it often refers to the industry of companies that create educational technology. In EdTech Inc.: Selling, Automating and Globalizing Higher Education in the Digital Age, Tanner Mirrlees and Shahid Alvi (2019) argue "EdTech is no exception to industry ownership and market rules" and "define the EdTech industries as all the privately owned companies currently involved in the financing, production and distribution of commercial hardware, software, cultural goods, services and platforms for the educational market with the goal of turning a profit. Many of these companies are US-based and rapidly expanding into educational markets across North America, and increasingly growing all over the world."

Technology integration is defined as the use of technology to enhance and support the educational environment. Technology integration in the classroom can also support classroom instruction by creating opportunities for students to complete assignments on the computer rather than with normal pencil and paper. In a larger sense, technology integration can also refer to the use of an integration platform and application programming interface (API) in the management of a school, to integrate disparate SaaS applications, databases, and programs used by an educational institution so that their data can be shared in real-time across all systems on campus, thus supporting students' education by improving data quality and access for faculty and staff.

"Curriculum integration with the use of technology involves the infusion of technology as a tool to enhance the learning in a content area or multidisciplinary setting... Effective technology integration is achieved when students can select technology tools to help them obtain information on time, analyze and synthesize it, and present it professionally to an authentic audience. Technology should become an integral part of how the classroom functions—as accessible as all other classroom tools. The focus in each lesson or unit is the curriculum outcome, not the technology."

Computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) is a pedagogical approach wherein learning takes place via social interaction using a computer or through the Internet. This kind of learning is characterized by the sharing and construction of knowledge among participants using technology as their primary means of communication or as a common resource. CSCL can be implemented in online and classroom learning environments and can take place synchronously or asynchronously.

Self access language learning centers are educational facilities designed for student learning that is at least partially, if not fully self-directed. Students have access to resources ranging from photocopied exercises with answer keys to computer software for language learning. These centers are an outgrowth of a style of learning that can go by several names: learner-centered approach, learner autonomy or self-directed learning. These centers exist primarily in Asia, Europe and North America. Use of such facilities and the pedagogical theory they are based upon has its advantages and disadvantages. Proper use can result in a feeling of empowerment and better learning outcomes, but getting to the point where students and teachers can exploit them effectively can be problematic. For this reason, the structure of established self access centers varies from completely student-directed work with classroom immersion to programs that provide primarily tutor or instructor guidance for student work•

Online tutoring is the process of tutoring in an online, virtual, or networked, environment, in which teachers and learners participate from separate physical locations. Aside from space, participants can also be separated by time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Differentiated instruction</span> Framework or philosophy for effective teaching

Differentiated instruction and assessment, also known as differentiated learning or, in education, simply, differentiation, is a framework or philosophy for effective teaching that involves providing all students within their diverse classroom community of learners a range of different avenues for understanding new information in terms of: acquiring content; processing, constructing, or making sense of ideas; and developing teaching materials and assessment measures so that all students within a classroom can learn effectively, regardless of differences in their ability. Differentiated instruction means using different tools, content, and due process in order to successfully reach all individuals. Differentiated instruction, according to Carol Ann Tomlinson, is the process of "ensuring that what a student learns, how he or she learns it, and how the student demonstrates what he or she has learned is a match for that student's readiness level, interests, and preferred mode of learning." According to Boelens et al. (2018), differentiation can be on two different levels: the administration level and the classroom level. The administration level takes the socioeconomic status and gender of students into consideration. At the classroom level, differentiation revolves around content, processing, product, and effects. On the content level, teachers adapt what they are teaching to meet the needs of students. This can mean making content more challenging or simplified for students based on their levels. The process of learning can be differentiated as well. Teachers may choose to teach individually at a time, assign problems to small groups, partners or the whole group depending on the needs of the students. By differentiating product, teachers decide how students will present what they have learned. This may take the form of videos, graphic organizers, photo presentations, writing, and oral presentations. All these take place in a safe classroom environment where students feel respected and valued—effects.

A virtual learning environment (VLE) in educational technology is a web-based platform for the digital aspects of courses of study, usually within educational institutions. They present resources, activities, and interactions within a course structure and provide for the different stages of assessment. VLEs also usually report on participation and have some level of integration with other institutional systems. In North America, VLEs are often referred to as Learning Management Systems (LMS).

Multi-age classrooms or composite classes are classrooms with students from more than one grade level. They are created because of a pedagogical choice of a school or school district. They are different from split classes which are formed when there are too many students for one class – but not enough to form two classes of the same grade level. Composite classes are more common in smaller schools; an extreme form is the one-room school.

The gradual release of responsibility (GRR) model is a structured method of pedagogy centred on devolving responsibility within the learning process from the teacher to the learner. This approach requires the teacher to initially take on all the responsibility for a task, transitioning in stages to the students assuming full independence in carrying it out. The goal is to cultivate confident learners and thinkers who are capable of handling tasks even in areas where they have not yet gained expertise.

The rotation model of learning involves the traditional face-to-face learning with online learning. In this, the time schedule is divided and fixed between these two processes or it runs on the teacher's discretion for a given course. The classroom kids usually monitors both the face-to-face and online learning, and the online learning takes place on a one-to-one basis. Students rotate across online learning, small group instruction and pencil-pen assignments. This model includes four sub-models:

  1. Station rotation: a rotation model in which for a given course or the subject, the student rotates on a fixed schedule or at teacher's discretion one online learning station to another which might be activities such as small group instruction, group projects, and individual tutoring. It differs from individual-rotation model.
  2. Lab-rotation model: The student rotates to a brick and mortar computer lab for online learning station.
  3. Flipped-classroom model: In this, the students rotate on a fixed schedule or at a teacher's discretion across the classroom learning and online learning after the school hours. The online learning acts as a primary source for the content to be taught in the next day's class.
  4. Individual-rotation model: In this rotation model, the teacher sets individual timing for the students for rotation among different learning modalities. It differs from other rotation models as the student doesn't have to rotate to each available station.

The self-blended model of learning is a model of blended learning in which students take self-directed online courses in addition to their traditional face-to-face learning. It differs from blended learning models in which teachers assign online content and resources, since in self-blended learning it is the students who direct their own online learning. It is a highly flexible model that allows for advanced students to take classes with increased specialization, and for students who have fallen behind in subjects to catch up on fundamentals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Passive learning</span> Learning method

Passive learning is a method of learning or instruction where students receive information from the instructor and internalize it. It is a method "where the learner receives no feedback from the instructor". The term is often used together with direct instruction and lecturing, with passive learning being the result or intended outcome of the instruction. This style of learning is teacher-centered and contrasts to active learning, which is student-centered, whereby students take an active or participatory role in the learning process, and to the Socratic method where students and instructors engage in cooperative argumentative dialogue. Passive learning is a traditional method utilized in factory model schools and modern schools, as well as historic and contemporary religious services in churches (sermons), mosques, and synagogues.

Language MOOCs are web-based online courses freely accessible for a limited period of time, created for those interested in developing their skills in a foreign language. As Sokolik (2014) states, enrolment is large, free and not restricted to students by age or geographic location. They have to follow the format of a course, i.e., include a syllabus and schedule and offer the guidance of one or several instructors. The MOOCs are not so new, since courses with such characteristics had been available online for quite a lot of time before Dave Cormier coined the term 'MOOC' in 2008. Furthermore, MOOCs are generally regarded as the natural evolution of OERs, which are freely accessible materials used in Education for teaching, learning and assessment.

References

  1. Horn, Michael B.; Staker, Heather (2017-11-06). Blended: Using Disruptive Innovation to Improve Schools. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 46–47. ISBN   978-1-119-41329-5.
  2. "BLENDED LEARNING 101" (PDF). aspirepublicschools.org. 2013-07-22. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-02-26. Retrieved 2015-09-19.
  3. "Blending Learning" (PDF). www.inacol.org. Archived from the original on 2015-09-15. Retrieved 2015-09-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. Priya, J. Johnsi; Gowrishankar, M. "Blended Learning Approach: Significance of Flex and Self-Blend Models" (PDF). Constructivism in Teaching and Learning: 178–195.
  5. Sukumaran, Sangita (2018). "Flex-learning - Online or face to face - Learners' freedom of choice" (PDF). Global Bioethics Enquiry. 6 (1): 28–32.
  6. "Model 1: ROTATION A. Station-Rotation model" (PDF). charterschoolconference.com. Archived from the original on 2015-09-26. Retrieved 2015-09-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  7. Carillo, Franklin John. "Rewards and Drawbacks of Flexible Learning: The Case of Students in Public Higher Education Institution". Edukasiana Jurnal Inovasi Pendidikan: 342–352.