Welcome to the Modern Classrooms Project Podcast. Each week we bring you discussions with educators on how they use blended, self-paced, and mastery-based learning to better serve their students. In this episode, Toni Rose is joined by Grace James’s principal, Ms. Ronda Cosby and five of her 7th-grade GEMS (Girls Excelling in Math and Science), Anasia, Monica, Hailey, Natalie, and Nicole to discuss the impact of blended-learning, self-paced structure, and mastery-based learning in their learning journeys. 

Educators are often curious about the impact of a blended learning, self-paced structure, and mastery-based learning environments while also worried that this type of learning isn’t effective for their specific group of learners. Implementing a new instructional model will require lots of grace, patience, practice, and support from administrators and other school leaders. We also know that learners’ voices and feedback improve both teaching and learning practices. Learn more from Ms. Cosby and her 7th graders’ experiences on how they implemented the model and how it’s changed their learning experience. 

Impact on Learning Experience

Anasia, Monica, Hailey, Natalie, and Nicole all agreed that a blended-learning, self-paced structure, and mastery-based learning model made them more aware of what kind of learner they are and provided them the time to process the skill / conceptualize what they are learning in class. 

One student stated, “So when you have self-paced learning, everybody can work at a different pace and it's more efficient for each person.” 

The model teaches students to value their time and other classmates’ time. Students felt like they were no longer inconveniencing or holding back their other classmates if they don’t understand the concept just yet. With this model, they have different venues on how to understand a skill or concept. 

Another student shared, “For me, if I don't understand it myself, I can ask a peer, I can ask my teacher for support and if I don't get it, I can watch the videos for help and support, or the three before me method and help share other content. If I don't understand it, or if I understand it and my peer doesn't understand it, to help them understand it.” 

Students learn to embrace revisions and disrupt the perfectionist mindset. Mistakes are to be analyzed and learned from rather than avoided or evoking shame: “And even if for the mastery check the first time I don't get it, I can fill out the form and understand, okay, this is why I didn't get it and didn't try it again.” 

Shift from traditional learning to blended-learning, self-paced, and mastery-based learning

Anasia, Monica, Hailey, Natalie, and Nicole came to a consensus that shifting from passive learning to active learning was a challenge. One student admitted that they struggled with time management and had a short attention span as a 6th grader, but eventually improved as time went on. She’s got a better handle on it as a 7th grader. They also discussed how in traditional learning, their teachers took the lead of their learning. Teachers held their hand as they learned or they had to pay attention right there and then or else they’d miss out on information.

It was a rough shift, yet it was a shift they never thought they needed or wanted since it now invites them to be part of the planning process, to actively learn and engage with the skill / conceptualize their learning: “And I prefer it because I get a voice in what I'm learning, I get a voice in how they're teaching it, or I prefer them showing me as a group, or if I prefer as myself. And it gave me a better chance to understand which learning environment I prefer better.”

When it comes to instructional videos, students really loved being able to reuse the videos to remind them of what the skill / concept is or to see if there’s anything else that they missed previously: “So even if I used to watch the video in the past week, if I see an upcoming question that I know was about that video, I can just go back and then look at that video to see if there's something that I missed or something I can use from that video.”

“Little Taste of Reality”

We asked our students their thoughts on our model impacting their future, and they all honed in on independence. With this model, they’re able to be self-directed learners and practice their independence. They named that nobody will be there to remind them of every little thing they need to do to be successful, and that they are the driver of their learning journeys: “I think Modern Classroom gives you that little taste of reality on getting your work turned in and just staying on top of your work. I think that the Modern classroom will help you in the future because it helps you learn a little bit about yourself, like what works best for you. If you know that you like to slack off and like to put other things before your work, then it just helps you realize, okay, this is how I learned. This is what's going to make me more efficient.”

The self-awareness that these students had is one of the many skills that they learned with a blended, self-paced, and mastery-based learning environment. 

Our students have spoken. They acknowledged that it is a rough shift from traditional learning to a more innovative way of learning, but it has also made them more aware as human beings and students. They want educators to know that students are capable of learning this way as long educators genuinely believe in their students and provide the proper supports and patience along the way: 

“Because I feel like when people say they feel like a student can't transition between traditional and modern, it's because they're thinking back on like, how they grew up and how they were taught and not looking from the perspective of younger generations. Yes, like she was saying, like, it's a different time now. You have to think, okay, it's a different time, we're learning differently. And it's kind of giving. You don't have no hope in this. So it's like, what's the point if you want to be an educator if you're not actually trying to educate someone and get different chances and different opportunities in learning and showing different ways you can learn and just giving them, okay, it's a different time now. Ways have changed.”

Learn more about Grace M. James Academy of Excellence.

For more tips on launching your own Modern Classroom, or for introducing this instructional model to your students, read this blog article!

Our Host

Toni Rose (she/they) strives to be the teacher that she never had growing up. She knew that she always wanted to be a teacher when she was little, and because of her love for reading and writing and struggles of learning English as a Filipinx immigrant, she became an English teacher. Toni Rose focuses on anti-racist, anti-bias work and wants to create a safe space for everyone around her. She especially loves being a thought partner for teachers. Toni Rose has taught in Atlanta, Baltimore City, DC, and currently resides in Washington state. 

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