Case Study:
Haines High School
Independent Learning Center;
Meeting Individual Student Need via
Online Learning
Nevada Benton
Special Programs Teacher
S
What’s My Story
S Interned at CSU, Chico
S Taught 14 years of experiential education
S English at Pueblo Community College
S Fourth Grade in Metlakatla
S Haines High School
Independent Learning Center
S
History
S
S
S
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Creation
S
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Independent courses
Staff created & online
Consolidate
Striving to offer more courses, the I.L.C. was created offering a full-inclusion
environment to meet student’s graduation needs extending from dual
college/HS credit to retrieval/RTI courses.
In this presentation:
S
Learn how the program is set up, its strengths, weaknesses, cost, course
offerings and tips on setting one up of your own.
Set Up
S Why create an ILC?
S Equipment
S Staffing
S Criteria for enrollment
S Grading
S Communications
S District emails
S Surveys
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Google forms
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Edmodo
Creation of the ILC
S Offer more courses
S Differentiate instruction to meet student need
S Consolidate independent study activities
Equipment Needed
S Computers
S Room
S Online programing
Staffing:
ILC Teachers & Monitors
S Para-educators provide tech support, tutoring, classroom
management
S Teacher of record is Highly Qualified and is either a person
on our staff or a person from an online provider
Criteria for Enrollment
S Dual Credit
S All pre-requisite courses completed
S Not offered through AKLN or by the attending school
S First come basis, completion of application and decision by a
committee comprised of teacher/counselor/administration
S Student will be required to pay ½ the total amount of the
course. At course completion, student will be reimbursed that
amount
Criteria for Enrollment
S Advanced Placement
S All pre-requisites met
S Completion of application
S Decision by content specialist/counselor/administration
Criteria for Enrollment
S Credit Retrieval
S Not offered in course schedule or scheduling conflict
S Not offered by AKLN
S Decision by teacher/counselor/administration
*if the class will be offered in future semester or in following year
students that are in the junior class and below may not be allowed
to enroll. Students in grade 12 will be given priority to complete
graduation requirements
Criteria for Enrollment
S Intervention Courses
S Not offered in current course schedule
S Recommendation of teacher
Grading
S Two PowerTeacher accounts
S
Regular classes
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Streamline independent studies into one account
S Participation & Course Grades
S
Weighted
Attendance / Work Ethic Rubrics
RULES:
Student follows school and class codes of
conduct.
MATERIALS:
Student is prepared with all materials including
a planner complete with tests and assignments
due.
REQUESTS:
Student respectfully complies with requests.
WORK:
Student tries their best (works continuously
throughout class period).
QUIET:
Student works quietly throughout class period.
Classroom
Expectations
Haines Borough School
District’s code of conduct
reflects common expectations
of any work place or college
classroom.
The Independent Learning
Center is designed to be a quiet
study space similar to a tutoring
room that may be found at a
university.
CLASSROOM
EXPECTATIONS
Entering Class Lecture/
Presentation
Work Time
Respectful of
Others
Calmly enter.
Be seated before
the bell rings.
Hands off other
people’s property.
Listen attentively.
Wait for your
turn.
Have a positive
attitude.
Work quietly.
Off until allowed. Stay in your seat.
Do your share in
group projects.
Be cooperative.
Responsible
Have books and
material out and
ready to go.
Take notes.
Meet deadlines.
Focus on
learning.
Safe
Walk
Be thoughtful,
polite, and
considerate of
others.
Follow
directions.
Get help when
needed.
Do your own
work.
Mind your own
work.
Respectful of
Property
Leave desks and
chairs in place.
Prepared
Bring all
materials.
Electronics
Leaving Class
On task usage.
Return supplies.
Model digital
citizenship.
Leave calmly
when dismissed.
Feet on the floor. Keep area clean.
Write only on
what belongs to
you.
Be careful with
all electronics.
Clean up and
push chairs in.
Remain in your
seat.
Have computer
charged.
Know
expectations for
next class.
Use time wisely.
Expectations Accountability
S Edmodo
S PowerPoint & Quiz
S Participation points
HATS
As long as they are not a distraction to the learning environment they are fine.
Not in the lunch room or during the flag salute please.
Edmodo
Tips on Set Up
S Look at what you already have and start there
S Equipment
S Tech savvy staff
S Match staff talent with student need
S Choose appropriate course placements
S Start small
S Do what you can with what you have, and grow the program from
there.
Area of Need
Set Up:
Action
Brainstorm ideas for how to
initially set up an ILC for your
district or how to improve
upon what you already have in
place.
Space / Room
Staff
Equipment
/Computers
Online Coursework
What your district
already has
What your
district
needs
Cost
S Staffing
S Computers
S Curriculum
S Tuition
Staffing Costs
S ILC Para
S General Education Para approved by the board
S Entry level yearly wage: $23,101
S With benefits: $40,000
S Highly Qualified Teacher
S SPED
S Regular Ed
S Online provider
Computers
S Technology, SPED, General Budget
S 6 computers $6,000
S Individual lap top program
S Students personal computers
SPED Funding
S The percentage of students served in SPED determines
some of the funding of the ILC
S VIB Grant
Good Value Courses
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Staff created independent courses
S
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Career Ready / Key Train coursework
S
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No additional cost to district
AKLN
S
S
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No additional cost to district
Teachers on our staff create & teach courses and earn seats for our district
$150 – 250 per course
Aventa
S
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Credit recovery courses: block of 10 for $2,000
Regular and AP courses $319
S Identify what your school
already has
Costs:
Action
Brainstorm what you already
have. List needs. Think about
funding sources.
S Identify what would be needed
next to expand or better the
program
S Rank these items from most to
least important and then again
from most to least expensive.
S
This will assist in prioritizing on either
what to ask for first or if you are an
admin, what is the best way to spend
the funds available to you.
Strengths
S Demographics:
S Number and diversity of students
served
S Appeals to students
S Student survey results
S Skills for the worldwide job market
S Multiple Course Offerings &
Minimal Costs
FALL 2012
Demographics
Total number of students enrolled
33
Number of different courses offered
this semester
19
Number of students taking college
preparation courses
12
FALL 2012
Demographics
Number of students served who receive services in
Special Education
7
Number of students undertaking credit retrieval
*Students who have failed a class or transferred into
district with inadequate credits
4
Students mentioned in child study teams as having
behavior which affects his/her ability to succeed
8
Current Demographics
SPRING 2013
Total number of students who planned
on ILC enrollment
Total number of classes requested
26
Total number of students enrolled
35
Total number of classes enrolled in
25
38
Student Survey Results
Fall 2012
S 33% of the students chose to take their class in the ILC
S 50% of the students were required to take their class in the
ILC but would have chosen it anyway
S 17% of the students were required to take an ILC class and
would not have chosen to otherwise
Student Survey Results
S 69% of the students replied that they were happy with their
overall ILC experience
S 26% were neither happy nor unhappy with their overall ILC
experience
S 5% unhappy
Student Survey Results
S 71% of the students would recommend the class that they enrolled in
S 7% would not
S 41% of the students enjoyed working in the ILC because the work
could be completed at their own pace
S 29% because they found the course interesting
S 7% stated their course was too hard
S 10% stated that their course was too easy
Tech Problems, Stuck on Content : What then?
Ask the ILC Monitor or Highly Qualified Teacher
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80% of the ILC students replied
that the tech issues they had were
resolved quickly.
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84% of the ILC students replied
that the content questions they
had were answered promptly.
S
17% didn’t have any tech
problems
S
12% stated they didn’t have
content questions
S
3% indicated that they had a tech
problem which was not quickly
resolved
S
4% indicated that they had
content questions which were not
answered promptly
Learning Modality Survey
S Identify how students learn best
S Provide specific study strategies which use their strengths
Gardner’s Eight Intelligences Survey
Results
ILC Fall 2012 Learning Style Results
Nature Smart
Self Smart
People Smart
Music Smart
Number of Positive Answers
for Each Intelligence
Body smart
Picture Smart
Number Smart
Word Smart
0
5
10
15
Tips on Creating a Strong
Program
S Keep it a full inclusion environment
S Get frequent student and staff input
S Ensure that the online programing is appropriate & reaches
different types of learners
Student / District
Needs
Strengths:
Action
Brainstorm some of the
problems your district has in
terms of meeting student need.
List ways in which an ILC
could help meet the student
need.
How could an
Independent
Learning Center
meet these needs?
Course Offerings
S Online Providers
S Career Ready
S Alaska Learning Network
S Aventa K12 Learning
S More course offerings
S Governor’s Scholarship
S Differentiated instruction
S Full inclusion environment
S Consolidating staff effort /
minimize over extension
Current Online Providers
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University of Nebraska
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AKLN / e2020
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BYU
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Money Skill
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Career Ready Key Train
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Teacher Designed Individualized
Courses
Stanford Gifted & Talented
courses
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Aventa / K12
Alaska Learning Network
http://www.aklearn.net/
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Teachers on our staff create & teach courses and earn seats for our district
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Alaska’s Learning Network (AKLN) improves student achievement through
online learning and professional development opportunities by providing:
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Distance courses for students that are taught and supported by highly
qualified Alaska teachers
Professional development coaching including on-site and off site support
and training.
Resources for Alaskan educators
Coalition of all 54 Alaska School Districts managed by the AKLN
Advisory Board
Career Ready
http://education.alaska.gov/EL
earning/
S You can find a training on this free curriculum at the link
above.
S Reading, Writing and Math Remediation
S Life Skills Courses
Aventa
http://aventalearning.com/
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Credit Recovery Courses
S Alg I, II, Geometry
S Engl. I, II, III, IV
S Spanish, Health, PE
S Physical Science, Earth
Science, Biology
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Regular and AP Course List
S Extensive
Tips on Course Offerings
S Appropriately place students
S Assist them with learning how to operate in online learning
S Schedule
S Demo it before you buy it
S Training
Course
Offerings:
Action
Think of what courses you
would like to see offered at
your school. Make a list of
online course providers to
investigate.
Online
Programing in
Place
What courses or
online programs
would you like to
see used?
Weaknesses
S Online learning isn’t for everyone
S Detail HBSD ILC shortcomings
and plans for improvement
Action List: Goal to meet individual student needs
Problem
Planned Solution
Course too hard/ too easy
• Provide a wider selection of course
offerings and spend extra time
correctly placing students in courses
Low Linguistic Intelligence Results
• Provide course offerings which allow
students to show what they know
using talents from a wide variety
modalities
Keeping Costs Reasonable
• Use AKLN slots first
• Free material when appropriate
• Benton teach an AKLN course =
more free student slots
• Purchase courses with good value
Action List: Goal to meet individual student needs
Problem
Planned Solution
Adjustment to Online Learning
• Require Computer I as pre-requisite
• Handed out study strategies aligned
to student’s own preferred learning
styles
• Require students to plan out what
they will do each week accounting
for travel & other planned absences
/ course start dates
Interesting Course Work
• Switch some of the courses offered
to a more engaging and rich offering
Tips on Minimizing Weaknesses
S Do staff and student surveys
S Continually identify & take action to solve problems
Problem
Weaknesses:
Action
For districts with an
Independent Learning Center
in place, gather information
that will result the creation of
a more fine tuned learning
experience for your students.
For those of you just starting
out, remember that it is an
ongoing reflective process.
Planned Solution
LOOK FORWARD TO
IMPROVING UPON OR
CREATING YOUR
OWN ILC, OFFERING
EVEN MORE COURSES
TO YOUR STUDENTS
Thank you.
Questions?
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Contribute Your Opinion:
Special Education Burn-Out Prevention Survey
Additional resources & the survey link:
nevadabenton.com
Email me: nbenton@hbsd.net
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Take the survey to help pinpoint
some of the burn out factors specific
to Alaskan Special Education
Teachers and, most importantly,
collect great ideas which are already
in place in some of our districts.
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The focus of the survey is to collect
problem solving ideas to recruit and
retain the best and the brightest
teachers in SPED.
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The results will be posted on my
blog by March 1, 2013.
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http://transitions.nevadabenton.c
om/
References
S Northey, S., & Waterman, S. N. (2005). Handbook on
differentiated instruction for middle and high schools. Eye on
Education.