5 Biggest Pitfalls of Blended Learning

Whether you’re deciding to implement blended learning at your school or you’ve decided to take the plunge already, there are pitfalls to consider and avoid when doing so. In this blog, we’re discussing the pitfalls of blended learning and giving tips on what can be done to avoid them.

So when we’re considering the five biggest pitfalls of blended learning, there are some things you shouldn’t do when implementing a model at your school. Here we explain the five pitfalls and what you can do, as a principal, teacher or Head of Academics, to avoid and anticipate them. Let’s discuss them.

1. Not preparing a timeline with goals

The first point is not being prepared with a goal or timeline, which is the most important point. To make a blended learning strategy successful, you need to set specific and measurable goals with timelines for the blended learning model so everyone knows where they need to be and how they’re going to get there.

By doing this, you can look back and reflect on your plan and identify any areas where intervention is needed or perhaps where different techniques may be needed. These conversations and insights are valuable and can be done with a solid plan.

2. Not planning or preparing your team properly

The next point is not preparing your team properly. It’s not enough to just say “we’re going to do blended learning today”. You need specific goals and timelines and to ensure your whole team knows how blended learning should work and to train them on it.

So when we look back, you must not only outline the plan and consider any nuances specific to your school, but train your team properly on it too to make sure they know about it and have what they need. By making sure of this, you’ll be able to think ahead and see anything else you need to consider.

3. Not having the proper curriculum for your blended learning

One other point is to make sure that the blended learning model you’re implementing supports a high-quality curriculum. You must ensure that content you have is not only engaging but linked to a curriculum and allows you to gain reporting in real time so you can easily adjust your teaching technique if necessary.

So now you’ve got a set of goals to follow for your implementation, a timeline and training for your teachers, we’re ready to get going. Everyone is excited to start and knows the outcomes. Now we’re going to give them a high-quality curriculum to start this too. Now it’s piecing itself together and we can implement this with more conviction.

4. Not getting stakeholder buy-in

It’s important that you let everyone in your school know why you’re implementing this model and its benefits. Having everybody on the same wavelength where they know why you’re doing this and what the outcomes are is essential, so you can all be in it together and can explain why these new techniques are crucial to creating 21st century learners.

With this point, we’re seeing how this is all resulting in a successful implementation. We’re sure you know what the fifth point will be though.

5. Not choosing the right blended learning model

Selecting the right model is important too, so when you do, make sure you think about your staff and their experiences with technology and how you want it for your students to be successful. This is important in making a firm decision about the right model for you.

If you know you have some anomalies in your plan, such as students who are maybe outside your curriculum, then that’s great in narrowing down what type of model will work, and it’s okay not to have the same model in your school. It’s mainly important to give your staff the appropriate training for it to be successful – by doing this, the model or models will take care of themselves.

It’s worth considering all these points to make your blended learning successful for both students and teachers. If you have any questions, please get in touch with the team by emailing international@edmentum.com.

Find out some ideas on how you can create a blended learning classroom! Or check out this useful webinar: Blended Learning with EducationCity