Starting with the 2015-2016 school year, York Suburban High School will be offering optional “blended” courses in several core classes and electives. A blended course will consist of three traditional classroom days and three online days per cycle.
The blended core classes, available only to seniors, are English IV (general and CP) as well as Honors History Seminar. The blended electives, however, are open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors.
Curriculum will remain the same in blended classes as normal classes but will allow students to work more independently. On the three non-traditional learning days, students will use their computers for reading, responding, writing, and researching, while their in-class experience will consist of normal classroom activities.
Those who take blended courses also have the opportunity to “wrap” the classes around each other and gain an extra study hall. For seniors, this provides early release privileges to accommodate a college course or internship.
“Education is evolving,” said principal Brian Ellis. “Technology has opened a lot of doors to independent learning.” With every student at YSHS now possessing a Chromebook, teachers are eager to discover and utilize the various educational tools available online.
The aim for this new type of learning experience is not only to help ease students into a more technology-centered education system, but to also help them become more independent with their schoolwork. For seniors, blended classes will closely resemble college courses, where there is more independent thinking and working involved.
Like any other class, a blended class is graded based upon the student’s involvement and understanding. Teachers see this as a privilege, so they expect their students to try their best to adapt to the class to the best of their ability.
As mentioned before, blended classes are optional–no one is required to take a blended course, especially if he or she does not learn well that way. Ellis recommends each student to choose classes carefully, but he also believes that students are “ready and capable [to adopt the blended classes].”
As with any new class that is introduced to the high school, there will likely be a period of adjustment for both students and teachers. With time, however, blended classes may prove to be a better learning experience for many students than their average class.
Blended classes will focus on expanding students’ day-to-day experience with technology