Mastery Charter Schools: Problem of Practice on a Culturally Relevant Blended Learning Model
Mastery Charter Schools interviewed a range of teachers and students to identify opportunities to improve teaching and learning. From those conversations, they identified: the need for students to more actively own their learning (versus relying on a standard teacher-centric classroom), for newly procured technology to be used in a way that would broaden students’ experiences, and for the approach to teaching and learning to more deeply embed their network commitment to anti-racism. After reviewing themes from the interviews, the team summarized a key problem of practice: “How might we build a blended learning model that fosters achievement and independence in our high school students?”
This problem statement challenged the team to find solutions that empower each student and support their development in academics and beyond (including cognitive and social-emotional skills); importantly, it did this with an explicit focus on cultural relevance and anti-racism. This problem statement also required the team to think about how technology – an inherently adaptable tool – could be used to individualize the learning experience.