‘Blended learning’ growing in popularity

The Volcano School of Arts &Sciences, a kindergarten to eighth-grade state public charter school, is adding a “blended learning” pilot program next year.

The term “blended learning” — a concept growing in popularity nationwide — traditionally entails a mix of face-to-face instruction with online learning. Students enrolled in Volcano’s Kula ‘Amakihi Community-Based Education Program will receive a blend of home-based, experiential and online learning, coupled with weekly face-to-face time with a licensed teacher, school Education Director Kalima Cayir said.

Volcano will cap the program at 30 students the first year, in grades one to eight. The school’s also hiring a teacher to oversee the program.

Kula ‘Amakihi is open to any student currently enrolled at Volcano or not. But school officials hope it particularly appeals to nearby students who are currently homeschooled. In the past, Volcano has found homeschooled students who later choose to enroll at the school often perform below the grade level of other students in core subjects.

“Once they enroll, they’re no longer homeschooled kids but they will be doing most of their learning at home or in the home environment, just not physically on campus,” Cayir said. “We’re blending the home environment … looking at what the home environment has to offer.”

Blended learning is a concept growing in popularity statewide. The state Department of Education has pushed various technology programs, tools and initiatives at schools in recent years, including a technology pilot program at Keaau Elementary School, according to the DOE’s website.

And several other Big Island charter schools use “online and blended learning models.” About 23 percent of students at Hawaii Academy of Arts &Sciences are enrolled in a blended program, according to information on the state Public Charter School Commission’s website, and at Na Wai Ola, about 20 percent. Laupahoehoe Community Public Charter School has 2 percent of students enrolled in blended programs, and 100 percent of Hawaii Technology Academy students statewide — which includes around 177 on Hawaii Island — use a blended program.

“We know that this is the future of learning, and we feel it’s the way to make our students college and career ready,” said Hawaii Technology Academy communications director Kristen Wolf, adding the academy’s students learn in a 50/50 blended environment. “That’s what we hope to be preparing our kids for. If nothing else, it encourages students to collaborate and build really strong communication skills.”

Cayir said she doesn’t want Volcano parents to misinterpret the term as strictly “online instruction.” The idea, she said, is home-based, experiential learning. Volcano students will spend at least seven hours in face-to-face instructional time and take all required statewide assessments and tests.

“This program is not an online program,” Cayir said. “We do have some digital curriculum, we also have print and project-based. The emphasis is not online learning. That might be a tool but it’s not what we’re about.”

Cayir said the school plans to expand the program in the future, should it go well.