Cohorts

STUDENT LED COHORTS

Texas Charter School Convention

Within a College Prep, Hybrid Learning Model

Monday, December 3, 12

PRESENTERSSteve Werlein, Head of [email protected]

Wayne Boggs, Head of Secondary [email protected]

Terise Boggs, High School Team [email protected]


mailto:[email protected]
























































































































































































































































STUDENT PRESENTERS

Sarah Tobin, Cohort Leader for 9th Grade

Thomas McDaniels, Cohort Leader for 10th Grade

Riki Birkman, Cohort Leader for 12th Grade


GatewayCollege

Prep

• Compe&&ve Op&on for 4a/5a schools in Williamson county.

• Small school/community based feel. “Start here-‐Finish here”

• 38 students in 2009. (grades 9 and 10) (Exemplary)

• 200 students in 2010. (grades 6-‐11) (Recognized)

• 600 students in 2011. (grades K-‐12)– First Gradua&ng Class in June 2012: 100% college acceptance.

• 840 students presently enrolled. • Growth=1000 total campus enrollment.• Full complement of UIL academic, fine arts,

and athle&c op&ons. (This is costly-‐but a priority) (1a/2a)

• 40 acre “green” campus outside of Georgetown.


Unique Challenges• New, growing school=encultura3on challenges. • Defining our mission: Ci3zen. Scholar. Athlete• Number and quality of courses offered.• Extra-‐curricular par3cipa3on and athle3cs• Rigorous curriculum offered in a relevant manner…..?


Taking a Blended Approach

What is blended learning? (short version): Learning programs in which students learn in a SUPERVISED location away from home, at least some of the time. Students also learn through online delivery with control over time, place, path, and/or pace. (innosightinstitute.org)

Obvious benefits: remedia&on, enrichment, re-‐teaching, saving &me, and sharing exper&se.


Taking a Blended Approach

What is blended learning? (short version): Learning programs in which students learn in a SUPERVISED location away from home, at least some of the time. Students also learn through online delivery with control over time, place, path, and/or pace. (innosightinstitute.org)

Obvious benefits: remedia&on, enrichment, re-‐teaching, saving &me, and sharing exper&se.


What is “Flipped” Instruc&on?

• Quite literally—a challenging concepts for students and adults alike!• The teacher doesn’t teach.• When do I get to lecture?


What is a cohort?• A group of grade specific students..

taking the same courses,

who support each other, work collaboratively,

establish routines, outcomes, and accountability protocols within an established framework.

ALSO: Student driven

Heterogeneously mixed (ability)Designed to replicate group processes that students will encounter in post-secondary life.

Often mirrors extra-curricular participation. This adds a level of ownership and accountability.

NOT merely a small group!

Students spend time in “cohorts” in a flexible, dynamic schedule that allows THEM to drive their learning.


Cohorts-a way to maximize the blended approach. Assumptions:

1. As an open enrollment school, students can enroll at any time, and from anywhere. (when space is available).

2. Students begin taking high school courses in 8th grade (Spanish 1 and Algebra 1).3. Students take AP Human Geography as freshmen. 4. The number of AP courses increases as students move up.5. We have no “core” or “traditional” track.6.We make a learning management system (LMS) our primary platform for

everything.7. We are a BYOD campus with 100 mbs access. This is not a requirement-but realistic

expectations must be made.8. We have a board that supports risk-taking and will support instructionally sound

programs. 9. We purposefully and openly recruit teachers who buy into and will likely thrive using this

model. (blended and cohort)10.Not all students will be successful in this model, as it requires a high level of autonomy,

ownership, and self-direction (college).


The Good, the Bad, and the not so bad...

•This model was partially driven by student feedback:

• Wasted class time (bad)

• Group work (good)

• Accountability (not so bad)

• -TRANSPARENCY! (bad)

Feedback that we get

• Parents: once used to the LMS, love the transparency.

• Students: once used to the LMS, often HATE the transparency.

• Accountability: can be a cause of frustration for students and parents (“My son did all of the work.”)

• “Your teachers aren’t teaching and the kids are always in groups.” (sound familiar?)

• This is too hard! We didn’t have this much work at my last school

• This helps me stay organized!

• Coaches=cohort adds a level of accountability to teams!


Things to Bear in Mind

• This model requires teachers to re-think their approach (often).• Be prepared for a bumpy transition.• Make sure that students, staff, and administration completely

understand what your cohort model is and is not, and that you are not defined as being “just an online school.”

• Don’t forget your electives! Elective and fine arts teachers can benefit greatly from a flexible model such as this one.

• Build your cohort system in a way that fits your school, your mission, and your reality.

AFFIRMATION from a former student, now at a 4 year college, “college is just like what you guys said it would be last year!”


Education

Cohorts