Implementing Blended Learning
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Introduction GEMS Wellington Academy - Silicon Oasis operates a unique set of Post 16 qualifications and pathways including a unique “blended” approach to the world-renowned IB Diploma. For today’s “digital natives”, this is an opportunity to learn within a digitally blended environment that is truly designed for their needs and learning style preferences, while taking full advantage of the physical resources, academic support and extracurricular activities of GEMS Wellington Academy. Working in partnership with Pamoja Education, we offer an unrivalled, unique and world-class approach to Post 16 learning which will truly prepare students for university and the world of work in the C21st like no other programme. Every Academy student will study part of their diploma using both face to face and digital delivery. The success of our approach has now led to other GEMS schools across the world adopting the same model and methods.
Why IB? Why blended? The IB Diploma sets the standard in secondary education, recognised by prestigious universities around the world. The IB Diploma curriculum is broad as well as deep, expecting students to take courses in a range of subjects. The curriculum is indeed rigorous, but it is inspiring as well as challenging. The heart of the Diploma is the Core programme, designed to develop the cognitive skills and attributes of an expert learner, alongside the independence and drive of a citizen determined to find a way in which he or she can contribute to the world. IB students learn in a community fuelled by a passion for learning.
New technologies and new skills For today’s students, who already navigate the digital world so confidently, our blended approach to the IB Diploma is a highly attractive learning programme. Taught by some of the world’s most experienced IB teachers, students are exposed to new technologies and ways of learning that will prove essential in their future studies and careers. Students learn and collaborate in small cohorts, with colleagues both situated within the Academy and from around the world, an approach that supports development of a truly global perspective. “For me, the blended approach to the IB Diploma has two unique features; the style of learning and the global perspective. The style combines the best of digital and face-to-face instruction. Students have a high level of independence in structuring their workweek, but close supervision and support to help them stay on track. And the courses are designed to get students, often from opposite end of the globe, working together toward a common goal. This is the IB Diploma Programme at its very best!” Edward Lawless, Principal, Pamoja Education “By combining first-class digital instruction with strong face-to-face academic tutoring, mentoring and support at our Academy, we are delivering the best of both worlds. All our students will study in this way and, with the support of both digital and Academic Tutors, will have the best possible preparation for university and high level employment. This is a pioneering approach which will truly deliver C21st learning at its very best.” Michael Gernon, CEO and Principal, GEMS Wellington Academy Silicon Oasis
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How does it work? IB Diploma Programme students are integrated within classes of approximately 25 students from all around the world and are given access to the course content through a sophisticated digital learning platform. The content is broken down into weekly lessons: each week, an experienced digital IB teacher introduces objectives, explains assignments and interacts with students to help them stay on track. In addition, an Academic Tutor specialising in key subject areas also guides and supports students within the Academy. The courses are taught mostly asynchronously (meaning students do not need to be in the digital class at a particular time) using the materials and resources made available on the learning platform. In addition to various forms of communication available asynchronously, students will also have the opportunity to join live lessons with their digital teacher every week, allowing them to interact with classmates in real time and have questions answered straight away. The Academic Tutor will also meet with students each week to provide seminars and tutorials to support and further enhance the course delivery and maximise the final grade outcomes. Students are encouraged to share and discuss contemporary resources and case studies. The digital classroom features carefully selected resources and tools to support this experience, including discussion forums, blogs, wikis and news feeds. All the content is archived, so students will be able to refer back to it as much as they need which is particularly helpful for exam revision.
Strong support – virtual and within school In addition to the support provided by their digital teachers, students receive individual guidance, mentoring and support, from a site based e-Learning Coordinator (SBC), their Academic Tutor and through a Post 16 Support Team. The SBC liaises with students’ digital teachers and Academic Tutors on a regular basis. The Academic Tutor, as a specialist subject expert, is assigned to the appropriate blended course for maximum support. They monitor progress closely and liaise with the digital teachers, the students and their parents. The SBC (Site Based Coordinator) and Academic Tutors are the key points of contact between the digital teachers, as well as students and their parents. Parents should contact the Academic Tutor of the specific subject as the first point of contact.
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Main responsibilities of the SBC: The SBC liaises between digital teachers, Academic Tutors, parents and students. The SBC also organises both the internal assessments and external examinations in conjunction with the IBDP Co-ordinator. They oversee along with the digital teachers and Academic Tutors, students’ engagement and progress each week. Main responsibilities of the Academic Tutor: The Academic Tutor approach is based on a university model, they coordinate with the digital teacher and enrich the course by providing context through local links and visits. They provide a range of seminars, tutorials and one-to-one tutoring to ensure maximum understanding and outcomes for all students. The Academic Tutor monitors and ensures student engagement, progress and attainment.
Monitoring, Feedback and Assessment Students are monitored regularly using a variety of methods. A LMS (Learning Management System) monitors student learning in great detail. Depending on the information required, data is easily obtained for each student and each subject. For example: you can quickly obtain an overview of any student’s progress (via the Progress history), and a colour-coded weekly progress report is instantly available charting the actual time a student has spent in the course for the week and has been actively learning. Feedback is given regularly and discussed with their digital teacher via a monitored discussion forum as well as regular sessions with the specialist Academic Tutor. Assessments are marked and feedback is given by the student’s digital teacher and posted within the LMS. Facilitation of most assessments occurs at the Academy. Digital teachers will send examination papers and specific information regarding oral assessments to the SBC at the Academy. The SBC organises the supervision of the assessments and returns the assessments to the teacher for marking.
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What are the features of the IB Blended Diploma Programme: The key features are: - Students learn and collaborate digitally and face-to-face - with classmates around the world and within their learning environment - Courses are taught by highly experienced IB teachers, making use of the most effective learning technologies and supported by specialist Academic Tutors within the Academy - Students attend the Academy and are fully integrated in student life and all activities The IBDP and IBCP subject pathways are full time taught classes delivered by a face-to-face teacher or digital teacher and supported by an Academic Tutor. They require students to be ambitious, driven, selfmotivated, good time managers, and collaborative learners – all the pre-requisites of university education. A full induction will help to prepare students for this way of working and will provide them with the necessary tools, skills and capabilities to learn effectively within the digitally enhanced environment. Students need to provide a full academic profile from their school, including CAT4 assessment results if available. In addition students will complete an online assessment (ALIS) as part of the selection process.
What do our students say? "The IBDP Blended Learning pathway is an exciting opportunity to learn and engage with students and teachers all over the world” "The ability to learn at my own pace, the freedom of digital classes as well as the comfort off the f2f (face to face) environment is what attracted me to the Academy. You can’t learn in this way anywhere else!” ''It has a lot of flexibility and allows me to work at my own pace, manage my time, and really challenge my intellectual capabilities through time with my Academic Tutor” !5
''It makes students independent of teachers, and helps them study on their own. This will really help me in preparing for life at university.” What do our parents say? “I didn't expect that my daughter would thrive on this course- but she has” “I'm delighted that my son can develop the skills he needs for the future” “The course is so different to how I first imagined. The support is excellent” How do the IB Blended students compare with those taking the f2f course? Student performance on the blended pathway has been very positive over the past two years. When comparing to traditional face-to-face programmes, the majority of students following the blended programme achieve at higher levels than first predicted. At the Academy, we are therefore taking the best face-to-face programmes and combining them with the best and most successful digital courses across all 6 IB subject groups.
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Course FAQs Are Pamoja digital IBDP courses recognised by Universities? Yes. All Pamoja courses are recognised by Universities. There is no difference between the digital or F2F courses and examination certificates do not indicate how the Diploma has been studied. Can students complete the full IBDP online? Yes – the Academy is the only school that has permission to deliver in this way. Most students opt for combinations of digital and face-to-face courses, but the options available will provide a range of solutions for you. How do exams work for digital courses? Students sit for exams in Year 13 at the appropriate exam session in May. Examiners do not know that the students have followed a digital course or a F2F course. The examination is the same. How do the Live Lessons work? There will be a number of live lessons, seminars, and tutorials, along with many more informal studentinitiated sessions. The main means of communication between students and teachers are email, discussion forums, and assignment feedback all within the LMS. The teachers are based globally, which means that students will have access to teacher support at any time. The courses are designed to encourage students to achieve high levels of independence and autonomy in their work. How many hours of study are required for each course? Standard Level (SL) and Higher Level (HL) digital IB Diploma Programme courses typically require the same amount of time that a student would normally allocate to both class work, homework and background study for a face-to-face IB Diploma Programme class. To help with time management, students should be given the same amount of time to spend on their work in the Academy as they would for a regular face-to-face class. As a guide, students will spend 6-8 hours a week on their digital IB Diploma Programme course. This includes 3-4 hours of lesson time in the Academy plus homework and background studying, including researching aspects of the course. The time required will differ for every student. Which courses are available digitally?
Available subjects to study digitally, both at HL and SL, are: • English Literature • Biology • Mathematics • Psychology
• Business & Management • Philosophy • Film Studies • Economics
• ITGS (Information Technology in a Global Society) • French Ab Initio*
• Mandarin Ab Initio* • Spanish Ab Initio* • Spanish B
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Will the Pamoja academic calendar fit in with that of the student's school? Pamoja works with a large number of schools globally and therefore aligning the academic calendar to perfectly suit all schools is sometimes challenging. Students who are on break from the Academy may not be on break from the digital IB Diploma Programme courses and will need to remain engaged in the digital course. This overlap of calendars will minimized as much as possible and our Academic Tutors will support students during these times whenever possible. However, it is up to the student to establish a routine that will allow them to work on their course independently as required in order to fill the gaps between their school calendar and the Pamoja academic calendar. Site Based Coordinators will also be there to support students with managing their time on this front. What are the main differences between face-to-face and digital IBDP courses? Unlike a traditional face-to-face school, students will find that most, if not all, fellow students attend schools in different countries. The main communication channel between the digital teacher and student is through the learning management system (LMS). Often, a student may not necessarily be digitally connected at the same time as their teacher and classmates, and will spend time working on their own and communicating asynchronously. However, through the use of digital tools in the learning management system, it is possible to carry on a lively dialogue and collaborate actively with teachers and classmates.
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