Abstract:
After working with hundreds of schools over the past two years of Covid, Birdsell and Burnford highlight six core advantages of implementing a hybrid model of education in schools, a model that balances quality virtual instruction with traditional in person classes. These advantages are assurance of quality in student learning, greater teacher engagement, increased focus on Catholic identity, increased student outcomes, flexibility in scheduling, staffing and costs, and an expanded catalogue. How then can a Catholic school plan and implement a hybrid model that leads to growth in each of the six identified areas?

When looking at the future of education, one must start with a solid understanding of the traditional role of the teacher and of the impact of technology in our world today. Both are influencing the necessity for innovation and change in our education system. Even before this pandemic sent millions of students into remote learning, technology had changed everything. Blockbuster has been replaced by Netflix; music is accessible anywhere and in quantities unimaginable two decades ago; travel agents and taxis, and to some degree even cash, are more past than present. But when you walk into schools
across America, very little has changed over the past 30 years. Sure, there are now smart boards, more “small group” work done, and television monitors in hallways announcing the daily activities. But fundamentally little has changed in the delivery of education since our modern, industrial education system came into being over a hundred years ago and our schools and students are suffering as a result. We believe we can and must do better.

It is worth noting here that in 2020 Covid forced most schools to send students home for extended periods of “online learning.” In most cases the schools used available technology like Zoom to replicate classroom instruction conducted remotely. This is not “online” learning in its truest form. It is an adaptation of classroom instruction to a distributed group of students. It does nothing for the student except allow them to receive classroom lectures at home. Fundamentally, it is still a familiar textbook and lecture method now devoid of the beneficial social and physical interactions. Perhaps the worst of all worlds. What is being suggested here is different – it is a proven system of learning that combines the benefits of a qualified teacher with the benefits of a high-quality online learning system.

One intriguing idea that has the power to truly transform education (as has happened to movies, music and travel) is to rethink the role of the teacher and how technology and online learning is used as the vehicle for this change. This focus on the role of the teacher is central to education for two primary reasons – first, because the quality of teachers has been shown to have one of the strongest relationships with student achievement,1 and second, because most school budgets are between 70—80% payroll.

When looking at the future of Catholic education, the role of the teacher as educator has included not only the transfer of knowledge but also leading the student to understanding and action, so that the learner knows, understands, and can do something because of their learning. In addition, a Catholic school education necessarily includes faith formation, development of virtue, and a focus on the whole child. Each of the elements of the entire education process can be accomplished in different ways, yet historically all elements have depended completely on the teacher. We are here questioning how much of a teacher’s time is spent on each of these areas and how teachers should be spending their time. Frederick M. Hess, in his recent article “Education after the Pandemic2” points out that the number of school staff has grown at almost four times the rate of student enrollment between 1950 and 2015. He goes on to point out that the results of school reform initiatives over the past few decades have not delivered the promised results. Hess recommends that there is a need and opportunity to re-think how we use available resources to educate students.

What if technology was used to support a change in teachers’ day-to-day activities and better help students gain knowledge, and then begin the process of helping students with deeper, more engaged learning? This concept is nothing new, with the technology of the textbook being foundational for education for generations. But the opportunity that modern education technology, through online learning, presents today is that of re-thinking the many roles of the teacher to discern the best ways to accomplish each.

A quality online learning system can transmit information to students and give/assess basic understanding without the need for current levels of costly human resources. However, human interaction, the teacher, is still required to fill the gaps in student understanding, and then lead students to specific activity flowing from the knowledge learned. Beyond these tasks, only a teacher can establish a relationship with the student that engenders a desire to learn and in Catholic schools, provide a meaningful witness to faith and virtue. What is not needed is for a teacher to take on every aspect of education as a generalist and not have time or enough time to devote to deeper learning and faith formation. For this reason, we believe Catholic schools could implement a hybrid model that allows for technology to accomplish select core learning functions, consistently and with quality, thereby freeing up teachers to go deeper with the parts of learning that rely on relationship and in-person interaction and less on delivery of initial skills and concepts.

By letting a quality online learning system impart core knowledge to students, might this free the teacher up for more one-on-one time with students thereby maintaining the teacher as witness, subject matter expert (not just generalist), and facilitator of learning? Might this be the transformation that we have been waiting for in education? A truly different mode of delivering education. Something is beginning. The opportunity afforded is to allow technology to do what it does best and the teacher to do what the teacher does best. There are several advantages to rethinking the role of teacher and usage of online learning through a well-designed hybrid learning model. Six are described here: Assurance of quality, greater teacher engagement, increased focus on Catholic identity, demonstrated student outcomes, flexibility in scheduling and staffing and costs, and expanded course catalogues.

1) Assurance of Quality in Student Learning: With the high rates of turnover in teachers and large-scale teacher retirements during the past few years, many schools are forced to employ underqualified or inexperienced teachers which can in turn lead to spotty quality in student learning. So much depends on the teacher in the current model, despite widespread usage of academic standards and curricula, that quality can be haphazard, as evidenced by varying test scores within schools, let alone dioceses. Our 47 years of combined experience working in Catholic schools has seen the wild variance in teacher quality. We believe that about 20% of Catholic school teachers are truly outstanding, followed by about 60% that are good to adequate and finally 20% where we would not want our children to be in their class. While it is tempting to suggest that increased professional development, more teachers, and better classroom tools will solve this issue, these things have been tried, and the results remain the same. With a well-paced curriculum delivered online through a proven learning system, the variances of individual teacher quality are reduced. In addition, the opportunity for instant feedback through continuous assessment enables a level of differentiated learning for each student that most teachers could only dream of in a traditional classroom setting.

2) Greater Teacher Engagement/Satisfaction: With a paradigm shift to the use of online systems for initial content delivery, teachers can focus on student and community relationships and development of the whole child. With students learning content online, the teacher can then focus his or her efforts on encouraging in each student a passion for learning the specific subject at hand, the subject that the teacher loves and knows. The expert teacher is then allowed to teach additional topics, engage students in practical applications, or just go deeper into a particular area. They are freed up to specifically help build understanding of complex concepts that some, or maybe a group of students, are struggling with. The expertise of the teacher is reserved only for where the online curricula need adaptation to a particular student or to the situation of the students in the class. This is particularly pertinent today when teachers must adapt core curricula to the time and location in which students are present. Current events both at the local and national level require teachers to adapt particular subjects to the local culture. Shifting the focus of the teacher away from the delivery of basic information and some of the tedium of grading assessments to leading students to understanding and transformative learning is what teachers love and is what drew them to teaching in the first place. Therefore, higher teacher satisfaction and engagement will follow, with an expected decrease in turnover. This is not to say that all current teachers will want to or can adapt to this new vision for education, but what is for sure is that current teacher shortages and turnover suggest inaction will guarantee the same results.

3) Increased focus on Catholic Identity: For a Catholic school a well-designed hybrid model provides an opportunity for the administration and teachers to re-focus efforts on Catholic identity. The assured quality and automated delivery of content through an online learning system provides space to plan faith formation activities and allows teachers to better witness to students especially in the context of one-on-one coaching of their learning online. It is important to note also that online learning itself can provide new opportunities for faith formation, especially when students’ learning is facilitated by a Catholic online educator. One example of this is the way in which some students “speak up more” in an online setting as compared to a classroom and how this allows the online teacher to develop a stronger relationship with the student.

4) Increased Student Outcomes: Research shows that about 70% of students learn best when they literally “see” things or “do” things, rather than hearing or reading the same things. An online learning system replete with simulations and short videos is an excellent way to ensure all students have an opportunity to learn in this way. Online learning systems are also patient systems. If a student needs just a little more time to understand a concept, they can dwell in the courseware long enough to get it. In a classroom, the teacher is compelled to move on when “most” of the class has “gotten” the concept. The one constant in a traditional classroom is the bells ringing. Classes end and the next day the teacher is on to the next lesson. The one constant in online learning – is learning. Online learning systems can be set up so that students are not able to progress to the next concept until they have demonstrated mastery of the current skill or concept. Data-empowered online systems inform who moves on and who needs additional or individualized support for learning. Over time, in a traditional classroom, the slower learners accumulate a deficit they cannot overcome except with supplemental tutoring or herculean self-study. Such learning deficits continue to accumulate grade after grade until further learning effectively stops. We have millions of students in the U.S. who have accumulated an insurmountable deficit and are promoted out of high school below grade level. A more patient and intuitive learning system might identify these individual learning needs and keep all students moving forward at their natural pace.

5) Flexibility in Scheduling, Staffing and Costs: Once a school partners with a quality online education solution, it is relatively easy to add and drop semester courses based upon faculty availability, grade level enrollment, and student interests. Likewise, when a school has an asynchronous option available, they can manage class scheduling challenges and also provide an individual student with a tailored schedule as needed. When a school accesses a hybrid model, especially with some component of asynchronous learning, it is like having an extra tool to use in planning the operation of the school with regards to calendars, staffing and space usage. Flexibility also applies to how the school allocates its budget, particularly the 70-80% of the budget that goes to provide teachers in classrooms. A hybrid model gives the school administration flexibility in how to deliver education, including balancing costs for in-person faculty and online learning. By way of example, a well-designed and implemented hybrid model allows for technology to accomplish some core learning functions, thereby freeing up teacher time and resources.

6) Expanded Catalog: Many of our Catholic schools have limited course offerings, not due to desire, but due to student enrollment, staffing, and budgetary limitation. It is unreasonable to expect the typical Catholic high school to offer Advanced Placement® (AP) Latin or have a robust offering of AP courses and electives. They just do not have enough students to warrant a class on that subject for one or two students or they have challenges finding a qualified teacher living near the school. The same is true of most foreign languages, coding, graphic design, robotics, Chinese history and hundreds of other subjects. A typical school faculty of 40 persons can only deliver so much variety. Online learning removes these barriers and enables schools to offer a varied and robust course catalog. Three students could take a semester course in crypto currency, and two students could study German, all supported by an on-site learning coach. Such an approach could help a small or medium-sized Catholic school better compete with other schools in terms of what subjects can be offered to students, and more to the point, end the trend of schools being forced to reduce their course catalogues due to cost cutting or the availability of teachers.

In conclusion, it is time to rethink how education is delivered to students. While core elements of in- person instruction and interactions must remain, a hybrid model in which a certain percentage of the student’s learning begins online presents a critical opportunity for a school to ensure quality, engage teachers, improve student outcomes, cut costs and grow. School leaders must now take a more progressive and sophisticated view of technology and how it is used in their schools to truly advance student learning. After two years of Covid, students and parents are demanding more in terms of traditional schools, and will continue to do so in the future. Ultimately, schools should embrace the power of online learning for its ability to teach basic material quickly and intuitively, personalize the pace and outcomes of student learning, engage teachers in deeper learning with students, and prepare students for the future. After all, when Catholic high school students graduate, we know that the ability to learn in an online setting will be essential both for college, university, and later workplace learning – so preparing students in high school for this reality is a must! Recognizing this reality and responsibility, more and more states are now requiring at least one online course as part of students’ high school graduation requirements.3 From there, students can then adapt the “on campus” experience to enhance and reinforce what has already been learned or partially learned, and invest time in forming the whole student through their experiences of relationship and community. This is certainly a time of bold and innovative thinking for school leaders as we look to the future of K-12 education and what it can and should be.

Robert Birdsell is the President of Catholic Virtual. Previously, Rob was co-founder of Amerigo Education and the Drexel Fund. Rob also served as CEO of the Cristo Rey Network and began his career teaching high school English

Thomas Burnford, D.Min. is past CEO of NCEA and the Secretary for Education for Archdiocese of Washington.