Category: Research

Student-Centered Learning at Hamilton Community Schools

Flexible learning options. Standards-based grading. Blended learning, teaching, and coaching. Just some of the ways in which “Each Will Thrive” at Hamilton Community Schools.

LMS Selection and Implementation: Best Practices

What factors should schools and districts consider when selecting a learning management system (LMS)? What are the key processes that you should follow? What challenges and opportunities exist within the process? Where should you start?

Connecting Teachers: A Community of Practice

True collegial groups among teachers, in any context, still remain the exception and not the norm in many schools — especially for online teachers.

Student-Centered Learning: Catalysts for Change

Are there naturally occurring situations or circumstances in education that serve as catalysts, facilitating change and giving student-centered learning momentum?

Student-Centered Learning: The Impetus for Change

Student-centered learning isn’t necessarily a new concept. In fact, in one area of education, we’ve already nailed it.

Why Online Teachers NEED Ongoing Professional Development

In our last post on instructional leadership, we touched on the issue of professional development (PD) and the necessity of providing online teachers with ongoing training, support, and PD. This post will expand on the critical importance of PD for new online teachers and ongoing PD for all online teachers.

March and April Research Round Up

What’s new in the world of K-12 research on online, blended, and innovative learning? This month, we take a look at Michigan's K-12 Virtual Learning Effectiveness Report and a recent edition of the Online Learning Journal.

Research study: Do orientation modules contribute to student success in the online classroom?

Instructional Leadership: Supporting Online Teachers

Supporting your online teachers seems like it should be easy, but what do they really need? Where should you start? In this article, we explore what it means to be a good instructional leader and give you some guidance as to how you can get started.

What Does Research Say About Mentoring Online Students?

There exists an ever growing body of research on mentoring online students. In this article we seek to answer the question: What does this research tell us about mentoring K-12 online students?

Communication & Engagement in the Online Classroom

Most teachers would agree that communication and engagement are key factors for student success in any classroom. In the online classroom, however, these variables play out a little differently than they might in a face-to-face setting. In this article, we break down what communication looks like in an online course, who is responsible for student engagement, and, finally, how communication and engagement interact in practice.

January & February Research Round Up

What’s new in the world of K-12 research on online, blended, and innovative learning? This month, we take a look at learning to teach mathematics online, coaching instructional coaches, the value of project-based learning and high-level knowledge activities, and a framework for affective, behavioral, and cognitive engagement in online courses.

What if Michigan Had eLearning Days?

With eLearning, students can learn from home when extenuating circumstances (such as snow storms) prevent them from being able to attend their brick-and-mortar schools. Many states in the U.S. have eLearning policies, but Michigan's not one of them. Why is that and what would it look like if we did have eLearning days?

Online Student Success Triangle — Students, Mentors, & Parents

A healthy support system for online students involves interrelationships between students, mentors, and parents. In this article, we take a look at how students, mentors, and parents can all work together to help students thrive in the online environment.

December Research Round Up

Michigan Virtual

Each month our team of researchers highlights K-12 online, blended, and innovative learning research, reports, standards, and other noteworthy resources published nationally and internationally in the preceding weeks. Our hope with this series is to inform the educational community of the latest digital learning research in order to better serve students.

Why Mentors Matter: A Conversation with Jered Borup

Michigan Virtual

Why are on-site mentors so important for online students? In this article, Jered Borup, a digital learning researcher and professor at George Mason University dives into research that supports the critical role that mentors play in highly successful online learning programs.

The Hidden Heroes of Successful Online Courses

Michigan Virtual

An Inside Look: Student-Centered Learning at Alpena Public Schools

In a previous blog post, we defined student-centered learning in a theoretical sense. In this blog post, we get a glimpse into what a student-centered classroom looks and feels like in practice. Alpena Public Schools high school English teacher Kris Copping shares how she works in partnership with her students to create a student-centered learning environment.

November Research Round Up

Each month our team of researchers highlights K-12 online, blended, and innovative learning research, reports, standards, and other noteworthy resources published nationally and internationally in the preceding weeks. Our hope with this series is to inform the educational community of the latest digital learning research in order to better serve students.

What Do Successful K-12 Online Programs Have In Common?

What do successful K-12 online programs have in common? Beyond obvious variables like student support and quality curriculum, there are many systemic supports that effective programs put in place to provide a foundation for student success. In this article, we break down the importance of leadership, multi-level support, and program evaluation.