Post on 20-May-2015
LEADERSHIP PERSPECTIVES:
THE RAPID GROWTH OF
K-12 ONLINE LEARNING
Lancaster (2012) & Malone (2012)
June, 2012AWSP/WASA
Present findings from TWO closely related research projects
Lancaster’s (2012) autoethnography describes, analyzes and interprets one leader’s experience in leading an instructional focus on student learning and a group of online teachers in one of Washington’s oldest and most successful online programs.
Malone’s (2012) mixed-methods study examines perceptions,interpretations and reactions of K-12 superintendents in Washington in response to the rapid growth of online learning. The findings provide intriguing insight into the current landscape of K-12 online learning.
SESSION OBJECTIVE
Rapid growth of online learning Legislation focus on metrics, not learning
Lack of quality control standards Competition not collaboration 3rd party vendor involvement Lack of research on effectiveness
CONTEXT
Washington State Superintendents and K-12 Online Learning:
Leadership Perceptions, Challenges,
& Opportunities
MALONE (2012)
RESEARCH QUESTIONSMalone (2012)
Q1 What are the issues that impede or support the
implementation of online learning as perceived
by Washington superintendents?
Q2 What do Washington superintendents identify as
the purposes for online learning?
Q3 What recommendations do Washington superintendents
suggest for successful implementation of online learning?
Q4 How does district size, years of experience, and online
status affect superintendent perceptions of the
online learning environment?
METHODOLOGYMalone (2012)
Mixed Methods Study ~ Online Survey39 Closed & 5 Open-ended Survey
Items
Quantitative Analysis: Descriptive StatisticsPearson’s Correlation Coefficient
Qualitative Analysis: Constant Comparative Method
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Com
plex
ity
Lead
ersh
ip
Visionary / Em
ergence
Leadership
Disruptive Innovation
Innovation ~ RecommendationsLeadership ~ PurposesChange ~ Issues
Malone (2012)
201
RESPONDENTSMalone (2012)
# of Superintendents Responding to Survey
RESPONDENTSMalone (2012)
RESPONDENTSMalone (2012)
RESPONDENTSMalone (2012)
Q1 ISSUEs: Financial “ We provide online learning to 150-200 students. 50 are from our own
district. The others from across the state. We could not offer either without the other. We need 150-200 to break even ... and we still lose money compared to bricks and mortar schools.”
“I am very skeptical of the motives of private companies and some school districts' purposes. While it is not likely generalizable, my perception is that in some instances there is more interest in making money than with teaching and learning.”
“I am deeply troubled by districts using online learning to make money.” “The motives are overwhelmingly financial.” “It is clearly a method for school districts to add additional funds to the
district. School districts in Washington State have used this process, knowingly, to pirate students from districts.”
“With declining resources how can we possibly allocate funds that we don't have to researching these opportunities. They are important but we are just trying to survive right now!”
FINDINGSMalone (2012)
Q1 ISSUEs: Quality “The harm to local districts comes when the parents get sick
of baby-sitting and send the student back to the home district and we have to pick up the loss of academic gains.”
“Students are unsuccessful in online schools and then public school has to clean the mess up.”
“I have issue with the quality of some of the programs, since these students often end up back in our system with inadequate skills.”
“We find that students that come back to us from an online program have significant deficits in their learning.”
“I worry that online programs that may be legally sufficient are not necessarily quality programs that provide an alternative pathway for student success, but they do provide dollars to a district.”
“I have never heard, in my experience, whether or not these programs make an impact on student learning.”
FINDINGSMalone (2012)
Q1 ISSUEs: REGULATION “Living in the midst of school districts trying to push the
limits of the new laws to bring in FTE, I am a bit jaded at this point.”
“Online programs have to be regulated to weed out the money grabbers from the legitimate educators.”
“The ever-changing funding for ALE makes investment risky.”
“The idea that some schools profit from online courses with FTE, and that other school loose FTE is difficult.”
“State agencies need to work together to remove road blocks to online learning.”
“The state taking away 20% of the funding and opening their own online competition is definitely an issue!”
FINDINGSMalone (2012)
Malone (2012)
FINDINGS
Q1 ISSUES Disagree Agree
Q2 Purposes: Flexibility
Scheduling Flexibility (M=3.23) “The purpose of online learning is to provide flexible
opportunities for students in a system that is traditionally not flexible.”
“Online Learning allows us to provide students with an opportunity to fulfill graduation requirements when they need to accrue credits.”
“It gives students options and opportunities in a variety of situations young students get themselves into.”
FINDINGSMalone (2012)
Q2 Purposes: Individualization
Meeting Individual Student Needs (M=3.13) “Not all students learn the same way. Online
learning gives those students an opportunity for an education who may not be able to attend a brick and mortar school for specific reasons.”
“Online learning seems best suited to meeting unique, individual needs rather than serving large numbers of students.”
FINDINGSMalone (2012)
Q2 Purposes: Options
Expanding Course Options (M=3.11) “Online learning is a tool used in creating a continuum
of services to meet the mission of ensuring the learning of all our children, not a whipping post for legislators and short sighted educators who may be afraid of change.”
“The purpose is to provide a wider variety of opportunities for students to take courses.”
“It is beneficial to have a variety of choices for students to engage in high quality learning environments.”
FINDINGSMalone (2012)
Q2 Purposes: Concerns
“I do not believe the purposes of online learning align with the practice.”
“I believe districts rip off the system and have lost site of the purpose.”
“There is a considerable gap between the stated potential for online learning and its actual implementation, which is profit-driven.”
FINDINGSMalone (2012)
Malone (2012)
FINDINGS
Disagree Agree
Q2 PURPOSES
Q3 Recommendations: Blending “Face-to-face contact remains critical to maintaining an
effective and sustained online learning program.” “Traditional and online learning together produce the best
results.” “Strong face-to-face student-to-teacher relationships and
interactions are essential as the mainstay of K-12 education.”
“Teachers are still an important component of online learning. The human connection is critical.”
“Online learning and blended classrooms are the future of education. We as educators must have the vision to allow these programs in our existing schools to support and enhance our more traditional academic programs.”
FINDINGSMalone (2012)
Q3 Recommendations: Individualization
“Online learning provides an opportunity for students who do not fit in the traditional classroom setting.”
“I am very satisfied to have online learning available to the few learners who need the option but not on a widespread basis.”
“Online learning should continue to be very limited to meet unique needs of individual students but not a replacement for the strong and good work being done with face-to-face instruction in schools.”
FINDINGSMalone (2012)
Q3 Recommendations: Regulations “OSPI needs to create reasonable reporting requirements and
funding formulas.” “Regulate the funding of online learning very carefully from
OSPI. Make an effort to limit abuse from revenue generating interests.”
“Provide via statewide model so districts are not competing for students.”
“Online programs, if offered to the public, should be offered and controlled 100% by OSPI.”
“Develop stronger policies that discourage fly-by-night providers that create a churn in student enrollments for profit.”
“Vetted courses should be made available at no cost to districts, funded by the state, so that access to educational services does not become even more inequitable.”
FINDINGSMalone (2012)
Q3 Recommendations: Examination “Good grief, how many more hours should a young person spend in a
virtual versus actual experience?” “Online programs exacerbate the problems of regular schools, rather
than solve them.” “In general, online learning is not a meaningful learning experience.” “We cannot afford to bury our heads in the sand on this issue.
Technology will continue to infuse itself into education; we can embrace it or get choked by it.”
“The decision to offer online programming should be based on student need, not the administrative prejudices or limitations of the adults in the system.”
“We are all convinced that the breakthrough strategy for improving the quality of instruction that students receive, and for improving the quality of professional learning for teachers, is the meaningful collaboration of teachers who share students and content. This is not a feature of online instruction, and in fact online programs are a step backward toward isolation of practice and norms of autonomy vs. the norms of collaboration we have been working to establish.”
FINDINGSMalone (2012)
Q4 Demographic AffectFactors
Experience District Size Online Status
FINDINGSMalone (2012)
Malone (2012)
FINDINGS
Agree
Disagree
Q4 Demographic: Experience
Malone (2012)
FINDINGS
Agree
Disagree
Q4 Demographic: District Size
Malone (2012)
FINDINGS
Disagree
Agree
Q4 Demographic: Online Status
Leading Online:
An Autoethnography Focused on Leading an Instructional Focus on
Student Learning in an Online School
LANCASTER (2012)
Q1 What characteristics of an online learning environment
trigger teachers to focus on management issues
rather than learning issues?
Q2 What conditions might be in place to help teachers manage their online workload effectively so they can shift
discussions from management and metrics to student-centered learning?
Q3 What leadership behaviors need to be undertaken to inspire a culture of support to engage teachers in
analyzing the teaching and learning process in the online classroom?
RESEARCH QUESTIONSLancaster (2012)
AutoethnographyBetter understand the story behind the
data
Analytic AutoethnographyEmphasis not about self; rather it is
about searching for understanding of culture and/or society through self
(Anderson, 2006)
METHODOLOGYLancaster (2012)
Socio-technical theory
Changes in technology bring about changes in values, cognitive structures, life styles habits and communication which profoundly alter a society and its chances of survival (Trist, 1981)
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKLancaster (2012)
Infrastructure Learning management system (LMS) Technology support
Governance Compliance Policy Promotion
Teaching and learning Course planning and design Formative and summative assessment
Management Management for compliance Communication Issue resolution
THEMESLancaster (2012)
Q1 What characteristics trigger teachers to focus on management issues?
Infrastructure: LMS Teaching and Learning: Course planning
and design (management) Governance: Political systems driven by
financial need and accountability, metrics about money Promotion: Important due to policy Management: Required by policy and
technology
FINDINGSLancaster (2012)
Q2 What conditions help teachers manage their online workload effectively and shift from management to student-centered learning?
Infrastructure: Technology manages, teachers teach
Governance: Performance based measures for compliance, clear measures for student success
Clarity of course layout and design: Guidelines about modifying and restructuring
Management: Clear tracking tools, integration of LMS with SIS
FINDINGSLancaster (2012)
Q3 What leadership behaviors need to be undertaken to inspire a culture of support to engage teachers in analyzing the teaching and learning process in the online classroom?
Clear consistent message, clear definition of program, roles, responsibilities that is consistent among all stakeholders
Structure professional conversations around learning metrics
Provide pressure relief when needed Remove barriers from teachers’ role such as
funding, infrastructure and formatting
FINDINGSLancaster (2012)
Socio-technical
FINDINGSLancaster (2012)
Common Themes
Governance RegulationsFinancial
Management Quality ConcernsFlexibility
Teaching & Learning
BlendingIndividualization
Infrastructure
-Lancaster (2012)
-Malone (2012)
Recommendations
Lancaster (2012)•Guided by a clear vision and compelling purpose•Facilitate processes for teachers to come together to discuss student learning•Provide human contact and daily checks with students•Learning not technology should be the driver
Malone (2012)•Regional Adaptive Dialogic Work•Statewide Superintendent Forums•Accountability Legislation•Blended Online Learning•Common Core Standard Alignment
Go COUGS!