Dive Brief:

• Ohio's Worthington City Schools is using a blended approach to implementing Common Core state standards in its schools as a tool to further deeper learning.
• In K-5, schools are now using Stepping Stones, a combined print and digital curriculum that moves some student activities online and provides teachers with an online clearinghouse of resources and information.
• The program is backed by research that found some grade levels performed better using the blended approach, compared with students who used a traditional program.

Dive Insight:

Of note in Worthington’s strategy is that the district combined a tool (Stepping Stones) with an overall approach focused on student-driven exploration and hands-on learning — especially in math. Students are encouraged to explore multiple ways to solve a problem and work in groups. The technology has been incorporated into that overall vision.

“In the elementary classroom, we typically think of incorporating multiple instructional strategies, instead of the “sit and get” instructional model of long ago. In our classrooms, educator-direct instruction is minimal and there is much more student exploration and interaction, as well as some type of technology incorporated in most lessons,” Gina Piero, a student achievement coach, wrote in a piece for eSchool News.