Tony Yeigh

Improving Schools with Blended Learning is specifically designed to address the important issues needed to successfully modernise education within the context of technological change. It does this by first providing a clear roadmap for designing Blended Learning environments able to respond to the technological imperatives challenging schools at present, and then illustrating this roadmap via specific, original research that details the 'how to' aspects of a successful technology-based design process. School leaders, teachers, teacher education students and researchers will all find highly relevant information about how to manage for disruption in the new and informative approach to Blended Learning (BL) they will discover in this book. This book arose from two different research projects the authors have been pursuing over the last 3–5 years, including school improvement research and Blended Learning research designed to investigate the role of technology in effective teaching and learning. By combining the insights gained from these two different research areas, this book is able to present a novel understanding of BL that is both insightful and clearly evidence-based. Improving Schools with Blended Learning also provides several original contributions to specific knowledge in the areas of BL and school improvement that most educators will find highly useful, including the use of BL schemas, a clear and extended BL continuum, how to measure and evaluate the success of BL, how to scaffold teacher ICT knowledge and skills, and a specific process for contextualising applied BL in relation to the ‘disruption’ imperatives of the Knowledge Economy.

Improving Schools with Blended Learning is specifically designed to address the important issues needed to successfully modernise education within the context of technological change. It does this by first providing a clear roadmap for designing Blended Learning environments able to respond to the technological imperatives challenging schools at present, and then illustrating this roadmap via specific, original research that details the 'how to' aspects of a successful technology-based design process. School leaders, teachers, teacher education students and researchers will all find highly relevant information about how to manage for disruption in the new and informative approach to Blended Learning (BL) they will discover in this book. This book arose from two different research projects the authors have been pursuing over the last 3–5 years, including school improvement research and Blended Learning research designed to investigate the role of technology in effective teaching and learning. By combining the insights gained from these two different research areas, this book is able to present a novel understanding of BL that is both insightful and clearly evidence-based. Improving Schools with Blended Learning also provides several original contributions to specific knowledge in the areas of BL and school improvement that most educators will find highly useful, including the use of BL schemas, a clear and extended BL continuum, how to measure and evaluate the success of BL, how to scaffold teacher ICT knowledge and skills, and a specific process for contextualising applied BL in relation to the ‘disruption’ imperatives of the Knowledge Economy.

Teacher and student interaction occur in a complex and dynamic environment. Managing with Mindfulness: Connecting with Students in the 21st Century draws on educational psychology, duty-of-care principles and mindfulness practices to introduce the Control/Connect continuum as a model designed to foster inclusive classroom practices for the contemporary classroom. Addressing topics such as communication, positive relationships, emotional literacy, motivation and classroom behaviours, the work is written to support Initial Teacher Education students in their transition to practice. Framed by the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers, Graduate level, this new textbook integrates the theoretical contexts of classroom management with the needs of contemporary teachers, as situated within the historical context of 21st century teaching and learning. The text is supported throughout with engaging and thought-provoking case studies and activities, thinking points and end-of-chapter review questions that encourage reflection on key concepts and practices.

How might schools harness technological innovation for classroom effects? In this book the authors seek to answer this question by introducing and investigating the concept of Blended Learning through a review of current research literature. In this book, the authors consolidate the current state of Blended Learning research, by defining what is meant by Blended Learning before discussing specific technologies used in Blended Learning, the professional development required of teachers and how to implement whole of school Blended Learning regimes in schools. The book includes descriptions of popular Blended Learning models with real-world examples of their implementation, addressing both student and teacher perspectives. This book will serve as a guide to hastening the progress of Blended Learning towards the improvement of student outcomes in a world of continuous technological innovation and social change.