Rocketship Education charter schools, based in Palo Alto, might be eliminating their flagship “learning labs” where kids spend 90 minutes a day in front of a computer working with math and literacy software, according to a report on the PBS NewsHour. Why? Teachers say the labs just aren’t working well enough to provide them with quick and useful information on what students have learned and what should be done to add to that learning.
The learning lab model has been hailed as one of the charter network’s greatest innovations. It is a prime example of the blended learning models that have students learning a portion of their content from software programs or recorded lessons available online.
Rocketship isn’t flinching at the prospect of a big change though. As one principal, Andrew Elliot-Chandler of Si Se Puede Elementary in San Jose, told PBS NewsHour, “Innovation, I think, is one of the most exciting reasons to be at Rocketship. Things change dramatically every year.”
To get more reports like this one, click here to sign up for EdSource’s no-cost daily email on latest developments in education.