Press Release:

New survey uncovers the K-12 models and educational technology that will outlast the COVID-19 pandemic

Download: Carpe Diem: Convert pandemic struggles into student-centered learning

OAKLAND, Calif., Aug. 31, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Bay View Analytics is proud to have partnered with the Clayton Christensen Institute on a groundbreaking study, Carpe Diem: Convert pandemic struggles into student-centered learning. The report details how the COVID-19 pandemic is changing K-12 education, and how the lessons learned from the pandemic response can drive a continuing transition.

School systems' use of new schooling options

The pandemic experience informs educators' plans to improve post-pandemic learning and experiences for their students.

"Amidst a year full of challenges, these findings provide a glimpse into the schooling arrangements and practices educators discovered during the pandemic that are worth repeating and spreading going forward," noted John Watson, CEO, Evergreen Group. Harnessing data from over a thousand teachers and administrators across the US, this report details which remote-learning models and practices did and didn't work, and why, during the 2020-21 school year.

This first-of-its-kind study reveals the range of options employed by teachers and districts during the pandemic. The results show that:

Most teachers employed multiple learning models during the year — sometimes simultaneously.

Of those teachers who provided in-person and remote education (hybrid), most reported utilizing both methods at the same time.

Most instruction was single-paced and synchronous, but some hybrid models offered more flexibility.

Learning management systems are now mainstream, and tools for creating online lessons gained new ground.

A third of districts intend to offer a full-time virtual school post-pandemic.

The report notes that teachers and schools plan to continue using specific technologies and innovative practices implemented during the pandemic. If these are harnessed strategically, they may spark the beginnings of the student-centered transformation of conventional schooling.

"Knowing what happened last school year is important, but even more important is knowing what educators plan to utilize post-pandemic to improve the learning and experiences of their students going forward," said report author Thomas Arnett, Senior Research Fellow, Clayton Christensen Institute.

An understanding of which COVID-implemented innovations should go and which should stay will be crucial this back-to-school season. The report details three effective strategies for strengthening student outcomes, and better ensuring that the needs of families and staff are met:

Support cohorts of teachers to build off the tools and practices they found most effective at helping their teaching strategies, and meeting their students' needs during the 2020-21 school year, to make their classrooms more student-centered.
Harness the infrastructure of enabling technology toward undertaking system-wide transformation efforts, including competency-based learning initiatives, blended learning models, etc., that can support student-centered learning.
Pair new virtual schools with learning hubs to create hybrid options charged with improving and attracting the interest of schools and families.

The full report is available at https://www.christenseninstitute.org/publications/blended-learning-2021/.

About Bay View Analytics

Bay View Analytics is a statistical research firm focusing on survey design, implementation, and analysis. Formerly known as the Babson Survey Research Group, the scope of Bay View Analytics' consulting engagements includes scientific statistical analyses, clinical trial statistics, and survey designs for a range of topics, with a particular focus on online education. Bay View Analytics has been conducting research and publishing annual reports on the state of online education in U.S. higher education for thirteen years. Visit www.bayviewanalytics.com for more information or contact us at info@bayviewanalytics.com.

About the Clayton Christensen Institute

The Clayton Christensen Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization dedicated to improving the world through Disruptive Innovation. Founded on the theories of Harvard professor Clayton Christensen, the Institute offers a unique framework for understanding many of society's most pressing problems.