It is important to examine the experiences of teachers as they are the most important component of any effective instructional approach. Building capacity in implementing innovative strategies to support 21st century learners is crucial for teachers. It is imperative for educational leaders to provide professional development focused on utilizing these strategies to address student variance. Students in blended learning environments are experiencing improved learning outcomes, because teachers are focusing on how students learn best, rather than on the technology itself. Providing a student-centered learning environment to address the diverse needs of all learners while facilitating the development of 21^st century skills is dependent upon the knowledge, ability and beliefs of teachers.

Technology-enabled learning experiences have been successfully utilized in blended learning environments to personalize learning, increase student agency, and narrow the digital use divide. These learning experiences are designed to incorporate technology so that educators can “expand growth possibilities for all students while affording historically disadvantaged students greater equity of access to high-quality learning materials, expertise, personalized learning, and tools for planning for future education”. Emerging technologies provide educators with opportunities to enhance learning in ways that never existed.

New forms of learning utilizing technology to improve engagement are aligned with the development of 21st century skills and competencies. Blended learning is an instructional methodology that has emerged as a way to provide meaningful learning experiences for all students. This methodology is growing as a student centered, innovative delivery approach that enhances student learning outcomes through student engagement. Effectively integrating technology into instructional practices can be a challenge for teachers to manage without understanding the role it should play in instruction. The use of technology, in a blended learning environment, impacts student learning outcomes by elevating instructional strategies that work, not by diminishing or replacing them with. Blended learning goes beyond putting devices technology. It is based on teachers who incorporate online and face-to-face instruction to ensure academic growth for all students through personalized learning. Blended learning represents a paradigm shift from the traditional factory-model to a student-centered instructional model. Teachers are utilizing blended learning to create innovative opportunities to maximize student learning outcomes. A blended learning instructional model benefits all students through face-to-face interaction with a teacher, along with meaningful online learning experiences. The flexibility for teachers to adapt a blended learning approach that best fits the needs of their students is crucial to a successful implementation. Students in a blended learning environment have access to an extensive amount of online resources and are guided by teachers who provide quality learning experiences that extend beyond the classroom.

Extreme models of blended learning are designed so that students choose their own learning path based on their interests and needs. Some blended learning models are organized so that students can choose where they want to work on their online assignments. The place in a blended learning environment refers to a learning environment where students are not restricted to learning within the four walls for the classroom. A blended learning approach involves students participating in face-to-face learning experiences in a supervised classroom. Students attend classes in a physical building and meet face-to-face with a teacher while using technology to enhance learning. Blended learning is an effective pedagogical approach for enabling students to experience the essential socialization and academic support of being in a brick-and-mortar facility combined with technology-enabled learning experiences. The belief that school should be more than a virtual learning environment is a shared concern of many parents and teachers. Teachers report that providing guided instruction is difficult in a virtual environment where there is no face-to-face interaction. Teachers in a blended learning environment manage and provide guidance to students while supporting the development of digital citizenship and online safety skills. Students learn in a safe physical environment while building meaningful relationships with peers and teachers.

Educators must consider the devices and infrastructure available to schools prior to implementing a blended learning instructional model. They must also use their professional knowledge and resources to select the appropriate blended learning model that best meets the needs of their students. However, most blended learning models are classified as one of the four main instructional models: Rotation, Flex, A La Carte, and Enriched Virtual (Horn & Staker, 2015; Powell et al. 2015; Staker & Horn, 2012). The Station Rotation, Lab Rotation, and Flipped Classroom models of blended learning are examples of sustaining hybrid innovations, because they incorporate traditional face-to-face and online learning. The Individual Rotation, Flex, A La Carte, and Enriched Virtual models are examples of disruptive models of blended learning. Disruptive models of blended learning utilize traditional classroom experiences in new and different ways.

The Rotation Model is designed for students to rotate through face-to-face and online learning experience at the discretion of the teacher. These experiences could include whole-group instruction, small-group instruction, one-on-one tutoring, peer groups, project-based learning, and paper-pencil activities in addition to the online component. The teacher controls the amount of time students spend at each modality and signals when it is time for students to move on to the next activity. This model is structured so that teachers have the opportunity to provide targeted instruction while keeping all students actively engaged in the learning process. Teachers use online activities during the rotation for collecting data to drive instruction to address the individual learning needs of students in the classroom. Teachers utilize technology enabled adaptive learning experiences to provide individual students with the content they need at the time they need it. Some different types of Rotation Models that are popular in schools:

Station Rotation,