New data about educators who completed the Rethink Education Facilitator Badge professional development program reveals the program's transformative impact on their teaching and student learning outcomes across North Carolina.
Rethink Education is an initiative led by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) aimed at helping school districts mitigate the challenges of learning disruptions — like those caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, inclement weather or other unexpected events that interrupt traditional classroom instruction. Funded by a $17.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Rethink Education works to strengthen instructional resilience by equipping educators with the skills to deliver high-quality blended learning.
Blended learning combines both in-person and online instruction with digital tools to create more flexible and personalized learning experiences. Rethink Education’s professional development equips teachers to serve as facilitators and trainers for their peers, strengthening instructional capacity within their local school communities.
“Today’s students need to be prepared for tomorrow’s dynamic work environment,” said Melissa Davis, NCDPI’s director of the Office of Virtual Instruction Support Services.
According to The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Education Policy Initiative at Carolina (EPIC) multi-year study of Badged Facilitators’ impact, data shows that these dedicated educators, empowered with blended learning training, are having a powerful impact on student learning. Badged Facilitators saw average increases between 5% and 10% of a standard deviation on end-of-grade math and English Language Arts tests among their students, which equates to proficiency gains of about 4% to 5% in both subjects. Furthermore, student subgroup analyses demonstrated that Badged Facilitators had larger impaction on student groups that historically perform more poorly on standardized tests, including male students, Black students and economically disadvantaged students.
A recent survey supports these findings and highlights additional benefits of the program:
- Almost all (98%) found the Rethink Blended Learning Facilitator Course valuable.
- More than two-thirds (68%) see that blended learning is making a positive impact on students by increasing student engagement in learning.
- Over half (56%) say that blended learning is helping students develop stronger digital literacy skills.
- Nearly all (92%) find blended learning effective with all students.
Since its launch, Rethink Education has trained and badged over 1,800 educators in 100 districts, two tribal schools and 29 charter or lab schools across the state in both traditional and charter schools at no cost to them or their schools. The cohort-based training takes five to six months. Once completed, educators are expected to act as ongoing facilitators and instructional leaders in their districts or charter schools, continuing their leadership and training efforts beyond the initial cohort period.
Rethink Education partners with North Carolina districts and schools to improve blended and virtual learning, access and content for students in grades K-8. Learn more about Rethink Education.