Innovation Project Update & Analysis

Station Rotation Blended Learning in Correctional Education

Project Overview

The Station Rotation Blended Learning initiative was developed to explore a more flexible and engaging instructional model within Windham School District’s correctional education setting. Academic teachers often work with students at different academic levels within extended instructional blocks, making it challenging to provide targeted instruction while keeping all students actively engaged. The station rotation model provides an opportunity to organize instruction into smaller learning experiences that may include teacher-led instruction, collaborative or independent practice, and technology-supported learning.

The project initially focused on improving differentiation and student engagement while helping teachers move beyond a primarily whole-group or workbook-based instructional model. As the project has progressed, access to technology has become an important part of creating the conditions necessary for this instructional change. For the first time in Windham School District, student Chromebooks are being introduced directly into classrooms for instructional use.

The current pilot at the Holliday Unit includes five Chromebooks in an academic classroom, where students are accessing Aztec as part of station rotation instruction. Implementation is also beginning in Career and Technical Education (CTE), with five Chromebooks being introduced in an Introduction to Construction Careers course to provide students access to Interplay. These initial implementations allow the district to test not only instructional practices but also the infrastructure, security, account management, and technical processes necessary to support student devices within a correctional environment.

Ultimately, the significance of this innovation extends beyond simply placing devices in classrooms. The goal is to create an instructional environment in which technology can be used purposefully alongside teacher-led instruction while expanding students’ opportunities to develop the academic, digital, and workforce skills they will need for continued education, employment, and successful transition beyond the classroom.

From Plan to Practice: What Has Happened?

The innovation has moved from planning into an active pilot phase at the Holliday Unit. While the original plan centered on implementing station rotation as an instructional model, the early stages of implementation revealed that several technical and organizational systems needed to be established before student devices could be consistently integrated into classroom instruction.

A significant milestone has been the introduction of student Chromebooks into the classroom for the first time in Windham School District. The current pilot includes five Chromebooks in one academic classroom, where station rotation is being implemented and students are able to access their Aztec accounts. A second implementation is beginning in the Introduction to Construction Careers CTE course, where five Chromebooks provide students access to Interplay.

Implementation has required ongoing coordination between two primary departments. Information Technology (IT) manages device configuration, network access, security, and infrastructure, while Academic and Instructional Technology tests the devices and digital platforms in the classroom environment and provides support and training to teachers. This partnership has been necessary because technical access must function reliably before teachers and students can consistently use the devices as part of instruction.

Connectivity has improved throughout the pilot, although challenges remain. Considerable time has also been devoted to testing account creation and enrollment processes involving Nucleos, AchieveDXP, and Aztec. One current area of focus is determining the most effective process for automatically enrolling students and linking existing Aztec accounts rather than creating duplicate or unnecessary accounts through AchieveDXP.

Although these technical and infrastructure needs have extended the setup phase, they have also provided important information that would have been difficult to identify without a small-scale pilot. This experience aligns with the Education Endowment Foundation’s (2024) guidance that implementation should be treated as a structured but flexible process in which organizations prepare, deliver, reflect, and adapt rather than move rigidly through a predetermined plan.

Rather than expanding before these systems are ready, the project has progressed deliberately through testing, troubleshooting, and classroom implementation. Each stage has helped identify the technical, instructional, and organizational conditions that will need to be in place before student device access can be expanded more broadly.

Evidence and Impact

At this stage of the innovation project, the available evidence primarily demonstrates implementation progress rather than measurable student impact. This distinction is important because the current pilot is still focused on establishing the technical and instructional conditions necessary for consistent student device use and station rotation.

Evidence of progress includes successful student access to Chromebooks in the academic classroom, student access to existing Aztec accounts, implementation of station rotation, improved connectivity, and the expansion of the device pilot into a CTE classroom using Interplay. Technical testing has also identified issues related to connectivity, account creation, enrollment, and platform integration. Although troubleshooting these issues does not demonstrate improved student achievement, it provides valuable implementation evidence by identifying systems that must function reliably before the initiative can expand.

Earlier stages of the project also demonstrated how limited connectivity and access to devices affected teachers’ ability to integrate digital resources consistently. As infrastructure and access have improved, teachers have greater opportunities to explore how technology can support instruction rather than viewing it as a resource that may or may not be available.

The use of a small pilot also reflects principles of continuous improvement. Shakman et al. (2020) describe continuous improvement as an iterative process in which educational organizations identify needs, test changes, examine evidence, and make adjustments. This approach is particularly relevant to the current project because the pilot is generating information that can guide decisions before implementation is expanded.

It is still too early to determine whether the innovation has resulted in measurable changes in student achievement, engagement, or academic growth. Data such as TABE or NRS gains, GED outcomes, student feedback, classroom walkthroughs, teacher implementation logs, and evidence of time on task will be needed over a longer implementation period before conclusions about student impact can be made.

The current evidence therefore suggests that the project has reached an important implementation milestone, but not yet an outcome milestone. Establishing secure student access, functional digital platforms, reliable connectivity, and classroom routines creates the foundation for the next phase of evaluation.

Leadership, Implementation, and Organizational Conditions

Implementation of the innovation has reinforced that instructional change depends on more than access to technology. Leadership support, infrastructure, collaboration across departments, teacher readiness, and the unique requirements of a correctional education environment have all influenced the pace and direction of the project.

One of the most significant factors has been collaboration between Information Technology and Academic and Instructional Technology. IT is responsible for configuring devices, maintaining secure network access, and supporting the infrastructure required for student use. Academic and Instructional Technology then tests those systems within the classroom, works with teachers, and evaluates how the technology functions during instruction. A device may be technically configured, but successful implementation also depends on whether students can access the appropriate programs and whether teachers can integrate those resources into instruction effectively.

Teacher readiness is another important condition. Introducing devices does not automatically change instructional practice. Teachers need opportunities to become comfortable with the technology, understand how it supports instruction, and develop classroom routines that make its use manageable. Station rotation provides a structure for introducing technology without requiring it to replace teacher-led instruction.

Ongoing professional collaboration will be important as implementation progresses. Dudley et al. (2019) found that collaborative professional learning can contribute not only to changes in individual teaching practices but also to broader development of professional knowledge and organizational capacity. For this project, opportunities for teachers to examine classroom practice together, share what is working, and make adjustments can support the transition from access to meaningful instructional use.

The correctional environment also creates considerations related to security, access, and equity that influence implementation. Students cannot be provided unrestricted access to digital resources, so platforms and processes must be carefully tested before they are introduced or expanded. While these requirements can slow implementation, they are necessary to create sustainable and secure access. Beginning with five devices in a classroom has allowed the district to test these systems on a manageable scale while continuing to refine instructional practices.

Perhaps the most important shift throughout the project has been recognizing that the technology itself is not the innovation. Chromebooks, Aztec, Interplay, and other digital resources provide access and opportunities, but the larger goal is to create more flexible and responsive learning environments. Technology supports that goal when it allows teachers to differentiate instruction, provide students with additional learning opportunities, and connect classroom experiences with academic and workforce preparation.

Lessons Learned

One of the most important lessons from this project has been that meaningful innovation takes time. The original focus was on implementing station rotation, but the process has reinforced how many systems must work together before instructional change can occur successfully. Connectivity, device configuration, security, student accounts, digital platforms, teacher preparation, and classroom procedures all influence whether an instructional model can move from an idea into sustainable practice.

The small-scale pilot has also demonstrated the value of starting with a manageable implementation. Working with five Chromebooks in one academic classroom has allowed technical and instructional challenges to surface before devices are introduced more broadly. Issues involving connectivity, account enrollment, and platform integration can be addressed now rather than multiplied during a larger rollout.

In this case, moving deliberately has not represented a lack of progress. It has been part of building the conditions necessary for responsible implementation. The Education Endowment Foundation (2024) similarly emphasizes that effective implementation requires supportive infrastructure as well as ongoing reflection, monitoring, and adaptation.

Another lesson has been the importance of collaboration across departments. Academic and Instructional Technology cannot independently solve infrastructure or security issues, just as Information Technology cannot determine how a tool will function instructionally in the classroom. Both perspectives are necessary. The project has strengthened my understanding that sustainable educational technology initiatives require communication between the people responsible for the technical environment and those responsible for teaching and learning.

The experience has also reinforced my belief that technology should serve an instructional purpose. Providing students with devices is an important milestone, particularly within our correctional education environment, but access alone is not the intended outcome. The larger goal is to use that access to support differentiated instruction, increase learning opportunities, and help students develop skills that extend beyond the classroom.

Looking back, I would not significantly change the pace of implementation. Many of the challenges encountered could only be identified through actual testing in the classroom environment. The process has unfolded in a way that has allowed the district to learn, adjust, and build necessary systems before expanding. Moving forward, I would continue to use this approach: start small, listen to the people involved, examine the evidence, make adjustments, and expand when the conditions support it.

Recommendations and Next Steps

Based on the current stage of implementation, the innovation should continue and be strengthened before broader expansion. The immediate priority should be establishing a secure and reliable process for student device access, including connectivity, account management, automatic enrollment, and integration among Nucleos, AchieveDXP, Aztec, and other approved instructional platforms. Resolving these processes during the current pilot will provide a stronger foundation for future implementation.

Once student devices can be consistently and securely managed, the next phase should focus on expanding the instructional opportunities available through them. Additional academic and workforce platforms can be introduced intentionally based on instructional need rather than simply increasing the number of available programs. The early use of Aztec in the academic classroom and Interplay in the CTE classroom provides an opportunity to examine how student devices can support both academic learning and career preparation.

Instructional support should develop alongside technical expansion. Teachers will need continued opportunities to practice station rotation, collaborate with colleagues, share successful strategies, and receive support as they incorporate technology into existing instruction. Classroom walkthroughs, teacher implementation logs, student feedback, and lesson plans can provide evidence of how consistently the model is being implemented and where additional support is needed.

The project should also begin transitioning from measuring implementation activity to collecting evidence of instructional and student impact. As implementation becomes more consistent, evidence such as student engagement, time on task, TABE or NRS growth, GED outcomes, teacher feedback, and student feedback can help determine whether the model is producing the intended results. These measures should be considered over time and alongside implementation data so that changes in student outcomes are not attributed to the innovation without sufficient evidence.

Broader expansion should occur after the current pilot demonstrates that the technical systems are reliable and that teachers can use the devices effectively within the instructional model. The long-term direction remains increasing access to purposeful technology-supported instruction across classrooms, but the experience of this pilot supports a deliberate approach:

Establish secure access. Strengthen instructional practice. Evaluate the evidence. Scale what is working.

References

Dudley, P., Xu, H., Vermunt, J. D., & Lang, J. (2019). Empirical evidence of the impact of lesson study on students’ achievement, teachers’ professional learning and on institutional and system evolution. European Journal of Education, 54(2), 202–217. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.12337

Education Endowment Foundation. (2024). A school’s guide to implementation. https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/guidance-reports/implementation

Shakman, K., Wogan, D., Rodriguez, S., Boyce, J., & Shaver, D. (2020). Continuous improvement in education: A toolkit for schools and districts (REL 2021-014). Regional Educational Laboratory Northeast & Islands, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED608892