A Review of the Literature By: Jackie Bittner at Lamar University
Introduction and Purpose of this Action Research
In today’s world, technology is changing the way that teachers teach, therefore it is important to see how using digital applications in the classroom to enhance learning affects students’ academic growth, focused outcomes, and overall performance. This literature review focuses on a digital learning tool, known as Progress Learning, that can be used as an online resource for math to influence the development of 3rd graders, such as an increase in student engagement and academic performance, using a flex blended learning model. As an educator, I chose this model because I am always looking for ways for students to grow, and be more confident in their math skills. Therefore, I am seeking innovative ways to increase student engagement, motivation, and achievement, which relates to using digital tools that offer opportunities to personalize learning to what the student needs to be successful. In my current innovation plan, the research shows how a flex blended model, project based learning, and small group instruction will improve student learning, comprehension, and outcomes when implemented with fidelity. White (2019) explains, flex blended learning allows for more personalized instruction and supports differentiated teaching by giving students control over the pace and path of their learning. A digital tool like Progress Learning offers adaptive features that provide students with targeted practice, engaging formats, and real-time feedback that all support the students comprehension (Progress Learning, n.d.). In one study, high-usage schools using Progress Learning outperformed the state average by over 10%, while low usage schools still saw improvement above the state mean (Progress Learning, n.d.). These findings align with my goal of improving math achievement in my own classroom. Essentially, the purpose of this action based research is to show strategies that can work together with Progress Learning to be impactful for the students overall academic success. As we examine the effectiveness of this digital tool in a flex blended learning environment, teachers will be able to refine instructional approaches as this study will provide valuable insights into the optimal use of digital learning for math education in elementary schools. Therefore, my specific research question is: How does using Progress Learning within a flex blended learning model impact third grade students’ engagement and academic performance in math?
Definition of Digital Learning Tools in a Flex Blended Model
Educational digital learning tools deliver interactive, adaptive, personalized learning to support the students’ need to meet academic goals. With a flex blended approach, digital platforms, like Progress Learning, help all students master state standards and increase overall math performance and scores. Teachers are empowered to provide targeted, in person support based on what each individual student needs. This model offers flexibility in time, pace, and path, and enables students to take ownership of their learning, which allows teachers to differentiate instruction more effectively (Staker & Horn, 2012). The flex model is successful when digital tools are paired with aligned teaching practices, to ensure that online learning is not isolated from meaningful in person interactions (Staker & Horn, 2012). A digital tool, like Progress Learning, provides personalized practice, real-time data, and aligned standards that support a flex blended structure (Progress Learning, n.d.). When blended well, this digital tool leads to improvements in student motivation, comprehension, and academic achievement (Pane et al., 2017). In essence, a digital app in a flex blended model promotes student centered learning, encouraging student agency and autonomy, while also providing educators with valuable data to help tailor instruction and support the actual needs of the students to be successful.
Types of Digital Learning Tools that Support Math Engagement and Performance
There are a variety of digital learning tools that can help students learn in a fun, interactive, and effective way. Some are game based learning tools, adaptive learning, and practice and assessment platforms. Each type of software application has a way to help students be engaged and enhance their learning, so it is important to find the one that best suits your needs for motivation and growth in the classroom.
Prodigy Math Game
Prodigy is a learning platform that combines both math practice and fantasy games into one unique digital tool. This game based application aligns with the state curriculum and standards, while adapting to the individual needs of learners based on their performance, providing both motivation and academic rigor. Prodigy is a game based tool that can increase student learning and their overall math performance by delivering a fun and engaging experience (Prodigy Education, n.d.).
DreamBox Learning
DreamBox is a math learning tool that is adaptive to the students’ responses and problem solving strategies in real time. This app will give immediate feedback, and individualized pathways for deep conceptual understanding and academic growth. It models relationships and makes connections with mathematical ideas through digital manipulatives (DreamBox Learning, n.d.). It is particularly effective in flex blended environments due to data driven insights and improved learning outcomes.
IXL Learning
IXL is a personalized learning platform that can significantly increase academic outcomes when used consistently for practice and assessments in a blended learning classroom. This digital tool can provide real time feedback for both students and educators. It offers a comprehensive math content that covers a wide range of topics and levels of understanding and responds to the individual learner’s performance. The information used from in-skill practice and its diagnostic assessment, will provide every student with personalized steps to take next at the right level of rigor ( An, 2022 ).
Advantages of Using Progress Learning in a Flex Blended Environment
There are many advantages to using Progress Learning in a flex blended learning environment. Progress Learning is an effective digital tool that can be used in a flex blended approach to provide ways to help align standards, offer assessment tools, and personalize student learning. For instance, the teacher can assign content that adheres directly with the state standards for 3rd grade math instruction, therefore the students can have meaningful, targeted practice to what they need to learn at this grade level to support mastery based learning. In a flex blended model, using Schoology, project based learning, and small group instruction, this digital application will enhance instructional delivery by providing adaptive questioning and real-time feedback to meet students where they are in the learning process. This will allow students to track their own progress as they are using the digital tool which will also increase their motivation and they will be more equipped to take on COVA, by having choice, ownership, voice and authentic learning opportunities. According to Pane et al. (2017), a personalized learning tool that uses data to adjust to what the student needs has shown promise in improving student outcomes and growth in subjects like math.
Progress Learning is a digital platform that supports K–12 supplemental curriculum with tools for independent practice, assessment, and progress tracking (Progress Learning, n.d.).
The research supports digital tools, like Progress Learning, improving academic performance when it is being used along with project based learning and guided instruction. Ertmer and Ottenbreit-Leftwich (2010) explain that when technology is integrated with strategies that promote student centered teaching, it creates deeper, and meaningful learning experiences for the learner. Progress Learning is a learning application that follows this by offering teachers the ability to scaffold instruction by using data to implement small groups, and having students collaborate with peers on projects and assignments. Teachers can use Progress Learning to pre-teach or reinforce concepts that are needed for academic success. This digital platform helps educators monitor student progress, identify the needs of the students, and help them accordingly which is an essential addition to a fully rounded, digitally enhanced learning environment, and classroom.
Progress Learning includes tools like custom learning paths, immediate feedback, and helpful data that allow teachers to monitor and support student growth effectively (Progress Learning, n.d.).
Barriers to Implementing Progress Learning using a Flex Blended Model
Even though Progress Learning can promote personalized instruction and student achievement, there are some barriers that can affect the ability to implement this digital platform in a flex blended environment. For example, one challenge is the insufficient access to technology or the inability to connect to the internet outside of school, like at home, especially for students that don’t have digital devices away from school. In this case, lower income families and their students would struggle to complete online tasks or be fully engaged with this digital tool, since they don’t have reliable devices or internet capabilities (Pew Research Center, 2020). This strategy relies heavily on the consistent use of digital devices to access Progress Learning to fill in learning gaps and use the flex blended learning model effectively.
Another barrier is the learning curve that may be linked with using new technology for both the students and teachers. It is important that teachers are properly trained in how to navigate different digital platforms, such as Progress Learning, but also become aware of using the data, or results to effectively inform instruction. Therefore, educators need to feel confident and adequately trained in using this new technology, so that they do not underutilize the digital platform’s features, and only rely on traditional methods, which will impact the integration of the digital tool into their instruction (U.S. Department of Education, 2020). Professional learning opportunities and continuous support will build teacher abilities and ensure that this digital tool is used to the utmost potential within a flex blended approach.
Time constraints and the curriculum pacing can also be barriers that obstruct the implementation plan. Since teachers often feel pressure to cover the content according to a certain amount of days that are allocated to different units in the curriculum, it leaves them with a limited amount of time to enforce personalized learning paths, or small group guidance. To have a blended learning model that is effective requires intentional design, ongoing support, and plenty of planning time for teachers, which are all limited factors due to the pacing of a rigid curriculum and demanding time constraints (Reich and Mehta, 2021). In essence, these barriers can hinder the overall implementation plan and make it difficult to shift from a traditional classroom environment to a flex blended learning environment that supports innovation, personalized learning, and student centered framework.
Summary
Conclusively, per the research, it is said that using Progress Learning in a flex blended environment can effectively impact third grade students’ engagement and academic performance in math. This digital tool is designed to support teaching strategies and ensure personalized learning by providing data-driven insights and adaptive learning paths. Students make more academic progress when learning is geared to fit their individual needs because they respond well when lessons match where they are at (Pane et al, 2017). Basically, kids are more engaged when they have flexible pacing and are able to work on material that fits what they need (Elsberry, 2016). Also, the flex blended model allows students to take ownership of their learning while teachers can focus on guided instruction in a small group (Staker and Horn, 2012). Therefore, Progress Learning can be used to meet the diverse needs of learners, and bring out the best overall performance in students. When we combine technology with traditional instruction it will offer more targeted support by helping students work at their own pace and having them focus on areas where they need it the most.
Progress Learning gives students their own learning path where they can practice and apply what they’ve learned, helping them build problem-solving skills, fluency, and memory—all without adding extra work for the teacher (Progress Learning, n.d.).
This Literature Review and the Field of Education
This literature review adds to the field of education because it highlights how using adaptive digital platforms, like Progress Learning, within a flex blended approach supports student engagement and academic achievement in elementary math. This combination gives students control over their learning and helps them transition into more complex problem solving skills which happens in a critical stage of development like third grade. The flex blended model allows students more ownership while teachers give more focused instruction (Staker and Horn, 2012). This action research supports personalized learning, small group instruction, and flexible pacing to help teachers meet the needs of each of their students through thoughtful facilitation and planning. Real progress can be made, especially since this learning environment ensures purposeful and meaningful instruction. With the integration of Progress Learning, within a flex blended learning model, along with Schoology, project based learning, and small group instruction, it is proven to enhance the students’ outcomes. This model needs to be used effectively to intentionally close learning gaps and support all learners in a third grade math classroom.
Strengths and Weaknesses of this Body of Literature
One of the biggest strengths in my action research is how personalized learning is well supported through flex blended models, especially for elementary students. Pane et al. (2017) and Staker and Horn (2012) have proven that letting students move at their own pace and providing them with targeted support through guided instruction will boost student engagement and academic growth. The literature explains the importance of teacher support and professional learning in order to successfully use this model for effective outcomes. It takes good planning, the right tools, and teacher collaboration to reach better student experiences and learning goals.
Even though research has provided information about the benefits of flex blended learning models, there isn’t specific details about how a program, like Progress Learning, really works in an elementary school setting. Researchers have focused more on how effective a flex blended learning environment is, but not really digging deeper into the experiences of younger grade levels. There really has not been much research on how long it could take a teacher or a student to adjust to this kind of learning, or what the challenges actually are with managing an environment like this with a group of third graders. Therefore, more research that shows real classroom experiences and student data in third grade math would certainly be more helpful. A research overview that includes the voice of the teacher, especially those that are using this approach in their own classrooms, or on a day to day basis would have filled in the missing gaps, or weaknesses of the overall literature review.
Focus of the Current Study
To wrap things up, the research from this literature will directly impact my approach to my action research project. There has been strong support for personalized learning and guided instruction in a flex blended learning environment that I will use in my third grade math classroom. A digital tool, like Progress Learning, allows students to have more control over their own learning experience and will only help them grow academically when used with fidelity (Staker & Horn, 2012). This research will guide how I set up rotations in my classroom, monitor student progress, and how I can support different learners at the levels that they are each at. I am also reminded that teacher support and planning is crucial, plus making reflections and getting feedback is necessary to make continuous adjustments for improvement throughout the process.
References
An, Y. (2022). Assessing the impact of IXL Math over three years: A quasi-experimental study. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED628125
DreamBox Learning. (n.d.). DreamBox Math Solution Overview. Discovery Education. Retrieved April 10, 2025, from https://info.discoveryeducation.com/rs/063-SDC-839/images/SS-2022-DreamBoxOverview.pdf
Elsberry, C. (2016). The Promise of Blended Learning. Education Elements. https://www.edelements.com/blog/the-promise-of-blended-learning
Ertmer, P. A., & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, A. T. (2010). Teacher technology change: How knowledge, confidence, beliefs, and culture intersect. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 42(3), 255–284. https://doi.org/10.1080/15391523.2010.10782551
Pane, J. F., Steiner, E. D., Baird, M. D., & Hamilton, L. S. (2017). Informing progress: Insights on personalized learning implementation and effects. RAND Corporation. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR2042.html
Pew Research Center. (2020, September 10). 59% of U.S. parents with lower incomes say their child may face digital obstacles in schoolwork. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/09/10/59-of-u-s-parents-with-lower-incomes-say-their-child-may-face-digital-obstacles-in-schoolwork/
Prodigy Education. (n.d.). Does Prodigy Work? Studies Show Positive Impact On Academic Achievement. Prodigy Education. Retrieved April 10, 2025, from https://www.prodigygame.com/main-en/blog/prodigy-works/
Progress Learning. (n.d.). Relationship between Progress Learning product use and student performance. Progress Learning. Retrieved April 7, 2025, from https://progresslearning.com/resources/proven-results/relationship-between-progress-learning-product-use-and-student-performance/
Reich, J., & Mehta, J. (2021). Strengthen distance and blended learning. Learning Policy Institute. https://restart-reinvent.learningpolicyinstitute.org/strengthen-distance-and-blended-learning
Staker, H., & Horn, M. B. (2012). Classifying K–12 blended learning. Innosight Institute. https://www.christenseninstitute.org/publication/classifying-k-12-blended-learning/
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2020). Use of educational technology for instruction in public schools: 2019–20 (NCES 2021-017). https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2021/2021017.pdf
White, J. (2019, January 16). 5 blended-learning myths to bust in 2019. Christensen Institute. https://www.christenseninstitute.org/blog/5-blended-learning-myths-to-bust-in-2019/
Jackie Bittner M.Ed. 