scholarly journals Design for learning – a case study of blended learning in a science unit

F1000Research ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 898
Author(s):  
Roslyn Gleadow ◽  
Barbara Macfarlan

Making material available through learning management systems is standard practice in most universities, but this is generally seen as an adjunct to the ‘real’ teaching, that takes place in face-to-face classes. Lecture attendance is poor, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to engage students, both in the material being taught and campus life. This paper describes the redevelopment of a large course in scientific practice and communication that is compulsory for all science students studying at our Melbourne and Malaysian campuses, or by distance education. Working with an educational designer, a blended learning methodology was developed, converting the environment provided by the learning management system into a teaching space, rather than a filing system. To ensure focus, topics are clustered into themes with a ‘question of the week’, a pre-class stimulus and follow up activities. The content of the course did not change, but by restructuring the delivery using educationally relevant design techniques, the content was contextualised resulting in an integrated learning experience. Students are more engaged intellectually, and lecture attendance has improved. The approach we describe here is a simple and effective approach to bringing this university’s teaching and learning into the 21st century.

F1000Research ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 898 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roslyn Gleadow ◽  
Barbara Macfarlan ◽  
Melissa Honeydew

Making material available through learning management systems is standard practice in most universities, but this is generally seen as an adjunct to the ‘real’ teaching, that takes place in face-to-face classes. Lecture attendance is poor, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to engage students, both in the material being taught and campus life. This paper describes the redevelopment of a large course in scientific practice and communication that is compulsory for all science students studying at our Melbourne and Malaysian campuses, or by distance education. Working with an educational designer, a blended learning methodology was developed, converting the environment provided by the learning management system into a teaching space, rather than a filing system. To ensure focus, topics are clustered into themes with a ‘question of the week’, a pre-class stimulus and follow up activities. The content of the course did not change, but by restructuring the delivery using educationally relevant design techniques, the content was contextualised resulting in an integrated learning experience. Students are more engaged intellectually, and lecture attendance has improved. The approach we describe here is a simple and effective approach to bringing this university’s teaching and learning into the 21st century.


Author(s):  
Marva Mirabolghasemi ◽  
Noorminshah A. Iahad

The Community of Inquiry (CoI) model has been used for exploring various aspects of blended learning courses using technology such as Course Management Systems (CMSs). However, there is a lack of research literature evaluating CoI in environments where students use an educational social network in addition to a CMS and face to face teaching and learning. This study investigates a learning experience in blended learning that combines the usage of a CMS, Edmodo, which is an educational Social Network Site (SNS) and face to face teaching and learning. The results have shown a significant relationship and prediction of overall learning experience in relation to teaching, cognitive and social presence in blended learning. Moreover, social presence is the most significant factor to predict the overall learning experience of students.


Author(s):  
Chris Morgan ◽  
Janie Conway-Herron

This case study reports on the results of a two-year pilot study in blended learning in an undergraduate creative writing program at Southern Cross University in Australia. It documents the development and implementation of a blended delivery model that dispenses with outdated divisions between face-to-face and distance modes of delivery, creating a converged, blended learning experience for all students. Findings from the pilot provided important data in relation to student satisfaction, pedagogical considerations, institutional constraints, teaching technologies, faculty workload issues, and costs associated with blended learning. These findings will contribute to a University-wide move to converged, blended learning in 2009.


2018 ◽  
pp. 2140-2165
Author(s):  
Leslie Cordie ◽  
Maria Martinez Witte ◽  
James E. Witte

Faculty are increasing the use of emerging technologies in their classrooms and are recognizing the value of blending face-to-face and online learning to meet educational needs. Blended learning is defined as combining face-to-face and online learning formats. This chapter discusses the definition of blended learning and how it is affecting adult learning experiences and classroom settings. This chapter also addresses faculty and instructional design practices that can be used for blended learning and to continue promoting a positive teaching and learning environment for both face-to-face and online learners. Future research efforts can be focused on faculty development and academic support to continue fostering blended learning and meeting the needs of today's learners.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 386-392
Author(s):  
Samar Alharbi

In the modern era of teaching and learning, the education system witnessed many changes. New methods of teaching and learning are utilised in order to adapt to the growth of technology. Teachers used some teaching methods, such as online teaching, face to face teaching or a combination of both online and face to face known as blended learning (BL) environment. BL has been proven its advantages empirically in many studies. One of the significant advantages is that BL is used as an extended learning environment to reinforce knowledge and make learning more accessible by utilising technology and online resources. However, there are some drawbacks of implementing blended learning, such as the demand of time and teachers' efforts to provide feedback and follow up students. This paper examined the use of BL in higher education. The first part of this paper reviewed some empirical studies in BL.  The second part presented the theoretical framework of using BL. Benefits and challenges of implementing BL in higher education regarding Saudi universities are explained. Lastly, the paper concluded with some critical remarks.


2018 ◽  
pp. 205-220
Author(s):  
Marva Mirabolghasemi ◽  
Noorminshah A. Iahad

The Community of Inquiry (CoI) model has been used for exploring various aspects of blended learning courses using technology such as Course Management Systems (CMSs). However, there is a lack of research literature evaluating CoI in environments where students use an educational social network in addition to a CMS and face to face teaching and learning. This study investigates a learning experience in blended learning that combines the usage of a CMS, Edmodo, which is an educational Social Network Site (SNS) and face to face teaching and learning. The results have shown a significant relationship and prediction of overall learning experience in relation to teaching, cognitive and social presence in blended learning. Moreover, social presence is the most significant factor to predict the overall learning experience of students.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brenda M. Wright

With the ever-increasing development of technology, online teaching is more readily accepted as a viable component in teaching and learning, and blended learning, the combining of online and face-to-face learning, is becoming commonplace in many higher education institutions. Blended learning is, particularly in developing countries, in its early stages and not without its challenges. Asynchronous online lessons are currently still more prevalent in many areas of South-East Asia, perhaps due to potential difficulty in obtaining strong Internet connections, which may deter educators from synchronous options. Technological media have the potential to broaden the scope of resources available in teaching and to enhance the language learning experience. Although research to date shows some focus on blended learning, literature on distance online teaching seems more prevalent. This study exposed 112 Malaysian undergraduate EFL students' responses to an online lesson as part of an English grammar course, and investigates common student perceptions of the online lesson as compared with face-to-face lessons. Questionnaires using qualitative (Likert scale questions) and quantitative (open-ended questions) approaches provided data for content analysis to determine common student perceptions, with particular reference to motivation and interest. In general, more students associated in-class lessons with higher motivation and more interest, due to better understanding, valued classroom interaction with the lecturer and peers, and input from the lecturer. Students preferring the online lesson cited speed and convenience of study and flexibility of time and place of study as reasons for their choice. Skilful implementation of online lessons can enhance a language course but should not undermine the value of face-to-face instruction with EFL teachers.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (11) ◽  
pp. 118
Author(s):  
Jameel Ahmad

The blended approach serves as an effective interface between web-based and face-to-face teaching and learning of language skills. It offers the best of both and commoditizes broad-based teaching and learning avenues thereby bringing the whole teaching and learning process to life. An empirical study conducted on EFL/ESP teachers and learners of Saudi universities indicates that adopting a fully online or a fully offline approach is not as effective as a blended approach. The overwhelming majority of the respondents illustrate that a blended approach offers a rich variety of alternatives combining both online and offline platforms. It is also evident from the findings of the current study that even a technophobic teacher of the old generation can enrich his pedagogical effectiveness while navigating and integrating a vast variety of authentic online resources in his face-to-face teaching. Nevertheless, a learner can also learn language skills effectively by interacting with the dynamic instructors in a face-to-face environment and by repeatedly using online audio-video learning resources at his convenient time. In fact, modern learners are becoming more tech-savvy owing to an exponential growth of Internet usage during the current pandemic of COVID-19, and hence willing to embrace digital learning to enhance their learning experiences. So, let both get intertwined and go hand in hand to revitalize both teaching and learning activities. The amalgamation of the interactive dynamic environment of offline and individualized/independent learning online offers a rounded learning experience.  


Author(s):  
Leslie Cordie ◽  
Maria Martinez Witte ◽  
James E. Witte

Faculty are increasing the use of emerging technologies in their classrooms and are recognizing the value of blending face-to-face and online learning to meet educational needs. Blended learning is defined as combining face-to-face and online learning formats. This chapter discusses the definition of blended learning and how it is affecting adult learning experiences and classroom settings. This chapter also addresses faculty and instructional design practices that can be used for blended learning and to continue promoting a positive teaching and learning environment for both face-to-face and online learners. Future research efforts can be focused on faculty development and academic support to continue fostering blended learning and meeting the needs of today's learners.


Author(s):  
Leslie Cordie ◽  
Maria Martinez Witte ◽  
James E. Witte

Faculty are increasing the use of emerging technologies in their classrooms and are recognizing the value of blending face-to-face and online learning to meet educational needs. Blended learning is defined as combining face-to-face and online learning formats. This chapter discusses the definition of blended learning and how it is affecting adult learning experiences and classroom settings. This chapter also addresses faculty and instructional design practices that can be used for blended learning and to continue promoting a positive teaching and learning environment for both face-to-face and online learners. Future research efforts can be focused on faculty development and academic support to continue fostering blended learning and meeting the needs of today's learners.


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