Blended for Student Engagement and Retention

Facetiously described as the “third generation” of distance learning, blended learning is now the new kid on the block in the deployment of technology to support teaching and learning. Its versatility as a pedagogical strategy for creating learner-centered instruction lies in the capacity to exploit the potentials of both the traditional face-to-face instruction and online learning modality in order to provide students with multiple pathways of learning. Yet, developing a blended course to take advantage of these duo capabilities is a monumental challenge for faculty. This chapter presents an analysis of approaches and models employed by faculty at Northern Arizona University to develop and deliver two blended courses as part of the institution's strategy of using technology to enhance undergraduate student engagement and retention. The analysis shows that a multimodal approach that infuses technologies and media and a proactive institutional policy in favor of blended learning, coupled with strategic faculty development, provides the best pathway to developing robust blended courses that are truly learner-centered.

Designing Quality Blended Courses

Curriculum Design and Classroom Management ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-8246-7.ch034 ◽

2015 ◽

pp. 630-642

Author(s):

Amy M. Grincewicz

Keyword(s):

Teaching And Learning ◽

Instructional Delivery ◽

Learning Approach ◽

Educational Benefits ◽

Development Team ◽

Learning And Teaching ◽

Face To Face ◽

Blended Courses ◽

Over the last few years, a growing number of courses have been incorporating online elements into traditional face-to-face instruction. This movement has led to the emergence of a blended teaching and learning approach, which, in turn, has increased the need to discuss the educational benefits and underlying challenges of this type of instructional delivery. When developing a blended course, a number of important principles should be kept in mind to ensure the effectiveness of the course. Effective blended design takes into consideration the differences between face-to-face and online learning and incorporates different learning and teaching strategies. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss designing a quality blended course. This chapter discusses designing activities to encourage interaction, motivation, and engagement within a blended course that can be used in the online components. In addition, how to structure a blended course and benefits of working with a development team are discussed.

Practical Applications and Experiences in K-20 Blended Learning Environments - Advances in Mobile and Distance Learning ◽

Designing Quality Blended Courses

10.4018/978-1-4666-4912-5.ch004 ◽

2014 ◽

pp. 43-55

Author(s):

Amy M. Grincewicz

Keyword(s):

Teaching And Learning ◽

Instructional Delivery ◽

Learning Approach ◽

Educational Benefits ◽

Development Team ◽

Learning And Teaching ◽

Face To Face ◽

Blended Courses ◽

Over the last few years, a growing number of courses have been incorporating online elements into traditional face-to-face instruction. This movement has led to the emergence of a blended teaching and learning approach, which, in turn, has increased the need to discuss the educational benefits and underlying challenges of this type of instructional delivery. When developing a blended course, a number of important principles should be kept in mind to ensure the effectiveness of the course. Effective blended design takes into consideration the differences between face-to-face and online learning and incorporates different learning and teaching strategies. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss designing a quality blended course. This chapter discusses designing activities to encourage interaction, motivation, and engagement within a blended course that can be used in the online components. In addition, how to structure a blended course and benefits of working with a development team are discussed.

BLENDED LEARNING: STUDENT PERCEPTION OF FACE-TO-FACE AND ONLINE EFL LESSONS

Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics ◽

10.17509/ijal.v7i1.6859 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 64 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Brenda M. Wright

Keyword(s):

Blended Learning ◽

Language Learning ◽

Student Perceptions ◽

Online Teaching ◽

Teaching And Learning ◽

Learning Experience ◽

Student Perception ◽

Classroom Interaction ◽

Face To Face ◽

Face To Face Instruction

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.

Design approach to blended learning in teaching EFL for Indonesian university students

Lingua Pedagogia, Journal of English Teaching Studies ◽

10.21831/lingped.v1i2.27434 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

pp. 14-30

Author(s):

Nila Kurnia Sari

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Blended Learning ◽

Teaching And Learning ◽

Online Survey ◽

Design Approach ◽

Learning Design ◽

State University ◽

Approaches To Teaching ◽

Blended Courses ◽

With the rapidly increasing involvement of technology in the teaching and learning process in higher education, lecturers are constantly on the lookout for better ways to integrate technology into their classes. Blended learning emerged in 2000 and has been one of the most popular approaches to teaching EFL. Despite having been around for years, not many people fully understand the principle behind it and how to design an effective blended course. Such is the case in most higher education institutions in Indonesia. This article reports on the result of a survey-based research in which the aim was to investigate how EFL lecturers in Yogyakarta State University, Indonesia design their blended courses. As many as 9 lecturers were involved as respondents in an online survey, an interview, and documents inspection. The data from the survey were then analyzed using two major theories of blended learning design approach by Lai, M., Lam, K. M., & Lim, C. P. (2016) and Alammary, Sheard, and Carbone (2014). The findings revealed that EFL lecturers designed their blended learning based on the principle of extension by Lai, M., Lam, K. M., & Lim, C. P. (2016) and the low-impact model Alammary, Sheard, and Carbone (2014) was preferred to the other models.

Preparing the Next Generation of Teachers for 21st Century Education - Advances in Higher Education and Professional Development ◽

Innovative Approaches in Teaching and Learning for Sciences

10.4018/978-1-5225-4080-9.ch014 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 229-251 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Lin Lin Chua ◽

Adeline Yoke Yin Chia ◽

Phelim Voon Chen Yong

Keyword(s):

Blended Learning ◽

Teaching And Learning ◽

Successful Implementation ◽

Learning Tools ◽

Self Directed Learning ◽

Face To Face ◽

Learner Centered ◽

E Learning ◽

Directed Learning ◽

Undergraduate Science

It is a challenging task to produce science graduates who are successful academically as well as competent in various life-long skills that are needed for a successful career. To innovate the learning process and promote skill development, students should be encouraged to practise self-directed learning via online learning materials and e-learning tools, in addition to attending the conventional face-to-face lectures. In this chapter, the importance of a shift in the teaching and learning paradigm from teacher-centered to learner-centered learning is highlighted. The methods and approaches behind a successful implementation of blended learning for undergraduate science programs are discussed. Various e-learning tools and appropriate e-learning activities that can promote the development of self-directed and collaborative learning are also described in detail.

Investigating the Implementation of Blended Learning in a Paragraph Writing Course in Promoting Student Engagement: The Case of Introductory Writing Course

Issues in Language Studies ◽

10.33736/ils.1613.2018 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

pp. 87-103

Author(s):

Anggri Muhtia ◽

Suparno ◽

Sumardi

Keyword(s):

Online Learning ◽

Student Engagement ◽

Blended Learning ◽

Class Discussion ◽

Writing Assignments ◽

Face To Face ◽

Course Materials ◽

Writing Course ◽

Face To Face Learning ◽

Face To Face Instruction

Blended learning, the instructional approach integrating online learning into face-to-face learning, is one of the approaches gaining widespread acceptance among educational practitioners. One of its advantages is to promote student engagement, which is viewed beneficial to ensure deep learning among students and address some educational issues. Although there is no specific formula for engaging all students into a course, blended learning is believed to enable student engagement further away than what is possible in a face-to-face instruction. This paper reports a case study conducted at a university in Indonesia. The purpose of the study was to investigate the implementation of blended learning in a paragraph writing course to promote student engagement. Data were collected through observations, interviews, and document analysis, and analysed using Miles, Huberman and Saldana’s (2014) interactive model. It was revealed that the instructional strategies in the course focused on the benefits of face-to-face learning as the main instructional method while the online learning was the supplementary to reinforce students’ knowledge and understanding. The implementation of blended learning in the course was able to promote student engagement particularly through the activities of uploading course materials, online writing assignments, online quizzes, student-teacher conferencing, class discussion, and group work.

Transitioning to Blended Learning: Understanding Student and Faculty Perceptions

Online Learning ◽

10.24059/olj.v15i1.188 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Nanette P. Napier ◽

Sonal Dekhane ◽

Stella Smith

Keyword(s):

Blended Learning ◽

Student Performance ◽

Liberal Arts ◽

Faculty Perceptions ◽

Liberal Arts College ◽

Final Exam ◽

Face To Face ◽

Faculty Teaching ◽

The Impact

This paper describes the conversion of an introductory computing course to the blended learning model at a small, public liberal arts college. Blended learning significantly reduces face-to-face instruction by incorporating rich, online learning experiences. To assess the impact of blended learning on students, survey data was collected at the midpoint and end of semester, and student performance on the final exam was compared in traditional and blended learning sections. To capture faculty perspectives on teaching blended learning courses, written reflections and discussions from faculty teaching blended learning sections were analyzed. Results indicate that student performance in the traditional and blended learning sections of the course were comparable and that students reported high levels of interaction with their instructor. Faculty teaching the course share insights on transitioning to the blended learning format.

Analogues of engagement: Assessing tertiary student engagement in contemporary face-to-face and blended learning contexts

Higher Education Research & Development ◽

10.1080/07294360.2021.1901666 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-16

Author(s):

Jana Lay-Hwa Bowden

Keyword(s):

Student Engagement ◽

Blended Learning ◽

Face To Face ◽

Tertiary Student ◽

Learning Contexts

Design and evaluation of two blended learning approaches: Lessons learned

Australasian Journal of Educational Technology ◽

10.14742/ajet.896 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 27 (8) ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Wing Sum Cheung ◽

Khe Foon Hew

Keyword(s):

Blended Learning ◽

Teaching And Learning ◽

Theoretical Foundation ◽

Graduate Programs ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

University Teaching ◽

Learning Approach ◽

Learning Approaches ◽

Communication Tool ◽

Face To Face

<span>In this paper, we share two blended learning approaches used at the National Institute of Education in Singapore. We have been using these two approaches in the last twelve years in many courses ranging from the diploma to graduate programs. For the first blended learning approach, we integrated one asynchronous communication tool with face to face tutorials, classroom discussions, and a reflection session. For the second blended learning approach, we integrated two asynchronous tools with face to face tutorials in a course. We discuss the theoretical foundation of the two blended learning approaches. In addition, we share insights from these two blended learning approaches, based on the students' data (online postings, questionnaires, reflection logs, and interviews), as well as our own reflections. Finally, we describe and discuss several important lessons learned that could inform the design of future instructional strategies in implementing blended learning in university teaching and learning settings.</span>