blended learning: recipes or

pick-and-mix?

Stephen BostockFebruary 2008

“Blended learning”

“…combining established ways of learning and teaching and the new opportunities offered by technology in order to improve students' learning and increase flexibility in how, when and where they study” Blended Learning Unit (CETL), University of Hertfordshire, http://perseus.herts.ac.uk/, accessed 10-4-2007

That is, blend traditional learning activities and new ‘e-learning’ activities (online or face-to-face).

Here we concentrate on online e-learning, blended with campus teaching/learning activities (TLAs).

Macdonald, J. 2006Blended learning and online tutoring

“I think we still have a lot to learn about the ways in which asynchronous and synchronous [face-to-face or technology mediated] tutor-mediated support can be designed to complement each other.” (p54)

“If there is currently a recipe for a blended strategy, it is a broth of pedagogy, heavily peppered with pragmatism”

What is used in blended courses?

Macdonald, J. 2006, Blended learning and online tutoring Survey of blended learning courses 2004/5:

Asynchronous text conferencing (45 of 48 cases) Face-to-Face meetings (42) Course website (28) Online quiz/test (13) Email (10 – underestimated) Less than 10: Synchronous conferencing,

PowerPoint slides, telephone, digital audio/video, print, digital whiteboard, phone conference, digital lecture..)

A simplistic example:possibilities

Onsite Online

Lectures

Problem sheets in class

Tutorials

A field trip

A simplistic example:possibilities

Onsite Online

Lectures Web documents

Problem sheets in class Formative online quizzes

Tutorials Asynchronous text discussions

A field trip Computer simulation

A simplistic example:one design

Onsite Online

Lectures Web documents

Problem sheets in class Formative online quizzes

Tutorials Asynchronous text discussions

A field trip Computer simulation

Three tactics for adding online components

Having identified the possible online and onsite course elements, why select one or other or both?

1. Deficit technology provides support for a missing or non-accessible learning activity. E.g. online discussion in distance learning

2. Substitutionsubstitute a traditional element with a technology-based one. E.g. online tutorials replace onsite tutorials

3. Enrichment technology duplicates existing TLAs, allowing personalized experiences. E.g. lecture handouts on web, audio podcasts of notes, feedback from a quiz

Criteria for ‘blendedness’

Efficiency and effectiveness for learning, of course Just pick and mix? Or a recipe? Complementary, mutually supportive course

components? (technology-supported and traditional, online and onsite)

A balanced experience for students and teachers, according to their expectations and abilities

Flexibility of use, personalization, empowerment

Teaching Activities

to encourage students to behave in ways that will promote the learning outcomes

Intended learning outcomes

written with active verbs describing the learning to be demonstrated, at threshold level and possibly at higher grades of performance

Assessment Tasks

to enable students to demonstrate learning in particular contexts, consistent with the verbs in the ILOs

What the teacher does

What the students do

Learning activities

Actual learning outcomes

Constructive AlignmentJohn Biggs 2003

Generating options

Assessment tasks

Online/CAA

Assessment tasks Onsite

/traditional

Intended learning

outcomes

Teaching-Learning Activities

Online

Teaching-Learning Activities

Onsite

1

2

3

4

Selecting options: example TLAsIntended learning

outcomeTeaching-Learning

Activity: OnlineTeaching-Learning

Activity: Onsite

Recall information X

Web documents & links

Reading a set book, lectures

Perform skill Y Formative quizzes Problem sheets in class

Contribute to discussion on Z

Asynchronous text discussions

Tutorials

Apply knowledge and skills to W

Computer simulation

A field trip

A notional TLA selectionIntended learning

outcomeTeaching-Learning

Activity: OnlineTeaching-Learning

Activity: Onsite

Recall information X

Web documents & links

Reading a set book, lectures

Perform skill Y Formative quizzes Problem sheets in class

Contribute to discussion on Z

Asynchronous text discussions

Tutorials

Apply knowledge and skills to W

Computer simulation

A field trip

A simple toolIntended learning

outcomeTeaching-Learning

Activity: OnlineTeaching-Learning

Activity: Onsite

ILO1

ILO2

ILO3

ILO4

e-TLA3

e-TLA4

TLA1

TLA2

TLA4

What should drive the design of blended learning courses?

Analysis Especially Intended Learning Outcomes

(central to course design: Biggs) Other aspects of needs analysis?

Learning activities Specific ones of a current course General types, from a theory e.g.

Laurillard’s, modified Constructivist, REALS Modes of engagement

Analyze the problem

Factors to consider before we can select and design teaching and assessment methods include

1. My teaching philosophy and personal goals

2. The learners: knowledge, ability, learning styles …

3. Other stakeholders

4. Subject domain and intended learning outcomes

5. Environment, resources, constraints

6. Aims and the evaluation methods needed

E.g. The JISC Effective Practice Planner

Other theories

Educational theories can serve to organize course design, providing checklists of ‘necessary features’.

1. Laurillard’s Conversational Framework has 12 L&T processes, that can be simplified to 6 (by Hegarty, Bostock and Collins 2000)

2. “Social constructivism” as Rich Environments for Active Learning (REALs) has 5 themes (Grabinger & Dunlap 1995; Bostock

1998)

The Conversational Framework

Course feature Online TLAs Onsite TLAs

1. Information delivery

2. Discussion with teacher

3. Task goals understood

4. Practice skills

5. Reflection and adaptation

6. Student cooperation

Example course using the Conversational Framework(Hegarty, Bostock & Collins 2000)

Constructivism: REALs

Constructivist Principle

Online TLAs Onsite TLAs

a. Student responsibility & initiative

b. Active learning by making things

c. Authentic learning contexts

d. Authentic assessment

e. Cooperative support

Example course using REALs(Bostock 1998)

Why is course design so difficult?

1. There are many variables and contexts: every course is different

2. It’s not a ‘simple’ problem, it’s a ‘wicked’ problem

3. So how can become better at it?

“Educating the Reflective Practitioner”Donald Schön 1987

The traditional view of professional practice was: Professionals know the theory and use it to solve

problems Theory and technique are derived from academic

research and applied to life problems Technical rationality approach to problems, theory

and technique are applied to the facts If a new type of problem arises, they must create

new rules or theory

But life isn’t like that

There are ‘indeterminate zones’ of practice (wicked problems) Problems are unique Multiple aspects to a problem Uncertainty because there is no model or

framework for ‘the problem’, no handle on it Conflicts of interest and values, ethical

dilemmas Some situations are beyond conventional technical

competence. They require artistry. Technical rationality is an insufficient or wrong view

of professional expertise.

Reflection-in-action Professionals both act with expertise (knowing-in-

action) and do it flexibly, intelligently, creatively (reflection-in-action)

“reflection-in-action is central to the artistry with which practitioners make new sense of uncertain, unique, or conflicted situations” … “she behaves like a researcher trying to model an expert system” (p.35)

They construct and maintain the world as they see it; “Communities of practitioners are continually engaged in … worldmaking” (p.36)

“Theory” derives from the community of practice

Learning professional practice (of designing e-learning)

If there is no science-based theory or technique for designing blended learning, how can it be learnt?

That is, how can we join the community of practitioners, their language, conventions, skills, values, etc.

Schön: Enter a ‘practicum’ where you tackle real-world problems with peer support, and coaching from experienced professionals in the field

In other words, become action researchers in e-learning, researching your own practice to improve it

Conclusion

All design methods have educational assumptions, implicit or explicit. How to blend effectively?

1. Alignment of onsite and online teaching and assessment with the intended learning outcomes will blend them to a degree

2. Other theories may add richness

3. However, it will never be simple – it’s a wicked problem – but simple tools may get us started by framing the problem

4. There are no blueprints, you must join the community of practitioners who design and research their own e-learning practice in collaboration with their students

References

Anderson, L.W. and Krathwohl, D.R., et al. 2001 A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching and Assessing, abridged edition, New York: Longman

Biggs J.2003 Teaching for quality learning at university, 2nd ed. SRHEBloom, B.S. (Ed.) 1956 Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: The classification of educational

goals: Handbook I, cognitive domain, New York, Toronto: Longmans, GreenBostock, S.J., 1998, Constructivism in Mass Higher Education: a Case Study British Journal

of Educational Technology British Journal of Educational Technology 29 (3), 225-240 Bostock, S. J., Hulme, J. A. and Davys, M. A. 2006 CommuniCubes: Intermediate

Technology For Interaction With Student Groups, chapter in Audience Response Systems in Higher Education edited by David Banks, Hershey PA: Idea Group Inc.

Grabinger, R. S. & Dunlap, J. C. 1995 Rich environments for active learning: A definition, ALT-J, 3 (2), 5-34

Hegarty, J.R. Bostock, S J. and Collins, D. 2000 Staff development in information technology for special needs: a new, distance-learning course at Keele University, British Journal of Educational Technology 31 (3),199-212

JISC, 2004 Effective Practice Planner http://www.jisc.ac.uk/elp_practice.htmlLaurillard, D. 2001 Rethinking University Teaching, 2nd ed., Brighton: RoutledgeFalmer

Macdonald, J. 2006, Blended learning and online tutoring Schön, D. A. 1987 Educating the Reflective Practitioner, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass