Blended learning and pedagogy

These case studies illustrate the contribution of asynchronous media, and the occasional, or partial separation of content and learner support; together with an awareness of the importance of retaining face-to-face or online synchronous support at certain parts of the course.  The case studies illustrate the various ways in which the adoption of blended approaches can support student learning.  You will find more case studies which relate to Blended Learning and pragmatism.

Your contributions Press the Edit button, type blearn for the password and get typing.  If you have already contributed a case study, you may wish to update it in the relevant sections below. Asynchronous online environments Dublin Inst of Technology, Ireland Australian Lutheran College, Australia Univ Dundee, UK Univ Sydney, Australia Univ Ghent, Belgium The contribution of face-to-face support Univ     Leipzig, Germany Univ Glamorgan, UK InHolland Univ, Holland Open Univ, UK Bolton Institute, UK Univ Manchester, UK City Univ, UK Alternatives to face to face sessions Univ West Indies, Trinidad & Tobago Open Univ, UK

  

Asynchronous online environments

Dublin Inst of Technology, Ireland

Australian Lutheran College, Australia

Univ Dundee, UK

Univ Sydney, Australia

Univ Ghent, Belgium

            For the first two years of this module, it had been delivered entirely online; ... The          actual learning situation entailed interpersonal complexities and subjective          depths of meaning that challenged my assumptions about how problem based learning would happen online .... In the light of these problems, it was decided to            adopt a blended approach to delivery in that weekly face-to-face problem-based            learning tutorials would be supported by online learning events e.g. exploration of online resources, collaborative research, online reflective journaling, self and  peer assessment. WebCT was the OLE used. The module web site was the hub        that held the participants together outside of the once weekly f2f PBL tutorial.          The activities were designed to scaffold the participant’s learning: they began      with a few individual activities, moved to pair work, then to working collaboratively in groups of four. (18, Dublin Inst of Technology, Ireland;     Donnelly, 2004) )

            Through giving on-campus students the opportunity to communicate via the        asynchronous electronic discussion forum they could extend their length of time       in discussion of class-room topics. This resulted in the level and amount of dialog   being much higher than otherwise. The couple of online students benefited from being able to participate with the discussions involving the on-campus students.    (27, Australian Lutheran College, Australia)

            The module initially ran face to face, then was written into paper-based distance learning with optional face-to-face seminars because of demand for the module from distance students. Blackboard was initially used for support, but is now an                         integral part of the module to allow collaborative and situated learning which is          necessary to develop expertise in specialist clinical practice.

                        Blackboard use is designed to facilitate a community of practice. Tasks are constructivist and authentic, being based on scenarios from clinical practice where students can learn from each others' experience and debate solutions.             Activities are primarily computer conferencing but also Powerpoint student        seminar presentations, bad practice photographs, provision of additional, up-to-      date resources, formative quizzes and an online portfolio developed by students            from work-based activities. (30, Univ Dundee, UK)

            The system is tightly designed to mirror and support the discovery process in PBL         without contradicting the overall philosophy. It is also essentially blends in the       students' learning of Evidence-based Medicine. All future doctors and dentists      have to be not only familiar with IT, but also to be sophisticated users, so it        seemed essential to support their skills from day 1 of the program. We also provide obvious things like timetables, outlines of teaching sessions and an open     access, on-line self-assessment system which is well used, and conduct evaluations on-line ... Throughout the program, information technology is used to        deliver the teaching and learning and to provide a means by which students can       access medical literature and databases. These resources include text     descriptions and outlines of the problems and associated lectures and laboratory sessions, moving and still medical images (radiology, pathology, histology, etc.),             clinical data relevant to the problem of the week, Internet sites related to the      problem, and on-line self-assessment questions and answers. (41, Univ    Sydney, Australia; http://www.gmp.usyd.edu.au/vguide/index. )

            In this respect, the online discussions do not replace the face-to-face discussions,           but both collaborative approaches run parallel. The main goal for introducing the          online discussion groups was to expand students’ opportunities to get in touch      with each other in order to discuss and reflect on medical cases. Face-to-face    discussions focus on the diagnostic process and start from the patients’        presenting problem. Asynchronous e-discussions focus on treatment options and    informing the patient/parents and start from a complete case description with a  given diagnosis. Furthermore, asynchronous text-based discussions present        several advantages as compared to face-to-face discussions when discussing            treatment options: students get more equal opportunities to contribute and          students have more time to reflect, to think, and search for extra information             before contributing to the discussion. (13, Univ Ghent, Belgium)

The contribution of face-to-face support

Univ     Leipzig, Germany

Univ Glamorgan, UK

InHolland Univ, Holland

Open Univ, UK

Bolton Institute, UK

Univ Manchester, UK

City Univ, UK

            Targeting advice or focusing content; brainstorming; pacing of studies

            The didactic concept of the ,Leipziger Online-Seminar’ is to link the theoretical basis of media literacy with the practical realisation of projects to gain media     literacy. The whole seminar constitutes of two online phases and two meetings in        real life. The two meetings in real life take place in the middle and at the end of  the seminar. They are conducted as intensive two-day-workshops and fulfil two          functions: ... After the students gained the theoretical basis during the first online     phase, the meeting in real life is used to repeat, deepen and control their             knowledge. Beside that the first meeting in real life serves as a bridge to the             second online phase, which aims at practical concepts. The students have to form    new working groups related to different tasks. The first meeting in real life is the             foundation for the following working in the course. Moreover, it serves as an          impetus to start creative processes. ... The second meeting marks the end of the     seminar. The students present their developed concepts to the whole group. ...  Beside that, the second meeting serves as evaluation of the whole seminar, for          which the communication situation as a face-to-face contact is good for. (15, Univ    Leipzig, Germany)

            Enhancing community; targeting advice

            Students constantly requested face-to-face sessions to provide additional training           and support ... in terms of benefits, e-moderators noted that blended e-learning     allowed the students to meet, develop relationships and a community spirit. (26,         Univ Glamorgan, UK; Miller, C. et al, 2004)

            Pacing of studies

            The 'real blended' policy was more easy applicable in this project where two    different universities in two different countries are working together. Further two       German consultants are involved and several companies will take part in the             project. The ' blended ' structure of his project is: on-line (gathering personal     information , information about the project and theory / resources / planning and     organising the first F2F meeting in the Netherlands). F2F - kick off in the             Netherlands - three days in October (students / lecturers from both institutes /    external experts Germany and one Dutch company). On-line (discussions, desk      research individual end per group, contacting the companies, meetings, running             the project). F2F - December (meetings: all different group will have meetings)

            On-line (applied research and visiting the participating companies / writing the    research report and results - shared documents / planning and organising the last       F2F meeting in Germany). F2F - Corporate Events - presentation of the findings.            (47, InHolland Univ, Holland) 

            Targeting advice or focusing content

            We generally have an introductory tutorial, which is face to face. In six month     course, there will be four tutorials, in 12 month courses there are eight, plus a            day-school, where the curriculum demands it eg for Finance, there is a Finance            Day-school as we recognise that is where students may experience difficulties    ... or if there is a need for skills development best met by a sustained period of      contact, or best met through a wider networking opportunity, for example, inter- personal skills, interviewing, that sort of thing. (34, Open Univ, UK)

            Targeting advice or focusing content

            First year programming modules are often found difficult by students, a blended approach gives support through online resources as well as the more      familiar face-to-face methods. (33, Bolton Institute, UK)

            Pacing of studies; targeting advice or focusing content

            As the course is about elearning, it seems both appropriate and necessary that  participants experience this for themselves. Various methods of delivery have    been explored during previous courses, including workshops and distance             elearning. To date ... the face-to-face elements have been encouraged but not    made compulsory. The course begins with an optional face-to-face workshop and        then continues online ...Tutor support is provided by a combination of email,           telephone and face-to-face meetings. Tutorials are usually based around project             support ... At the end of the course participants share their projects in a face-to-   face session ... During the last cohort the face-to-face tutorials were emphasised         more, as participants often need such targeted advice for their project to progress          ... At the end of the course participants share their projects in a face to face           session. (11, Univ Manchester, UK)

            Enhancing community; pacing of studies

            ... it was clear that the essence of learning in this context is not about content      available on-line or anywhere else, but is about the sense of ‘community’ and          contact that the students get in some shape or form. Hence we have two                         introductory days at the start of the course, and then optional study days every six          months . ... where the teacher contact is structured around reflective/evidence        based practice issues. These are themed during the course, and students are            encouraged to discuss the developments of their projects/presentation in class on           the discussion board, ie sharing info and pooling resources. This option point was    to acknowledge that if students cannot travel, they are not excluded from the    learning materials, but simply don’t get F2F support – only electronic mediated             support. ... We also have clinical training organised in the nurses own renal unit that is facilitated in a work based learning structure... in Webct we use     discussions (targeted from points in the materials), chatrooms (for informal             student chat as well as on-line tutorials), video clips (to demo clinical skills),       quizzes (to help self directed learning, and help the staff understand the progress        of the students (24, City Univ, UK)

Alternatives to face to face sessions

Univ West Indies, Trinidad & Tobago

Open Univ, UK

            UWI already employs a mixed delivery mode for its distance offerings, with pre-            packaged print materials at the core, supported by face-to-face tutorials and           audio conferencing. However, ‘blended learning’ offers the opportunity to assess    the effectiveness of the existing ‘mix’.... to move distance delivery away from     synchronous modes, and in particular the audio conference component. With             steadily increasing enrolment and number of courses, synchronous delivery     impractical ... Ultimately, UWIDEC would like to have a teaching-learning         system that is truly time and place independent, while still having high levels of         interaction. (28, Univ West Indies, Trinidad & Tobago)

            For most synchronous technologies, including webcasts and IM - there were     problems with firewalls. You need flexibility in the course approach if not all           students can use these technologies ... Audience and subject matter meant that       they were quite willing to tolerate unstable technologies - it was part of the         learning. The Learning Object approach helped, as it contained the risk - if one            bit didn’t work, it didn’t affect the whole course. They didn’t have to do        everything, eg some found IM intrusive - they didn’t have to do it. It provided an          element of choice. (46, Open Univ, UK)