Blended Learning

Blended learning combines face-to-face and online learning strategies. Each has advantages, but together, a blended learning strategy has been shown to improve student performance. This model accommodates a wider range of learning styles, offers flexibility, and leads to deeper learning.

Blended learning does NOT involve lecturing to some students in a classroom while some are in Zoom. That is hy-flex.

Online: Students complete certain parts of the course when it suits them, and can pause, go back, skip forward, and revisit material as needed.

Face-to-Face: Students spend some time in a classroom, lecture hall, lab, or even a Zoom room with supervised instruction. The key is that concepts and material in blended learning represent a connected learning path versus topics being repeated online that have already been covered in class or vice versa.

This process requires planning, but it is the best way to design a course. So whether you teach face-to-face, online, or somewhere in between, designing a course using blended learning strategies makes it more flexible for both you and your students.

For a comparison of traditional learning and blended learning, see Fundamentals of Blended Teaching and Learning in The Blended Course Design Workbook: A Practical Guide, by Kathryn E. Linder (2017). It is available through our library.