Engaging Blended Learning

Blended Learning

Blended learning is a teaching approach that 'blended' online learning with in-class learning where students attend a regular or semi-regular face-to-face class session and along with completing tasks from an online learning environment.

Types of Blended Learning

Enabling

Enabling access to learning through different modalities to make the same content be more accessible to all learners.

Enhancing

The online component takes more the form of additional resources and supplementary materials which could allow for incremental curriculum development.

Transforming

The online component allows for a radical transformation in the learning approach towards one where learners actively construct their own knowledge (Bonk, Graham, Cross & Moore, 2006).

Why use Blended Learning Approaches?

Blended learning approaches creates opportunities:

to interact with the material from multiple perspectives allowing for individual learning styles and preferences,
for cognitive rehearsal in which the students master the content by talking about their discoveries and understandings of the content (Johnson & Johnson, 1985),
individual learners can sort the personal value of various pieces of content,
to enlarge and accelerate the access of the learner to knowledge,
to learn actively and socially by contributing to the discussion and knowledge of the whole class,
to include unstructured and tacit learning from the inclusion of lunch-like discussions, interviews, videos, pictures, thoughts from other professors, etc.

ReferencesBonk, C.J., & Graham, C.R., & Cross, J., & Moore, M.G. (2006). The handbook of blended learning: Global perspectives, local designs. John Wiley & Sons.Johnson, D. W. and Johnson R. T. (1985) The internal dynamics of cooperative learning groups, In: Learning to Cooperate, Cooperating to Learn, R. Slavin, S. Sharan, S. Kagan, R. Lazarowitz, C. Webb, and R. Schmuck Eds. Plenium Press, New York.

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