Practice
Blended teaching matrix
The figure above, from Graham et al. (2017) identifies four categories of learning interactions, all of which are required for blended learning:
Technology-mediated human interaction
Technology-mediated content interaction
Face-to-face human interaction
Physical content interaction
The bottom half of the matrix represents traditional teaching interactions without digital technologies, while the top half represents interactions with and mediated by digital technologies.
Description of interaction in the four quadrants:
Quadrant 1 requires the skills for participating in online teacher-learner interaction and facilitating meaningful online learner-learner interaction, which can happen either synchronously or asynchronously and at low or high fidelity, e.g. text-based versus video.
Quadrant 2 requires skills with digital tools and content, which may be dynamic and data rich. Teachers require skills related to working with real-time data generated by formative assessment tools.
Quadrant 3 requires the skills of in-person teacher-learner interactions as well as learner-learner interactions in whole class and small group settings.
Quadrant 4 requires the ability to use and manage traditional classroom based materials.
Teaching skills needed for teaching in traditional teaching, online teaching and blended teaching:
Traditional teaching uses quadrants 3 and 4. In some cases, quadrant 2 is also utilised as classroom-based technologies have become more prevalent.
Online teaching primary involves the first two quadrants, although in some cases, non-digital content is sometimes used.
Blended teaching however requires all four quadrants to be used.