Preparing for teaching in a blended learning context

Guidance for Blended Teaching

Introduction

This year we need to manage the learning experience of two groups of students: those who can attend face-to-face sessions, and those who are unable to come to campus.

Face-to-face teaching forms a large part of our blended and connected delivery method. This guidance is for when exceptional circumstances mean students are not on campus.

How will you create one cohort identity to support consistent engagement regardless of where students study?

How will you use digital spaces to include those who are unable to come to campus?

How will you maintain personal and timely communication? How can students support you and each other?

Some teaching will be entirely face-to-face

Every student who has arrived on campus will be expected to attend every face-to-face session.
Large, socially-distanced lectures will not be delivered face-to-face – such content should instead be pre-recorded, and made available in Moodle, in small 5–10 minute chunks.

Some seminars might be entirely online

Online seminars can cater for large numbers while maintaining a collaborative approach.
The use of small breakout sessions in an online session, alongside collaborative tools such as shared Google Docs / Padlet / Vevox, can support interaction and group work.

Some students in a cohort might be unable to come to campus

The guidance below is for face-to-face, seminar group teaching in groups of a maximum of 30 students – recognising that, even with strictly 'in person' seminars, some students will have to access materials online.

We strongly recommended that face-to-face sessions and online delivery are not merged in any way during timetabled sessions.

For example, we would discourage the live streaming of face-to-face sessions for students who are unable to come to campus.

This mode is extremely challenging to deliver, unless:

Multiple lecturers are involved
Audiovisual solutions are in place
Technical support is available.

Furthermore, such sessions require a high level of multitasking. The lecturer has to:

Monitor a WebEx/GoogleMeet/Zoom queue to check for comments and questions
Read sometimes lengthy questions on the chat, and decide whether they merit attention – this distracts from the seminar flow
Keep an eye on the video grid to see whether people are on camera while trying not to turn away from the webcam
Run a Powerpoint or other presentation
Keep track of the screen share feature so students at home can follow the presentation.

There are better options!

Our Top Tips Summary contains ideas for learning activities, and examples of blended learning teaching techniques, to help ensure all students, whether on-campus or not, feel they belong to the module cohort. Their use will help ensure neither group is disadvantaged.

The learning activities in both the Top Tips, and in the other four sections of this guidance, are mapped to the Principles of Blended and Connected Learning.