a case study at Delft University of Technology · a case study at Delft University of Technology 12 courses - 3.000 students - 32 instructors - 26 observations Student solves computer-aided

Blended Education in Practicea case study at Delft University of Technology

12 courses - 3.000 students - 32 instructors - 26 observations

Student solves computer-aided exercises, exercises from book, interactive exercises

Individual / small-group problem solving

Activate prior knowledge,

acquire new knowledge

Processing new concepts,

problem solvingProblem

solving

Conceptual understanding of

new concepts

Face-2-face

Self-stu

dy s

tude

nt

•

• Student watches pre-lecture video

Student makes simple exercise

Teacher introduces new concepts and context

Understanding tested through interactive quiz with immediate feedback

Acquiring new knowledge

Processing new knowledge

WhatThe blended learning cycle, depicted below, is based on the flipped classroom model. Students prepare the face-to-face sessions at home.

The classroom time is used for more interactive sessions and personal feedback. Students process new concepts by doing exercises at home.The use of Blackboard,pre-lecture material, MyMathLab practice questions, etc. was very

good! This was my third time taking this course and this time I passed with a 9 because I truly understood the material, thanks to the pre-lecture videos and questions.

The use of the pre-lecture videos was really good and helpful. They made me keep

up with this course, and I was prepared for each lecture, ready to actively participate in

the lectures, which I really liked. The same counts for the use of

FeedbackFruits.

HighlightsSome highlights based on the observations and interviews with instructors and students:

Activation○ Students feel they are more active;○ Students experience a clear structure of the course.

Conceptual understanding○ More time for practice and interaction during lecture due to the flipped learning structure.○ Concept map shows the relations between different topics.

Feedback○ Most students appreciate instant feedback from MyMathLab and FeedbackFruits;○ Students appreciate the small class size and time spent on exercises during the lectures.

Contextual problems○ Many students value the examples of applications. They would like to see more examples;○ The available context examples are sometimes too difficult or not realistic.

Next StepsThe blended approach in the model could be a promising way of enhancing students’ learning experience. The instruction is more activating, students receive more feedback during the course and the interactive quiz system helps instructors to see if students understand a specific subject. However, it should be noted that behavioural change is difficult. Students should be explicitly instructed on how and when to prepare lectures and practice the content. Instructors need to be inspired and sometimes motivated to adapt the way they teach.

Some recommendations:○ Instructors should make a point of integrating the online and face-to-face sessions;○ Continue to evaluate leading to ongoing adaptations of the courses;○ Renaming parts of the course can sometimes make a lot of difference in how students

experience something;○ Organise workshops for instructors on how to implement the new learning strategies

and tools.

Why Delft University of Technology initiated an innovation project, blending its interfaculty mathematics education in response to rising student numbers and developing technology. The goal of this project is fourfold:

○ Improve results;○ Increase efficiency;○ Transfer mathematical knowledge to other courses;○ Better connect to today’s students.

To realise the four goals, the project team defined four educational principles, based on research into good teaching in education. These four principles are:

○ Activation: stimulate active participation of students in every week of the course;○ Conceptual understanding: put emphasis on the conceptual understanding of

the mathematical topics;○ Feedback: give students regular feedback on their progress;○ Contextual problems: use contextual problems related to their field of study.

How

Johannetta Gordijn, [email protected]

Ambi Oosterhout, [email protected]

Wiebe Dijkstra, [email protected]

Documents

a case study at Delft University of Technology · a case study at Delft University of Technology 12 courses - 3.000 students - 32 instructors - 26 observations Student solves computer-aided