Blended Learning as a Temporary Solution and Long-Term Opportunity for Growth

Carmen Macharaschwili, Holy Cross College

Notre Dame, IN

Holy Cross College“Where experience

Matters”•Four- year, liberal arts college (very young)

•500 students, approximately 30 in the Education department

•Global issues component

•Experiential learning

•Individualized instruction

Statement of problem:

•No funding

•Reduction in staff

•Grow Enrollment

•Maintain the mission

Research:Pew Research Center (2012), “More than

three-quarters of the nation’s colleges and universities now offer online classes, ...and about one-in-four college graduates (23%) have taken a course online” (Parker, Lenhart & Moore)

Horizon Report:People expect to be able to work, learn, and

study whenever and wherever they want toEducation paradigms are shifting to include

online learning, hybrid learning and collaborative models” (The New Media Consortium, 2012 )

Challenges in the research “Administrators and college presidents

indicated that they view the change as an opportunity in growth, while faculty, (especially those not familiar with the medium), were more reluctant to credit online learning as a legitimate format” (Allen et. al., 2012)

2/3 of professors say they believe that the learning outcomes for an online course are inferior or somewhat inferior to those for a comparable face- to-face course (Pew, 2012)

49% of the faculty who indicated that learning outcomes in online education are inferior to those for face-to-face instruction are still recommending online courses for their students (Allen, Seaman, Lederman, & Jaschik)

Possible solution:Blended learning

•improved teaching and learning outcomes (Garrison & Kanuka, 2004)

•flexibility in and access to learning, (Swenson & Curtis, 2003; Vrasidas & Zembylas, 2004)

•cost effectiveness (Graham, 2006)

•students in an online section of the course expressed as much or more satisfaction with their learning experience as did students in a face-to-face section and two blended sections of the same course (Kozak, 2009)

Holy Cross implementation50/50 modelAvailability of practicing teachersOpportunity to incorporate experience with

educational technologiesCourses: 5 courses, sophomore-senior level Use of Moodle

Research QuestionsWhat effects does the implementation of blended learning environment have on cost effectiveness, enrollment, learning outcomes, and faculty and student perceptions of adherence to our mission?

Data: teacher evaluations

(midterm and end-of-term)

Survey (mid-term and end-of-term)

analysis of assessment data and grades

interviews of students and professors

Initial results

PRE POST

Initial CommentsI think that is a good idea to have a mix of

classes both in the classroom and online. I think that a disadvantage for me is sometimes I forget about the online homework or activities.

Advantage: Schedule is more flexible for holding a job, or getting in observation hours. Disadvantage: You only see the professor once a week so it is easy to forget about the expectations of a professor or mix them up with a different blended class.

Online tools forImplementationsMoodle

Discussion boards

Blogs

Group work

Podcasts

Website browsing

Chat features

Videos

Results, 3rd semester

If I wanted an online course I would go to Ivy Tech

I don’t like it

It felt like busy work.

It is okay, if we used something besides Moodle

If the computer format was followed by discussion

If the computer work better supports what we are learning in class, it works

Cost effectivness? Yes.

Enrollment? No.

Learning outcomes & Assessment?

10% lower scores on online work

What happened?

•Issues in the department

•Loss of Education majors

•Demographics of the classes

•Lack of training of faculty

•Lack of training of students

A closer look:Themes from comments

Time with Professor- 29%

Confusion about Work -64%

Flexibility79%

Technical Issues 21%

Comments from professors I feel that the blended part of the class was not

as successful as the in class portion. I think this was partly because I was ineffective at utilizing it to its fullest. I also think that the students were not effective in using their time.

Last year I felt that the students did a nice job of staying current assignments . They were able to add to discussions in class regarding Moodle work and integrate their knowledge of both classwork and online work while collaborating with their peers.

This year I am not seeing the same kind of work ethic by my students and it is hard to have discussions due to students falling behind and not completing the work. :(

Themes from professor comments

•Time for more discussion because readings/videos done online

•Issues with motivation and online engagement

•Ways to improve the use of the online environment

•Echoed student responses about having trouble keeping up with what was due online

RecommendationsMore thorough training of faculty membersbeyond Moodle and discussion boardsStress online participationUse of calendar/announcement function

Training students how to work onlineTime managementStudy hallHow to manage assignments when it is

virtualModel online reflections, practice

Student Directed Integration of Technology

•Student choice to summarize and share their learning

•Student roles in online learning

•Student design of online lessons

•Student exploration and demonstration of web-based tools

•Use with experienced teachers—undergraduates don’t have the context to provide the reflections we are looking for

For further studyOpportunities to create different types of

hybrid models, not purely 50/50

Effects of learning styles

Types of online activities