Blended Learning

I was reading some of the articles posted for the CFHE12 MOOC and was thinking about why it is that research shows that blended learning is more effective than either face-to-face or online models of teaching.

I know I sound like a broken record, but could it be the underlying psychological principles that are at play here? Does a blended environment lend itself to better engagement with students? Does good blended learning lead to a more thoughtful curriculum design? Or, does improved performance arise out of a coincidental convergence of several factors?

Something is fundamentally changed in a blended environment in order for student performance and satisfaction to be increased. The research on blended learning suggests that students spend more time, or have more time to spend, on the work. However, other research suggests that students have the time, if they choose to prioritise their studies (they spend on average between 26 and 28 hours a week on studies). I know that one of the principles of psychology that will enhance engagement in learning is empowerment in the learning process. I wonder if the blended aspects allow the students to feel some measure of control that they otherwise wouldn’t feel. In the Educause chapter, on postmodality in learning, there is an emphasis on flexibility as the key to new directions. Flexibility, from a learners perspective, is situational empowerment. That may not be empowerment in what they learn, but it is empowerment in the process of learning.

Keep Calm and Carry On

In July, Jordan Weissmann gave us all a warm fuzzy blanket to make us feel better about higher education and the direction we are going. Whispering a soothing lullaby to university heads and administers everywhere, he rocked the cradle of complacency with reassurances that all is well, and we have nothing to fear.

However, the fear is still there. The unsettled feelings of disquiet just won’t go away. I’m sure the apologists who still lecture in the same way they always have will be relieved to hear that the internet isn’t really going to change anything. We should keep calm and carry on.

Photo credit: Wikipedia

The idea that researchers make the best teachers is still resoundingly true, I am the centre of my teaching world because of my expertise, lecturing is a fine art refined over centuries of practise, students are learning as well today as they ever have, our graduates can think better, and have better skills than ever before, and we have new funding models and resources that will answer all our problems.

Except that all of this simply isn’t true. The world is changing. Just because we want to hear that everything is the same as it always has been, and aways will be, that doesn’t make it true. The world has moved into the age of information abundance in as little as five years. Our world (the world of universities) is firmly rooted in the age of information scarcity. EDx isn’t going to change that. EDx is based on a flawed model. EDx is simply taking what we currently do and digitising it.

There are answers out there. There are models of learning that work. There are reasons for universities to still exist. We just haven’t embraced them yet, and I have doubts that we (in the West) will, which is why I read with interest about Africa and India will lead the education revolution. I agree, and am excited to see it happening.