Zi Zhao LIEU
Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science (FOS)
Special Programme in Science, FOS
Lieu, Z. Z. (2024). Learning in action: Navigating the implementation phase of blended learning courses [Lightning talk]. In Higher Education Conference in Singapore (HECS) 2024, 3 December, National University of Singapore. https://blog.nus.edu.sg/hecs/hecs2024-zzlieu/
SUB-THEME
Opportunities from Engaging Communities; Opportunities from Wellbeing
KEYWORDS
Blended learning, Active Learning, Student Engagement, Community of Inquiry
CATEGORY
Lightning Talk
EXTENDED ABSTRACT
Blended learning is becoming a norm in many higher learning institutions, with the benefits of face-to-face interactions and the flexibility of online learning (Vaughan, 2007, Liu et al., 2024). While this innovative model offers learners many advantages, it is not without unique challenges, particularly for those new to this learning environment (Armellini et al., 2023, Kember et al, 2023). Analysis of past student feedback has indicated that while students can understand and define the terms blended learning and active learning, they are often clueless about how their learning is carried out practically in the course (Figure 1). This creates a perception that a course taught in the blended learning mode is often workload-heavy, time-consuming, and difficult to follow/learn. To harness the full potential of blended learning, students must wholeheartedly embrace the course’s learning design and recognise how it can help them achieve the intended learning outcomes (ILOs).
Figure 1. Figure showing student understanding of “blended learning” and whether they knew how the course will be carried out.
Development of a workshop to orientate students in blended learning
To do so, an in-class workshop was designed to help orientate students to the blended learning course. This workshop consists of three parts: (1) An introduction to the online learning environment (CANVAS), with a focus on navigating the page for learning; (2) An introduction to learning strategies and how a student should manage their time in the course, and (3) an introduction to the face-to-face classroom learning environment with the focus on practical classroom activities (quiz, case study, and in-class presentation). This is usually done in the first class of the course, and then a post-semester survey is carried out to understand the students’ perceptions and learning.
How has the workshop helped students understand and adapt to blended learning?
Using a survey instrument, we analysed the students’ perceptions and understanding of the learning environment and the relevance of the in-class activities for one postgraduate and one undergraduate course. Regarding navigating the online blended learning environment, our survey data indicates that the students could navigate the user interface and identify relevant material for their weekly learning (Table 1). End-of-semester feedback indicates that the course material on CANVAS was easy to follow, and it was clear to the student what needed to be learnt each week.
Table 1
Navigating the Online Learning Environments (post-course survey). Students were asked to rate the following statement (1 for “Strongly Disagree” to 5 for “Strongly Agree”) and the rating shown is the average.
We next analyse the students’ understanding and perceptions of the in-class learning activities. Our survey data showed that the students found the in-class activities aligned with the learning objective (Table 2). In addition, the nature of the learning activity allows for strong engagement between the student and the learning material.
Table 2
Student perceptions of the in-class learning activities (post-course survey). Students were asked to rate the following statement (1 for “Strongly Disagree” to 5 for “Strongly Agree”) and the rating shown is an average rating.
In conclusion, getting students to embrace the course design and understand how it can help them achieve their learning outcomes, especially in blended learning is important. Based on our survey results, we successfully used an orientation workshop-style lesson to help students understand the why behind the pedagogical method, the logistics, and how they should interact with the learning material. We recommend integrating this orientation workshop into blended learning courses for student learning.
REFERENCES
Armellini, A., Teixeira Antunes, V., & Howe, R. (2021). Student perspectives on learning experiences in a higher education active blended learning context. TechTrends, 65(4), 433-443. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-021-00593-w
Kember, D., Ellis, R. A., Fan, S., & Trimble, A. (Eds.). (2023). Adapting to Online and Blended Learning in Higher Education: Supporting the Retention and Success of the Expanded and Diversified Intake. Springer.
Liu, Q., Chen, L., Feng, X., Bai, X., Ma, Z. (2024). Supporting Students and Instructors in Blended Learning. In: Li, M., Han, X., Cheng, J. (eds) Handbook of Educational Reform Through Blended Learning. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-6269-3_5
Vaughan, N. (2007). Perspectives on blended learning in higher education. International Journal on E-learning, 6(1), 81–94. https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/6310/
