How can you improve student learning with blended teaching?

1 What is blended teaching?

Blended teaching is not simply adding some online components to your existing course or moving some of your lectures online. It is a deliberate and intentional integration of online and face-to-face learning activities that align with your learning objectives, assessment methods, and instructional strategies. Blended teaching can take various forms and models, depending on the context, purpose, and audience of your course. For example, you can use a flipped classroom model, where students access online materials before class and engage in active learning during class, or a hybrid model, where some students attend class in person and others join remotely.

2 Why use blended teaching?

Blended teaching can offer a range of advantages for both you and your students. For instance, it can accommodate different learning preferences and needs by providing multiple modes and formats of instruction and content delivery. Additionally, blended teaching can enhance student engagement and motivation by giving students more choices, variety, and autonomy in learning activities and resources. Moreover, it can increase interaction and collaboration among students and between students and instructors by using online tools to facilitate communication, feedback, and peer learning. Furthermore, it can support formative assessment and feedback by using online quizzes, polls, surveys, and analytics to monitor student progress and identify gaps and misconceptions. Finally, it can promote self-regulation and metacognition by encouraging students to plan, monitor, and evaluate their own learning goals, strategies, and outcomes.

3 How to design blended teaching?

Designing blended teaching requires careful planning and alignment of your course elements. To start, define your learning objectives and outcomes, and then consider the assessment methods and criteria you'll use to measure student learning and performance. Additionally, decide on instructional strategies and activities that will deliver content and facilitate learning. Furthermore, determine the online and face-to-face components of your course, as well as the online tools and platforms that will support your blended teaching. Finally, make sure these tools are accessible, usable, and compatible.

4 How to implement blended teaching?

Implementing blended teaching requires clear communication and guidance for your students. It is important to communicate expectations and instructions, orient them to the online environment, facilitate online and face-to-face interaction, and reflect and evaluate your blended teaching. To do this, explain the purpose, structure, and requirements of your blended course. Provide tutorials or practice sessions to familiarize them with the online tools and platforms you will use. Encourage participation in online and face-to-face discussions, group work, and peer feedback. Monitor activities and interactions and provide timely feedback. Finally, solicit feedback from students about their blended learning experience and assess the effectiveness of your blended teaching. Identify strengths and weaknesses of your blended course and make adjustments as needed.

5 What are some challenges and opportunities of blended teaching?

Blended teaching can present both challenges and opportunities for you and your students. For example, it can challenge your workload and time management, as it may require more effort to design, implement, and maintain than traditional teaching. Additionally, it can challenge your students' readiness and responsibility, as they may need to adapt to different modes and formats of learning. On the other hand, blended teaching can offer opportunities for innovation and experimentation, allowing you to explore new ways of teaching that suit your context, purpose, and audience. Moreover, it can provide opportunities for professional development and collaboration with other instructors or experts who share your interest or expertise in blended teaching.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?