Applying online and blended learning structure to teaching practice for STEAM Education

Abstract

This Research to Practice Work-In-Progress Paper will investigate the application of common online or blended teaching and learning strategies with the pedagogy of the Creative Industries sector at University of the Sunshine Coast (USC), particularly focus on the Bachelor of Design - Serious Game Design. This highly interdisciplinary degree has unique challenges of balancing artistic vision, storytelling ability, technical knowledge, and collaboration skills when developing an effective learning environment compared to other subjects within the STEAM fields. The investigation will first outline the common mistakes when transforming face-to-face course design to the online and blended learning environment and introduce five core strategies that better facilitate the design of online or blended subjects in tertiary education. We will then compare and contrast these strategies with the summative learning feedback, which was collected by eVALU8 in the university’s centrally supported learning management systems (LMS) at the end of semester 2, 2019 from the subjects conducted by face-to-face mode and the formative feedback, which were distributed by Microsoft Forms at the end of each class in semester 1, 2020 from the same subjects conducted by online and blended learning mode. Since the feedback does not include participant’s age data, this paper will only focus on discussing the alignment of the critical components of the online or blended learning environment; the construction of consistent and effective learning experience with cognitive, social, and teaching presence with the existing learning model - Spike; and the opportunity of conducting formative evaluation at the end of each class or learning section in the online and blended environment to prevent learning intervention. These approaches provide insight into how online and blended learning can greatly facilitate the learning experience and teaching practice in STEAM education.