Blended Learning Activities in an e-Business Course

Jirarat Sitthiworachart,Jon Mason,Mike Joy

doi:10.3390/educsci11120763

Abstract

The objectives of this study were threefold: to understand students’ perceptions of activities in a blended learning environment; to determine their preferred learning activities in this context, paralleling the four stages of Kolb’s learning cycle; and to determine the effectiveness of the blended learning used, based on scores achieved in an e-business course supported by the BLearning assessment system, a custom-designed reflective assessment tool. A mixed-methods approach was used to identify the students’ preferred activities. Findings indicate that (1) blended learning can add interest and variety to improve the students’ learning experience, (2) students prefer blended learning activities that match the first three stages of Kolb’s learning cycle (concrete experience, reflective observation, and abstract conceptualisation), and (3) data collected from the e-business course exam results show that the blended learning process was effective. In aligning teaching activities to student preferences, the notion of “teaching patterns” is introduced as the teaching perspective on these activities. Findings further indicate that blended learning activities based on the first three stages of Kolb’s learning cycle may be more suitable for students who share similar learning preferences.

Highlights

This study was conducted in a Thai university during a period of increased adoption of digital technology in both teaching and learning
Its purpose was primarily aimed at gaining insight into the preferred learning activities of students within a blended learning environment that extended the learning opportunities offered beyond the single mode of either face to face or online
Practices associated with blended learning have long pre-dated the contemporary terminology when technologies such as radio and television were adopted to augment or broaden public access to formal education

Summary

Introduction

This study was conducted in a Thai university during a period of increased adoption of digital technology in both teaching and learning. It can be understood as belonging to an era of educational technology in which students learn through a combination of increasingly diverse technologies, such as desktop computers, tablet computers, mobile phones, wireless technology, and the Internet, enabling teaching and learning in a face-to-face classroom and/or online outside the classroom [17,18,19]. This increase in the range of possible learning opportunities has been a catalyst for change in teaching and learning activities and patterns [18,20,21]. Lopez-Perez et al [18] proposed priority elements of learning that should be considered, including (1) student benefits, (2) teaching methods that motivate students to learn, and (3) levels of student satisfaction

Objectives

Methods

Conclusion