‘I didn’t know this was actually stuff that could help us, with actually learning’: student perceptions of Active Blended Learning

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper analyses student perceptions of Active Blended Learning (ABL) during the transition to an institutional pedagogy at the University of Northampton. In focus groups with 227 student participants across all four faculties, we explored factors mediating student engagement with ABL. Students expressed a preference for face to face teaching and perceived an increase in expectations of independent learning. Students challenged the relationship between online components and assessment. Consumerist narratives were a consistent thread, with online learning perceived as offering less value for money. Although the lecturers self-reported as having fully implemented ABL, the students’ descriptions suggested that learning was not always active, with blended learning often a bolt-on to traditional classroom practice.