Shakespeare in Blended Learning Mode: Examining Effectiveness at the British University in Egypt (BUE) during COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Educational institutions aim to offer appropriate teaching environments that would enhance the learning process. They have come to embrace various tools that enable creating such learning environments, many of which are technological and are no longer limited to the institutions' physical premises. This led to the rise of what has come to be known as Blended Learning (BL): learning strategies that combine face-to-face with virtual instruction modes. The focus of such an atmosphere would be targeted towards a student-centred approach that maximises teaching effectiveness by employing relevant and effective learning techniques.The COVID-19 pandemic, with its forced lockdown of educational institutions, challenged face-to-face learning environments and contributed greatly to the adoption of BL approaches. This paper provides an in-depth analysis of a BL model applied in an undergraduate Shakespeare module at the British University in Egypt (BUE). To address the module Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs), the process employed a Flipped-Enriched Virtual Model involving instructor-student interaction in face-to-face and virtual modes in which the Moodle Learning Management System (LMS) was utilized as the medium for the online Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). The effectiveness of the model was assessed by interviewing students for their feedback. The findings of this study support that the Flipped-Enriched Virtual Model could benefit educators as best practice to achieve module ILOs within and beyond a literature module and in different teaching contexts.