Blended Learning Setting Research Articles

TEACHING WRITING DESCRIPTIVE TEXT IN BLENDED LEARNING

Abstract This study related with blended learning used by the teachers in teaching writing descriptive text. This study was qualitatively conducted that involved English teachers. The data were collected by using recording, interview and observing the whole processes of teaching writing. The findings of this study showed that teachers used the three processes in blended learning setting, such as: conventional learning, emphasizes learning actively and interactive learning. It was also found that the use of blended learning was used in the scientific approach activity. And the steps in the scientific approaches applied in learning process in three activities, beginning activity, core activity, and closing activity. There were four problems faced by teachers in using blended learning by two platforms such as the problem of the traditional mind - set, the problem of managing, assessing learner progress, bandwidth, and confusion in using the application. Teachers faced different problems in the learning process.Keywords: Blended learning, teaching, writing, descriptive text, learning process.

Tell Me a Story! Blending Digital Storytelling Into Marketing Higher Education for Student Engagement

Multimodal learning via the use of smart devices, online social interactions, and intuitive communication platforms are fundamentally changing teaching and learning settings. Consequently, educators face unique challenges around student engagement as learners increasingly look to the use of technology-enabled activities for meaningful collaboration. Within this context, this research explores the role of digital storytelling in promoting perceived individual student and group engagement, and how these interact with group functioning, in a postgraduate marketing subject. We evaluate the implementation of this assessment as an avenue to optimize the benefits of the blended learning setting. It contributes to understanding by incorporating the concept of collective, or collaborative engagement where there is a scarcity of research despite the widespread application of group assessment in business education, and marketing education in particular. We employed canonical correlation analysis as an exploratory technique to gain initial insight into its efficacy for student engagement. We contend that digital storytelling shows promise as an inherently social and interactive learning task to provide an authentic assessment for a range of marketing problems. In turn, these attributes provide a stimulating vehicle for student engagement that can promote learning and satisfaction.

FLIPPING THE CLASSROOM IN THE EFL READING FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSE COURSE DURING COVID-19: BARRIERS AND BOOSTERS

The Flipped Classroom model has been a debatable issue, especially due to its triumph in the new set during the current outbreak of Covid-19. This study attempts to assess the effectiveness and explore the barriers and boosters of an FC approach in the Reading for Academic Purpose course in a private university in NTT Province, Indonesia. Employing a mixed-method design, this study generated data from the pre-and post-test and students TOWS (Threat-Opportunity-Weakness-Strength) analysis. Two groups of fourth-semester students, comprising 35 in a Blended Learning setting and another 23 in a Flipped Classroom, were taught similar reading skills and tasks. The paired-samples t-test indicates both FC (p=0.030.05, d=-0.70, medium effect size) and BL (p=0.000.05, d=-1.06, large effect size) settings were statistically significant by comparison. The independent-samples t-test used to contrast their effectiveness shows no statistically significant difference between groups (t[56]=1.11, p=0.27, d=0.29, small effect size). Although FC students benefited equally from the learning process in BL, they gained a lower mean score than their counterparts. TOWS analysis requires more improvement in FC due to students’ resilience to change, inability to self-learning management, poor collaboration and communication, technological setbacks, technical issues, and other socio-environmental constraints.

Promoting student-centred blended learning in higher education: A model

This empirical study is conducted in a blended learning setting of a technology-focused private university in Bangladesh to offer a model that could help attain a comprehensive goal of blended learning. The main objectives of this study are to examine course design in a blended learning setting, strategies adopted by the course teachers to maximize students’ online interactions in a collaborative manner and how well these strategies had an impact on quality of blended teaching and learning in tertiary education. Drawing upon a quasi-experimental approach, qualitative data were collected by observing the teaching and learning activities of a course named ‘Bangladesh Studies’ over a four-month semester. Findings of this study suggest a model that would allow better student–teacher interaction in both synchronous and asynchronous modes of teaching and learning based on three sequential stages such as referring to and discussing online peer-group comments in the regular face-to-face classes in asynchronous mode (stage 1), off-campus synchronous mode of interactions to utilize students’ personal study hours (stage 2) and off-campus asynchronous mode of interactions to offer flexibility for collaborative learning (stage 3). It is argued that the model that has been offered could be useful in promoting innovative and contextual pedagogy which will essentially involve students in sharing, interacting and collaborating discussions for knowledge construction and hereby enable overall cognitive development of students in a blended learning environment.

Creating technology‐enabled lifelong learning: A heutagogical approach

AbstractCan a new instructional approach influence lifelong learning and the development of competent lifelong learners? Blended and online learning provides a platform for learning that introduces technological affordance to enable learning. We seek to find an intersection between blended and online learning and lifelong learning through an instructional approach that encourages learners towards management of their own learning. This opens the door to becoming an autonomous, capable, self‐directed lifelong learner. In this context, heutagogy offers an instructional approach that may connect blended and online learning settings with the development of lifelong learning competence. After conducting a systematic literature review using the terms heutagogy, blended and online learning, and lifelong learning, literature that considers how to inspire and build human agency capabilities over the lifespan was chosen for Delphi method expert review. Using this methodology, we explore the possibility that online and blended higher education will contribute, where heutagogical experiences exist, to technology‐enabled lifelong learning. Results corroborate the idea that heutagogy and lifelong learning are intertwined by some common principles and that these are applicable to both blended and online learning settings and lifelong learning. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic Recent, and what is often continuous, change is impacting all we do, including the design and delivery of education. This change requires new instructional models that improve immediate learning outcomes and prepares learners for learning across the lifespan. The use of instructional processes labeled heutagogy include the opportunity for, and application of, activities of learning self‐direction, ‐determination, and ‐regulation, which can be helpful, even essential, for lifelong learning. What this paper adds This paper identifies an informed perspective, from data, that heutagogical design must be consciously implemented and supported for online and blended learning by instructional designers, instructors, and institutional leadership and infrastructure. It is reasonable to suggest that online and blended learning could contribute, where heutagogical learning opportunities exist, to technology‐enabled lifelong learning. Instructional practices that include choice, flexible or negotiated assessment, facilitation of reflection, learner confidence development, and involvement of the learner in designing their learning can be considered heutagogical. Implications for practice and/or policy Develop policy in support of a change in instructional practice that embraces a heutagogical approach in the design of courses to foster greater self‐directed and lifelong learning. Educational development to support instructors to understand heutagogy and how it can be applied in the design and delivery of blended and online learning to foster technology enabled lifelong learning. With the implementation of a heutagogical approach, student orientation along with purposeful scaffolding needs to be implemented to support students as they become more autonomous learners in technology‐enabled settings.

Differentiating the learning styles of college students in different disciplines in a college English blended learning setting

Learning styles are critical to educational psychology, especially when investigating various contextual factors that interact with individual learning styles. Drawing upon Biglan's taxonomy of academic tribes, this study systematically analyzed the learning styles of 790 sophomores in a blended learning course with 46 specializations using a novel machine learning algorithm called the support vector machine (SVM). Moreover, an SVM-based recursive feature elimination (SVM-RFE) technique was integrated to identify the differential features among distinct disciplines. The findings of this study shed light on the optimal feature sets that collectively determined students' discipline-specific learning styles in a college blended learning setting.

How Can Students Feel More Vital Amidst Severe Restrictions? Psychological Needs Satisfaction, Motivational Regulation and Vitality of Students during the Coronavirus Pandemic Restrictions.

During the pandemic restrictions imposed in spring 2020, many aspects of students’ living and learning environments changed drastically. From the perspective of Self-Determination Theory, changes in social context interact with the satisfaction or frustration of basic psychological needs and, as a result, with study-related motivational regulation and vitality. In this study, we investigate the relationships between the contextual factors of online-based distance learning, basic psychological needs, forms of motivational regulation and subjective vitality in a sample of N = 1849 university students across eight universities in Austria and Germany. Based on structural equational modelling, the results stress the relevance of satisfaction with technological resources in regard to higher levels of satisfaction in all three basic psychological needs, while perceived overload is linked to lower levels of needs satisfaction and increased basic psychological needs frustration. Further, the estimated workload difference before and during the pandemic is not related to the motivational outcomes of the model. All relationships have been tested for mediation effects between basic psychological needs and the different forms of motivational regulation on subjective vitality: for the need for relatedness, no mediation is found, while the effect of the need for autonomy is fully mediated by autonomous regulation styles. The need for competence was associated with several mediating interactions with regulation styles. The results offer insight into students’ perceptions of their study-related experiences during the pandemic and can help to develop effective methods in online-based and blended learning settings in the future.

THE USE OF BLENDED LEARNING IN TEACHING WRITING RECOUNT TEXT TO THE TENTH GRADE STUDENTS OF SMA NEGERI 20 MEDAN

THE USE OF BLENDED LEARNING IN TEACHING WRITING RECOUNT TEXT TO THE TENTH GRADE STUDENTS OF SMA NEGERI 20 MEDAN *Nurul Aulia **Anni Holila Pulungan **Yeni Erlita ABSTRACT This research dealt with blended learning used by the teachers in teaching writing recount text. The objectives of this study were (1) to explain the use of blended learning for teaching writing recount text to the tenth grade students; (2) to analyze the problems faced by teachers of using blended learning in teaching learning process of writing recount text. This study was qualitatively conducted that involved two English teachers of SMA Negeri 20 Medan. The data were collected by using recording, interview and observing the whole processes of teaching writing. The findings of this study showed that both teachers used the three processes in blended learning setting, such as: conventional learning, emphasizes learning actively and interactive learning. It was also found that the use of blended learning was used in the scientific approach activity. There were four problems faced by teachers in using blended learning, such as the problem of the traditional mindset, the problem of managing and assessing learner progress, bandwidth, and confusion in using the application. Both teachers faced different problems in their classes. Keywords: Blended learning, teaching, writing

The Effect of Authentic Materials on Writing Performance across Different Levels of Proficiency

The use of authentic materials for language teaching is common. Yet, there is not much information about what type of instructional materials benefits learners. The purpose of the study is to find empirical evidence of whether non–fiction authentic materials are more superior that fiction authentic material. The researchers used an experimental design to answer the research question. The population of the study was all students who took an essay writing course at University PGRI Wiranegara in the academic year 2019-2020. The sample was taken by using a systematic random sampling method which results in two equal numbers of students in two experimental groups. Group A was taught with non-fiction authentic material, while group B was taught with the fiction authentic material. The researchers used ANOVA to analyze the data in SPSS 22. The process of teaching and learning followed the writing as a process approach and was done in a blended-learning setting because of the pandemic of COVID 19. The result shows that there is no significant interaction between content type and proficiency level (F(2,30) = 1.347, p = .275). The main effect of content type on writing performance was not significant (F(1,30)=.001, p .973), but the main effect of proficiency level on writing performance is significant such that the students who have a higher level of writing proficiency have better performance than the students who have a lower level of writing proficiency  (F (2,30) = 5.653, p .008). The researchers conclude that both types of authentic materials are equally effective to improve the students’ essay writing performance.

The Effect of Literature As Authentic Materials for Writing Essays in A Blended Learning Setting

The current situation of teaching and learning process has undergone a drastic change during the COVID-19 outbreak. The conventional classroom meeting is no longer available because of the pandemic. As a result, the classroom interaction is blended with the online learning model until the end of the semester. In a blended learning setting, teachers are forced to be innovative to reach the instructional objectives. As most learning is done online, the use of authentic materials is considered relevant to the current situation. Many authentic materials are available online. Yet, there is no sufficient information on whether the authentic materials can improve college students’ ability in writing essays in a blended learning setting. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of literary genre as authentic materials on students’ writing performance. As such, this research uses an experimental design. The target population of the study was all fourth-year students of the English Education Study Program, Faculty of Pedagogy and Psychology, University of PGRI Wiranegara, Pasuruan, East Java, Indonesia. Samples were employed using a systematic random design. The treatment was conducted in 14 meetings between March and June 2020. The main instruments used to collect data were pre-test and post-test. The students’ writing was rated by two ratings using the Jacobs ESL-Composition Profile. The result of the one-sample t-test computation using the IBM SPSS 25 showed that there is a significant difference in the students’ writing performance before and after the treatment (α = 0.00 < 0.05). Therefore, it can be concluded that the use of authentic materials in literary genre can improve the student’s ability in writing essays.
 Keywords: authentic materials, literature, essay, effect

The advantage of distributed practice in a blended learning setting.

Ongoing digital transformations facilitate the conduct of online courses and distance learning. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the role of learners’ personalities and behaviors in their academic success (exam scores) in a blended learning setting (combination of distance learning and face-to-face learning). Next to individual differences in several variables (including intelligence), participants’ (n = 62) learning time and learning motivation over 14 weeks (one term) using questionnaires for one learning module at the Swiss Distance University Institute was measured. Also, data on the participants’ grades at the end of the course and the number of exercises they completed during the term were obtained. A stepwise regression analysis revealed that studying at the optimal time of the day and studying regularly are relevant predictors of academic success. The results and limitations of the study are discussed in the context of academic success prediction in higher education.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10639-020-10424-9.

Enhancing students' engagement by giving ongoing formative feedback in a blended learning setting

Enhancing students' engagement by giving ongoing formative feedback in a blended learning setting

Enhancing students' engagement by giving ongoing formative feedback in a blended learning setting

Blended learning combines and gains the advantages of face-to-face and computer-based distributed learning. Teachers need to encourage students to engage more in the learning process and learning a...

Validating a blended teaching readiness instrument for primary/secondary preservice teachers

AbstractBlended learning is the fastest growing teaching modality in North America and much of the world. However, research and training in blended learning are far outpaced by its usage. To remedy this gap, we developed a competency framework and Blended Teaching Readiness Instrument (BTRI) to help teachers and researchers evaluate teacher readiness for blended environments. The purpose of this research is to show that the blended teaching readiness model and accompanying BTRI are reliable for use with teacher candidates both before and after going through a blended teaching course. This knowledge would allow researchers and practitioners to have greater confidence in using the BTRI for future growth curve modeling for the identified blended teaching competencies. To accomplish this, we collected pre‐ and post‐data from teacher candidates across multiple semesters who were studying in a blended teaching course. Using confirmatory factor analysis, we determined the pre‐class survey results fell within the range of the four fit statistics cutoffs (RMSEA = 0.045, CFI = 0.933, TLI = 0.929 and SRMR = 0.043). And, the post‐class survey results had good fit as well (RMSEA = 0.044, CFI = 0.911, TLI = 0.905 and SRMR = 0.051). We also showed that the factor loadings and communalities were statistically significant. By testing the factors in this way, we make a case for the survey to be a valid and reliable instrument in assessing blended teacher competency. Additionally, we tested the model for measurement invariance and found that we could reliably use the BTRI for pre‐post growth modeling. Practitioner NotesWhat is already known about this topic? Blended learning is the fastest growing teaching modality in Canada and the United States, and is expanding rapidly throughout the rest of the world. Teaching in blended learning settings requires distinct skills and dispositions specific to the modality. A blended‐teaching‐focused competency framework is a necessary element in any blended teacher preparation program. Though there have been attempts to make a blended teaching framework before, none of these exclusively focus on the distinct skills of blended teaching nor have they been validated. What this paper adds? Describes our free, publicly accessible competency framework that focuses exclusively on blended teaching Validates a concise Blended Teaching Readiness Instrument (BTRI) to go along with the framework. Confirms pre‐post measurement invariance for the BTRI which allows for use with pre‐post growth modeling. Implications for practice and policy The competency framework and validation are a theoretical contribution to the rapidly expanding field of blended learning research. With the valid BTRI instrument and framework, teachers can get feedback on their strengths and weaknesses in blended teaching and learn how to improve and help others.

Take a picture of religion: Engaging students in the multisensory study of lived religion

This article investigates how different media (including digital photography and sound recordings) can facilitate students’ creative engagement with complex concepts in the study of religion, particularly those associated with a ‘lived religion’ approach. In doing so, it explores possibilities for object-based learning and multisensory learning experiences in Higher Education (see also: Chatterjee et al., 2015; Innovating Pedagogy, 2020; Kelly and Sihite, 2018; Medina, 2009). It adopts a case study approach, focused on the critical evaluation of a range of assessed and unassessed activities that form part of the undergraduate second year (Level 5) Religious Studies course ‘A227 Exploring Religion: Places, Practices, Texts and Experiences’ offered at The Open University (UK). These activities ask students to take photographs and make sound recordings of aspects of religion in their local environment and then share and discuss these with other students on an online platform. The findings of this study are of particular relevance to blended and distance learning settings (including socially distanced settings in the context of the Covid19-pandemic) in Higher Education, where opportunities for object-based, multisensory learning have been especially underexplored. However, they will be of interest to anyone looking for creative ways to engage students in the study of religion.

Vocational Student Teachers’ Self-Reported Experiences in Creating ePortfolios

Context: The context of the study is vocational teacher education and the participants are vocational student teachers. They are studying in a blended learning setting as part time students. They represent several disciplines of vocational education and training. The vocational teacher studies take one year and are 60 credits. The study relates to the discussion of vocational education and training (VET) and teachers’ competencies that they are transferring to their VET students by sharing the knowledge of their subject area and working practices. This study is an exploration of one of these working practices: making competence visible in a digital format.Approach: Student teachers’ descriptions of their practices and recommendations of supportive methods for composing an ePortfolio are reviewed and their motivation to compose an ePortfolio is studied as a part of the personal learning environment (PLE) philosophy.Findings: The data revealed some typical practices, such as composing an ePortfolio (the most popular ways of doing this were recording reflections in a learning diary and using digital tools to document artefacts) and making vocational teachers’ competence visible through an ePortfolio (understanding the difference between workspace and showcase portfolios and what kinds of competence to document). The recommendations mentioned by participants were supportive methods of composing an ePortfolio (collaborative learning processes with peers, lecturers’ feedback and assessment and clear instructions) as well as methods of making vocational teachers’ competence visible (e.g. orientation to ePortfolio work using learning objectives and assessment criteria for ePortfolios). Participating student teachers are/were motivated to work with ePortfolios in various ways and expressed an intrinsic motivation to pursue personal growth and become a vocational teacher.Conclusions: The study revealed vocational student teachers’ various perceptions of scaffolding and motivational orientations to make their competence visible through ePortfolios. These can be used to design scaffolding processes to support students’ ePortfolio activities. ePortfolios are used as a study method to promote student teachers’ career development and personal growth and to help them acquire teacher competencies. The study concludes with a review of the learning objectives and the assessment criteria for the ePortfolio process in a vocational teacher education program.

An Empirical Study on Vocabulary Recall and Learner Autonomy through Mobile?Assisted Language Learning in Blended Learning Settings

This study aims to examine the efficacy of Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL) of English as a foreign or second language (L2) through two perspectives: learning gain and learner autonomy. Previous studies have shown that L2 learning combined with media could activate the learning processes, resulting in an easier recall of the target vocabulary required in L2. In addition, mobileassisted L2 learning could also enhance autonomous learning inasmuch as successful MALL would have to rely mainly on the autonomous learner even in learning contexts where the goal and task are already fixed. Based on this standpoint, the study hypothesizes that the engagement in L2 learning with mobile devices along with a classroom-based writing course could make L2 learners not only achieve the target L2 lexis effectively, leading to better L2 writing performance, but also help them to be more autonomous even in a setting when the task and goal are fixed. To test this hypothesis, both empirical and questionnaire studies were conducted for Japanese undergraduates (n=94). Based on the results of three weeks of L2 academic writing practice between groups learning with and without mobile devices, the findings of our t-test analyses of learners’ vocabulary recall and a questionnaire survey about learner autonomy suggested that MALL significantly contributed not only to L2 vocabulary recall in comprehensive and productive tests, but also to enhancing positive attitudes towards autonomous learning.

Using web‐based gamified software to learn Boolean algebra simplification in a blended learning setting

AbstractOne of the fundamental topics in the education of students enrolled in computer‐related degrees is that of Boolean algebra. This is because it allows the expression of several problems related to digital design, artificial intelligence, databases, compilers, and formal languages, among others, as a sequence of Boolean operations and variables, which can be dealt with by using Boolean algebra methods to optimize algorithms, minimize digital components, and so forth. This study presents a piece of web‐based software, denominated as MiniBool, which has been developed with the objective of supporting the learning of Boolean algebra in a blended learning setting. This educational proposal gives students the opportunity to reinforce learning at any time and in any place. It additionally increases the learners’ motivation by including gamification, through the use of a ranking that shows the students’ level of participation. MiniBool was evaluated by means of a formal experiment, which was carried out with Discrete Mathematics students at a higher education institution in Mexico, where two groups were formed randomly: A control group, whose members attended classes and reinforced their knowledge in a traditional manner with a pencil and paper, and an experimental group, which learned in a blended learning context, receiving the same classes as the control group, but reinforcing what they had learned using MiniBool. The statistical results obtained indicate that the use of MiniBool has a positive and motivating effect on learning and that a greater academic performance is achieved than when the traditional teaching‐learning method is applied.

Using medical comics to explore challenging everyday topics in medicine: lessons learned from teaching medical humanities.

Studying medicine requires an extensive acquisition of knowledge, skills and attitudes. At the MedUni Vienna, this wide range of skills is strengthened by discussing aspects of medical humanities (MH) with medical students in their pre-clinical fifth study year. Medical comics (MCs), as a part of MH, offer the possibility to address challenging situations within medical settings through the use of graphic illustrations. Thus, patient stories as well as different perspectives of patients, caregivers, and medical staff can be addressed. A total of 506 medical students were randomly assigned to one of three MCs within a blended learning setting via the Moodle online learning platform. The medical students were instructed to reflect on the MC by answering three questions within one week. Depending on the MC assigned, the learning objectives were to (I) comprehend demands on a young doctor during a night shift, (II) reflect on a patient examination situation, or (III) recognize patients' physical and/or emotional needs. The word counts of the answers and the time spent online answering the questions in the learning platform were analyzed. This was followed by an analysis in which the answers and their content were rated on a three-point Likert scale (insufficient, sufficient, exceptional). Subsequently, an MH and MCs lecture was held that incorporated the medical students' reflections. After the lecture, a one-minute paper (OMP) survey comprising two questions was conducted on the learning platform. Of the 506 medical students assigned the online task, 505 completed it. On average, each medical student wrote 110.87 words (SD: 78.54; range, 4.00-602.00) and spent 12.75 minutes (SD: 11.60) on the task. Of all the answers, 84% were rated as sufficient or exceptional. Two OMP questions: (I) "What was the most important thing you learned today?", and (II) "What questions remain unanswered?" were answered by the medical students. "What was the most important thing you learned today?" was answered by 78% (n=393) of the medical students with a profound statement. When asked "What questions remain unanswered?", 85% (n=429) of the medical students stated that nothing was left unanswered. All the answers included 154 positive and 28 negative comments on the lecture. The study results indicate that medical students saw great potential in the use of MCs in medical teaching in terms of addressing challenging topics and reflecting on them deeply. This kind of blended learning (a form of learning in which the advantages of face-to-face events and e-learning are combined) successfully showed that medical students can gain a deeper understanding of MH and be inspired through the use of MCs.

The effect of blended learning setting on students’ critical thinking skills in physics

This paper reports a study and results of the improvement of critical thinking skills in a blended learning environment in teaching high school physics. The research was a mixed-method quasi-experimental followed by a qualitative survey. Schoology is chosen as a blended platform for this study. The data of students’ critical thinking skills were obtained by multiple choice tests and were analyzed by using n-gain. Moreover, the information on students’ responses to the blended learning model was collected by open-ended questions at the end of learning process. Based on the results of the study, there were significant effects of blended learning on critical thinking skills. It is also reported that students have high interest, ease of learning, and have benefits in increasing their knowledge. It suggests that Schoology-based blended learning model is effective to improve students’ critical thinking in Physics learning process.