Understanding Blended Learning

What is Blended Learning?

Blended courses (also known as hybrid or mixed mode courses) are classes where a portion of the traditional face to face instruction is replaced by web based online learning. McGee and Reis (2012) point out that while there is not absolute agreement within higher education on the exact makeup of a blended course, institutions generally use “blended” (or related terms) to refer to some combination of on campus class meeting and online activities. Graham, Henrie, and Gibbons (2014) concur that “models adopting the [combining online and face to face instruction] definition are the most prominent in the research” (p. 21). Blended learning is a phenomenon subjected to much ongoing research. After reviewing over 200 masters’ theses and doctoral dissertations related to blended learning, Drysdale, Graham, Spring, and Halverson (2013) concluded that “more graduate research is being conducted on blended learning each year” (p. 98). Additionally, Picciano, Dziuban, and Graham (2014) have edited a collection of research on blended learning as a sequel to the landmark book published just seven years before (Picciano and Dziuban, 2007).

Benefits of Blended Learning

Blended course have proven to be among the most popular choices for students at institutions where they are offered (Olson, 2003 cited in Drysdale, Graham, Spring, and Halverson, 2013 and Kaleta, Garnham, and Aycock, 2005). At first glance, this popularity seems intuitive because blended courses allow students and faculty to take advantage of much of the flexibility and convenience of an online course while retaining the benefits of the face to face classroom experience. Although fully online learning has become well established in higher education, many institutions appear to be struggling with conceptualizing and implementing blended learning. Yet, where blended courses have succeeded, they have most often done so when strategically aligned with an institution’s mission and goals. The development and delivery of blended courses can be used to address a variety of institutional, faculty, and student needs. For universities, blended courses can be part of a strategy to compensate for limited classroom space, as well as a way to think differently about encouraging faculty collaboration. For faculty, blended courses can be a method to infuse new engagement opportunities into established courses or, for some, provide a transitional opportunity between fully face to face and fully online instruction.

For students, blended courses offer the conveniences of online learning combined with the social and instructional interactions that may not lend themselves to online delivery (e.g., lab sections or proctored assessments). If an institution’s blended learning strategy can be designed to address the needs and dynamics of all three constituencies (institution, faculty, and student) simultaneously, then blended learning can become a powerful force for institutional transformation.

Blendkit2016