Blended LearningA study of online &

traditional classroom learning

Ann YatesMarch 2009

Study CitationBlankson, J. & Kyei-Blankson, L.

(2008)

Nontraditional students’ perception of a blended course: integrating synchronous online discussion and face-to-face instruction

Journal of Interactive Learning Research, 19 (3), p. 421-439.

What Problem (Challenge!) Does the Study Address?

• Teaching nontraditional (NT) college students

Create a mental image of an NT student (you may be one!)

Create a mental image of an NT student (you may be one!)

What challenges do you associate with an NT student?

What challenges do you associate with an NT student?

The Authors Define NT Students

• NT students typically are – “older” – attend part-time– first generation to attend college– have families

Does that match your image?

Does that match your image?

The Authors Define the “NT Student Challenge”

Academics now compete with family, employment,

social obligations

NT students require “…flexible hours or using more flexible [learning]

formats…” (p.422)

and

…by focusing their study on

Blended learning, the “integration of online

discussion with traditional class instruction” (p. 422).

…by focusing their study on

Blended learning, the “integration of online

discussion with traditional class instruction” (p. 422).

The Authors Responded to the Challenge…

The Study Purpose

To discover: How satisfied students are with blended learningIf integrating online and face-

to-

face sessions provide “active and engaged learning opportunities”

If students are “comfortable” participating in online sessions

(p. 422)

Have you ever been in a blended classroom? If you have, keep it in mind as we

discuss the this study…

The Study Methodology• Case studies of 15 NT students in a

4-year liberal arts college, taking a blended educational psychology class

• Met twice a week in a traditional classroom setting

• Met once a week online in synchronous discussion

Collection of Study Data

Questionnaire with quantitative and qualitative

components

• 40 Likert-scale items: rank responses from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree “

using numbers 1 to 5

• 5 open-ended questions

Consider online tool(s) you would use to create this questionnaire electronically

Study Results• 93% of students agreed blended class

format was a “productive use of class time”

• 93% felt more “engaged” with blended learning

• 87% felt studying was more “enjoyable” in blended learning

• 80% of students felt “comfortable” with online discussions– 93% felt online discussions helped them

“express differing opinions” – 87% felt online discussions facilitated

asking “awkward” questions(p. 430)

Student Comments

“Integrating on-line discussion with face-to-face classroom sessions was a good way to encourage participation” (p. 431)

“I believe that online discussion should be used in more courses. This is the 21st century; we need to become more technologically savvy”

(p. 431)

My Critical Reaction to the Study Concept

• Blended learning: the best of both worlds

• Traditional classroom time allows face-to-face observations and interactions to better know and understand each other

• Learning can be blended with varying “ingredients,” i.e., online synchronous, online asynchronous, traditional, and more, to create a “custom blend”

Final Thoughts

What about…

•A larger study with more e-learning in the blend? •Find research funding from e-learning companies who benefit from increased academic web use?