What Is Blended Learning?
by TeachThought Staff
What is the definition of blended learning?
Think for a moment about some related practices and phrasing: Blended education. eLearning. Remote learning (and remote learning tips). Hybrid learning. Flipping the classroom.
All of these practices involve learning, the concept of place or distance, and the use of technology. Whatever one chooses to call it, blended learning combines classroom and online education. And because of improvements in both school curriculum and digital technology, as a learning model, it continues to gain momentum. While education experts continue to debate the efficacy of hybrid learning, its existence has challenged them to re-evaluate not just technology’s place in (and out of) the classroom, but also how to reach and teach students more effectively.
That alone is one of the major benefits of blended learning (and a common focus of blended learning resources).
The Definition Of Blended Learning
Oxford Dictionary Definition Of Blended Learning: a style of education in which students learn via electronic and online media as well as traditional face-to-face teaching.
Defining hybrid or blended education is a trickier task than one might think–opinions vary wildly on the matter. In a report on the merits and potential of blended education, the Sloan Consortium defined hybrid courses as those that “integrate online with traditional face-to-face class activities in a planned, pedagogically valuable manner.” Educators probably disagree on what qualifies as ‘pedagogically valuable,’ but the essence is clear: Hybrid education uses online technology to not just supplement, but transform and improve the learning process.
See also 12 Examples Of Blended Learning
That does not mean a professor can simply start a chat room or upload lecture videos and say he is leading a hybrid classroom. According to Education Elements, which develops hybrid learning technologies, successful blended learning occurs when technology and teaching inform each other: material becomes dynamic when it reaches students of varying learning styles. In other words, hybrid classrooms on the Internet can reach and engage students in a truly customizable way. In this scenario, online education is a game-changer, not just a supplement for the status quo. But what does this theoretical model actually look like in practice?
The Definition Of Blended Learning: Blended learning is an approach to learning that combines face-to-face and online learning experiences. Ideally, each (both online and off) will complement the other by using its particular strength.
Context: While generally seen as a ‘trend’ in ‘progressive learning,’ Blended Learning can also be viewed as a kind of relic symbolic of the gap between ‘traditional education’ (for the last century or so in brick-and-mortar schools and classrooms) and connected and digital learning. This, of course, implies that digital-only is the future and the ultimate incarnation of learning, which is a short-sighted view. The point, though, is that blended learning is a mix of old and new as much as it is a mix of physical and digital learning.
Types of Blended Learning: The Flipped Classroom, Hybrid Learning You can read more about the most common types of blended learning, if that’s useful.
Contributing Factors: Rise of digital and mobile learning technology
Related Educational Concepts: Project-Based Learning, Growth Mindset, Design Thinking, Robotics
Related Cultural Trends: eLearning and distance learning; the shift from ‘television’ to ‘YouTube’, growth of social media, working from home/remote offices
Blended Learning Tools & Resources: Google Classroom, YouTube, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Skype, Moodle, Blackboard
Examples of Blended Learning: Students doing face-to-face group work in a classroom, then going home to analyze that work and turn in a video as an assessment form; taking a course online, then receiving face-to-face tutoring between online lessons
In the course of higher education, blended or hybrid learning is a snazzy, yet relatively new tool and not all professors use it the same way. Trends have emerged, however. For instance, most professors in blended classrooms use some version of a course management system application to connect with students online. Blackboard and Moodle are perhaps two of the best-known LMS applications used today but slowly are being supplemented–or bested–by cloud-based content and learning management systems. Through platforms like these, students can access videos of lectures, track assignments and progress, interact with professors and peers, and review other supporting materials, like PowerPoint presentations or scholarly articles.
Even if all professors used the same platform, however, they could each integrate them into their classrooms differently. According to a report on the subject by the Innosight Institute, professors could supplement traditional coursework with online media in the classroom, or simply alternate between online and classroom instruction. Perhaps one of the most recent–or at least most widely covered–hybrid teaching models is what Innosight calls the ‘online driver’ method, or, as it has come to be known, ‘flipping.’
How Hybrid Classrooms Are Redefining Education
Years ago, NPR and other media outlets caught wind of a relatively new education model called ‘flipping,’ which is really just an adaptation of the definition of blended learning. In a traditional classroom, instructors use class time to lecture and disseminate support materials. Students then review these materials and complete any assignments at home, on their own time. With some luck, teachers will review those assignments in class the following day, or at least host office hours so that they can field questions and offer support.
‘Flipping’ defies these conventions. In this method, teachers and professors use online media to deliver notes, lectures, and related course materials. Students review these materials at home and at their own pace. Classroom periods are then transformed into hands-on work periods where the teacher–who will have already delivered his or her lecture digitally–is free to field questions, engage in class-wide discussions or offer other means of support. ‘Blended learning seems to reinforce student-centered learning, allowing students to master content in an individual way. But is it effective?
Can blended learning–whatever the application–truly transform education as we know it?
Does Blended Learning Work?
Not all students learn the same way. This is not a particularly novel concept, but it is an important one. The tech publication PFSK notes that even early childhood education programming, like Sesame Street, recognizes this, and therefore designs programming in a way that reaches auditory, visual, and kinetic learners alike. Students never outgrow their learning styles, so why do traditional college classrooms fail to engage all of them?
This is blended learning’s real strength: it transforms a largely transmissive method of teaching–say, a professor lecturing for what feels like an eternity–into a truly interactive one. The definition of blended learning sounds ideal on paper, but does it work? A 2010 meta-analysis published by the U.S. Department of Education suggests it does. According to the report, students exposed to both face-to-face, online tutoring, and online education were more successful than students entirely in one camp or the other.
Is There A Catch?
Of course, no educational model is one-size-fits-all, and some hybrid classrooms are probably more effective than others. According to a scientific literature review published by the Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education, a number of factors impact the success of hybrid learning. Teachers must be committed to and well trained in blended and hybrid education and its technologies, and students must have a clear understanding of what is expected of them in this new environment.
This post was originally published in 2012 and updated in 2021; This is a cross-post from onlineschools.com; image attribution flickr users celtkeene2 and andrewstarwarz