Faculty and student attitudes and experiences of blended learning in postgraduate programmes: a case study in an Irish university
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Date
2020
Authors
Foley, Tom
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Publisher
University College Cork
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Abstract
While technology has undoubtedly increased the breadth and depth of access to education, shifts of this magnitude need reconstruction of approach from faculty and administrators in higher education to rethink the pedagogy for the twenty-first century learner who require such skills as critical thinking, problem solving and the ability to communicate through different media where the face-to-face lectures still dominate teaching practice. In this exploratory study, a case study approach was used to investigate the implementation of blended learning with a group of students on their postgraduate programmes and explore the influence blended learning is having on both faculty and student experience. This study explores the challenges and benefits of a holistic approach to digital learning for a modern university. In conducting this study, the TPACK model of Mishra and Koehler (2006) and the Multimodal Model by Picciano (2009) form the basis of the conceptual frameworks adopted as these were deemed the most relevant frameworks because of their pedagogic dimension. The themes identified included the need for face-to-face interaction, course structure, induction and providing adequate support. Challenges arose due to isolation with the physical distance between the instructor and students, using technology to communicate on forums, workload, lack of training, time management issues and the ongoing need to provide a variety of assessment methods and subsequent feedback. Blended learning is endorsed as a strategy that helps to create a more integrated approach for both instructors and learners. What also emerged was that a holistic, seamless and well integrated blended learning approach using pedagogically appropriate models and more active learning, provided faculty the opportunity to engage students in a richer, deeper, and more meaningful context. Overall, students valued this learning and assessment strategy and viewed the online environment as an inclusive space in which to collaborate and share ideas where they had the option to share knowledge and interact with each other beyond the confines of the classroom where the significance of the pedagogy takes priority over and above the efficiency aspect. This study concludes that blended learning can be considered as an efficient approach to distance learning in terms of students’ learning experience where pedagogy transcends technology. The evidence would suggest that effective blended learning does not entail merely ‘toying with technology’ and adapting it into pre-exiting courses where it may serve no pedagogical value. The relationship between content, pedagogy and technology is fundamental, thus, the implementation of powerful blended learning may necessitate changes in pedagogy and the relationship between students and educators.
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Keywords
Blended learning , E-learning , Community of practice , Face-to-face learning , Instructional designer , Learner management system (LMS) , Lifelong learning , Virtual learning environment (VLE)
Citation
Foley, T. 2020. Faculty and student attitudes and experiences of blended learning in postgraduate programmes: a case study in an Irish university. PhD Thesis, University College Cork.