The research is clear that teaching a blended course produces enhanced learning outcomes for students. (U.S. Department of Education, 2010). However successfully teaching a blended course requires instructors to adopt a new approach to teaching, learn new skills, and to rethink their course design. This is a time-consuming and intellectually-challenging task for instructors who are already carrying a full teaching and research load. How can a university motivate and support instructors to explore teaching in a blended learning environment and help them (re)design their course to incorporate active learning (Freeman, S., 2014, 8410-8415) (.Wieman, C. E. 2014, 8319–8320) in both the online and face-to-face contexts for an enhanced learning experience? At University of British Columbia, we have developed a cohort-based blended course on blended course design (T-BLE). This roundtable discussion will summarize lessons learned about designing and delivering three successful iterations of a blended course to prepare instructors to design and deliver their own blended courses. It will also include the voices of T-BLE participants who will provide feedback from their perspectives both as students in T-BLE and as instructors designing their blended courses. Working collaboratively, participants will:
- identify challenges and potential solutions when implementing blended learning in their (specific) contexts - explore avenues to introduce instructors to the pedagogy of blended teaching and learning - consider administrative, design and teaching strategies for motivating and supporting instructors as they move to a blended learning environment.
References: 1 U.S. Department of Education, Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development, Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies, Washington, D.C., 2010.
2. Freeman, S., Eddy, S. L., McDonough, M., Smith, M. K., Okoroafor, N., Jordt, H., & Wenderoth, M. P. (2014). Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(23), 8410–8415. http://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1319030111
3 Wieman, C. E. (2014). Large-scale comparison of science teaching methods sends clear message. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(23), 8319–8320. http://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1407304111
