Empowering Learners
through Blended
Learning
RON OWSTON, PHD| YORK UNIVERSITY| TORONTO
@RONOWSTON [email protected]
Empowerment ≠ Engagement
So what is empowerment and why is it
important?
We are motivated to perform well when we:
◦ Have flexibility to learn (choice)
◦ Care about the task (meaningful)
◦ Feel confident we have the skills (competence)
◦ Know that the task is doable (impact)
(Thomas & Velthouse,
1990)
An empowered learner’s perspective…
According to Krystle’s blended learning
results in…
•
•
•
•
•
Shared understanding of content
Flexible
Online flowed into classroom
Any time, anywhere
Instant feedback
What is blended learning?
Which is the best example of blended learning?
A.The course syllabus is online
B. The instructor uses PowerPoint in lectures
C. Class meets less often and has online activities
D.All of the above
E. None of the above
What is blended learning?
Source: Sloan-C report Blending-In
Thoughtful mix of best features
of both worlds!
Face-toface
Online
Blended learning
Designing for Blended Learning
Face-to-face
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
Online
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
spontaneous
ephemeral
peer influence
passion
subjective
reflective
permanent
< intimidating
reason
> rigor
integrate
complement
Adapted from Norm Vaughan
Condition 1 – Choice
BLENDED LEARNING OFFERS MORE THAN OTHER MODELS
Blended learning clearly provides students
with choice
Allows for flexibility in
students’ study, work,
and life balance
Our full-time students are working!
% full time students working
70
61
60
52
50
41
40
30
20
10
0
USA
Canada
Australia
%working
Many blends are possible
 Weekly replacement
 Alternating week replacement
 Beginning or end replacement
 Tutorials/online lectures
 Others ???
Ideas for enhancing
choice?
Condition 2- Meaningful
BLENDED LEARNING SUITS STUDENTS’ PREFERRED WAYS OF LEARNING
Students indicated strong satisfaction in my
survey of Canadian 8 universities (n=2,714)
“Overall, I am quite satisfied
with this [blended] course” –
average 70% (range 65-100%)
http://irlt.yorku.ca/reports.html
University of Central Florida (Moskal et al 2013)
My course was excellent n=913,688
53
52
51
50
49
48
47
46
Blended
Online
Excellent
Lecture
I would take another course in the future that has both
online and face-to-face components
[at York U]
56%
24%
20%
Disagree/Strongly Disagree
Neutral
Agree/Strongly Agree
N = 2121
34 courses
Taking this blended course increased my
interest in the material [at York U]
Strongly Agree/Agree
Neutral
Strongly Disagree/Disagree
20%
23%
57%
How much tech do students really want?
In general surveys show that higher education students
prefer in their courses:
A. Little or no technology
B. A moderate amount of technology
C. A lot of technology
D. Have no clear preference
Students don’t want “all tech, all the time”!
ECAR survey n= 27,675
Condition 3 Competence
BLENDED LEARNING PROMOTES SELF -EFFICACY
What is self-efficacy?
Belief in one’s ability to perform a
task by making an effort
Belief in one’s ability to successfully
fulfill course and degree
requirements
Why is self-efficacy important?
• The best predictor of academic success
overall (Robbins et al, 2004)
Self-efficacy in blended courses
•
•
•
SE is strong predictor of performance in blended
courses
SE tends to be higher in blended courses than
online and F2F
Why?
Ideas for enhancing SE?
Capitalize on students' interests
Use peer models
Allow students to make their own choices
Teach specific learning strategies
Encourage students to try
Give frequent, focused feedback
Use moderately- difficult tasks
Margolis and McCabe, 2006
Condition 4 Impact
BLENDED LEARNING AND PERFORMANCE
What about achievement in blended courses?
On average under which mode of instruction do students
achieve the best?
A.Face-to-face with no online component
B. A mix of online and face-to-face
C. Fully online courses
D.All modes are the same
Student perform better in blended courses!
(Moskal et al. 2013)
Meta-analytic studies
Effect size = 1.0
Group A
Group B
Standard deviations
Four meta-analyses show BL students
higher than F2F
Effect size
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
Means et al 2013
Zhao et al 2005
Bernard et al 2014
Effect size
Spanjers et al 2015
Blended learning appears to be better in
STEM subjects
In summary, blended learning offers…
◦ Choice/flexibility
◦ Preferred learning experience
◦ Facilitates competence (self-efficacy)
◦ Promotes success
Blended learning can facilitate empowerment,
but not guarantee it.
[email protected]
http://ronowston.ca