Defining the nature of blended learning through its depiction in current research

ABSTRACT

Blended learning has been a feature of higher education practice and research for almost two decades. This article takes stock of current blended learning research, contributing to the growing number of meta-analyses of higher education and blended learning research more generally, through a review of ninety-seven articles relating to blended learning in higher education published in fifteen journals between 2012 and mid-2017. The review focused on where and when the articles were published; their provenance, scale, scope; methodological approach; the broad research themes; and definition of blended learning used. The review shows that despite its ubiquity, blended learning’s definition is all-encompassing; its spread is global but research is dominated by key players; it is of technical interest; and its research is small-scale, individually focused, seeking to evidence the benefits of blended learning. The article concludes with recommendations of how higher education research could provide institutions with evidence to ensure their ‘best of blends’.     

Associations between research and teaching in Australian higher education

This article describes results of an empirical investigation of the relationship between research and undergraduate teaching in Australian higher education. Two research indexes (weighted number of publications, and number of research activities) were used. Scores on a Likert-type scale of reported commitment to teaching undergraduate students formed the main criterion of teaching effectiveness. This was supplemented by student ratings in one of the aggregate-level analyses. The results revealed typically no relation or a negative relation between teaching and research at the level of the individual and at the level of the department, across all subject areas. The only exceptions concerned one group of former colleges of education. Further analysis by staff self-rating of academic quality showed that there existed one group of staff, mainly in the universities, who were committed to teaching and highly active researchers. However, the data did not support a causal interpretation of the association. It is concluded that there is no evidence in these results to indicate the existence of a simple functional association between high research output and the effectiveness of undergraduate teaching. Some implications for policy and student course choice are discussed.     

Familial patterns of learning disabilities

Extended families of 12 young adults (9 LD, 3 non-LD) were given a battery of tests and questionnaires, and 131 persons, ranging in age from 6 to 85, were classified as LD or non-LD on the basis of subtest scores 1 SD below the mean or less on subtests of the PIAT and WRAT achievement tests. Pedigree analysis indicated that LD was strongly familial, with the most probable mode involving a major gene effect, but the type of disability (reading/ math) was not directly inherited. Autoimmune disorders were significantly correlated (P<.005) with LD, especially in families in which LD remained a major handicap into adulthood, a trait that also varied between families. In two of the LD families, adults showed little evidence of the reading/spelling deficits they had shown when tested as children, while adults in other families failed to make gains in reading and spelling.     

Disruptive silence: deepening experiential learning in the absence of technology

Technology plays an integral role in the lives of the majority of the US population. As technology becomes integrated into young people’s lives, questions arise regarding its effects on learning. This exploratory study draws on interviews with students who attend university in the United States to determine how separating students from technology deepens experiential learning. Participants were interviewed following a study abroad course to New Zealand, during which they were disconnected from technologies such as cell phones, the Internet and social media. In the interviews, students discussed their feelings of being disconnected and describe how disconnecting impacted their overall experience. Participants agreed that disconnecting from technology had positive effects on experiential learning and the global experience. Major themes that emerged include students’ enhanced immersion and engagement, the value of disconnection in providing opportunities for personal growth and the difficulty of initial separation from technology as a result of conditioning.     

The relationship between individual instructional characteristics and the overall assessment of teaching effectiveness across different instructional contexts

There is an ongoing debate in the student evaluation of teaching literature about whether an overall rating or factorial dimensions of teaching effectiveness should be used in personnel decisions. Marsh and his colleagues have advocated the use of a weighted average approach to computing overall evaluations. A policy-capturing experiment was carried out where students in three different instructional contexts made overall evaluations of hypothetical instructors based on a manipulation of the teaching factors in Marsh's SEEQ. The results indicated (1) amount learned was consistently the most important factor affecting overall evaluations; (2) course difficulty was consistently the least important factor affecting overall evaluations; and (3) there was a strong similarity among the three groups in the relative importance of the various teaching factors in arriving at an overall evaluation. The implications of this research are discussed, as well as directions for future research.     

Electronic Databases for Technical and Professional Communication Research

Electronic databases provide access to resources in business, communication, education, applied science and technology, and the social sciences. This article identifies the databases that monitor the journals most frequently cited by technical and professional communication researchers.     

Enhancing nursing home care for seniors: impact of a living classroom on nursing assistant’s education

ABSTRACT

Nursing Assistants (NAs) are the largest workforce in nursing homes, but often lack adequate preparation for their role. The Living Classroom (LC) is an integrated learning approach, whereby a NA program is delivered in a nursing home (NH) in collaboration with a community college. This paper describes the implementation and evaluation of the LC. Mixed methods were used to gather data from 48 NA students, 5 faculty, and 42 NH staff over 30 weeks. Students, faculty, and nursing home staff described the LC as a positive learning experience. Students’ gerontological knowledge increased over time (p = .0012). Students reported very positive relationships with program mentors and NH residents. The LC provides a unique approach to prepare NAs to work in nursing homes. This model could expand to other educational programs with a gerontology focus.     

Pedagogical and technological augmentation of mobile learning for young children interactive learning environments

The ubiquity and educational potential of mobile applications are well acknowledged. This paper proposes six theory-based, pedagogical strategies to guide interaction design of mobile apps for young children. Also, to augment the capabilities of mobile devices, we used a humanoid robot integrated with a smartphone and developed an English-learning app that applied the design strategies to this environment. Our observations of children's one-on-one use support the promise of the strategies and the combined use of robots and mobile devices to be a viable option to help optimize mobile learning.