Using the Blended Learning Approach in a Quantitative Literacy Course

The efforts to improve the quantitative reasoning (quantitative literacy) skills of college students in the United States have been gaining momentum in recent years. At the same time, the blended learning approach to course delivery has gained in popularity, promising better learning with flexible modalities and pace. This paper presents the results of an exploratory study that compares student learning outcomes and student attitudes over several semesters of blended versus traditional delivery in the upper-division quantitative literacy course at Point Loma Nazarene University.     

混合式教学模式在电大开放英语教学中的应用

混合式教学模式把传统教学模式的优势和信息化网络教学中的优势相互结合起来,较好地实现了信息与学科之间的整合.香港公开大学就是采用混合式教学(blended learning)模式的一个成功范例.文章阐述了混合式教学模式含义,论证了其应用于电大开放英语教学的可行性,并从混合式教学模式的主要实施环节入手,探讨了如何将混合式教学模式应用于电大开放英语课程教学,希望能为当前电大英语教学提供一些借鉴.     

Exploring Top Hat’s Impact on Undergraduate Students’ Belongingness,Engagement, and Self-Confidence: A Mixed Methods Study

Abstract

Evidence suggests that the use of educational technologies may promote positive learning environments and contribute to students’ success. The following mixed methods study examined the impact of Top Hat in a blended learning environment on undergraduate students’ sense of belongingness, engagement, and self-confidence in a Canadian post-secondary institution. A survey study measured students’ sense of belongingness, engagement, and self-confidence before and after the course, which used Top Hat. The results show a significant increase in belongingness and self-confidence, but a decrease in engagement. Contrarily, focus groups revealed that using Top Hat may improve the overall learning experience. Limitations and future recommendations are discussed.     

Teaching for blended learning––Research perspectives from on-campus and distance students

The concept of blended learning has begun to change the nature of all teaching and learning in higher education. Information and communication technologies have impacted by providing a means of access to digital resources and interactive communication for all courses and the blending of pedagogy and technology has produced a range of approaches to teaching and learning. This paper discusses the research literature and the writers’ research, defining what they have concluded are teaching practices that use the concept of blended learning effectively. In investigating how ICT can add variation for student learning, they analyze this from two dominant modes of pedagogy, learning environment and pedagogy through both on-campus and distance education. In both modes, students acknowledged the power and effectiveness of blended learning.     

Collective reflective assessment for shared epistemic agency by undergraduates in knowledge building

We examined the facilitation of shared epistemic agency through a knowledge-building (KB) design that included analytics-supported collective reflective assessment (AsCRA). Forty undergraduate students taking a Liberal Studies course at a university in central China used the promising ideas tool and the knowledge building discourse explorer to self-analyze the online discourse they had created in Knowledge Forum® (KF), an online discourse environment; 34 students in a comparison section of the same course used KF but did not use the additional tools. Both classes were taught by the same teacher and studied the same inquiry topics. Multifaceted analysis of students' interaction in and the quality of discourse on KF, an educational online platform, indicated that analytics-supported reflective assessment helped them to develop high-level shared epistemic agency in the KB process. Qualitative analysis showed that AsCRA helped students to focus on high-level goals (idea negotiation, synthesis of ideas and rise above thinking) in KB, and to engage in continuous assessment, reflection, and action planning to regulate and improve their discourse. The findings have important implications for the design of technology-rich environments to support learners, and may help teachers identify the potential uses of such environments to encourage learners to engage in productive collaborative inquiry and develop metacognition and agency.     

Impact of online support for teachers’ open-ended questioning in pre-k science activities

We examined the effects of teacher supports in enhancing teachers’ open-ended questioning in pre-k activities. The blended teacher supports included online video demonstrations of questioning techniques and companion workshop activities. Twenty-five teachers received the blended supports while the control group did not. The data consisted of classroom video observations, teacher surveys, and teachers’ access time to teacher supports. Our quantitative analyses revealed that the treatment group teachers used more open-ended questions than the control group teachers. The students in the treatment group used a greater number of different words and complex sentences than those in the control group.     

混合学习环境下xMOOC应用模式探究——以Coursera平台为例

针对传统课堂教学质量差、在线学习存在师生交互缺失等诸多问题,基于Coursera教学平台,以混合学习的内涵为基点,翻转课堂模式和xMOOC的课程模式为支撑点,结合xMOOC应用于混合学习的优势尝试构建了混合学习环境下xMOOC的应用模式。同时,据此应用模式构建了基于xMOOC的混合式教学系统设计模式,并据此模式进行了教育技术学专业一门课程的个案设计。     

Managing the Change From On-Site to Online: Transforming ESL courses for teachers

In Canada, all regular K-12 teachers face the challenge of teaching both native and non-native English speaking students. Consequently, working with students who use English as a second language (ESL) has become everybody's business, irrespective of whether they are teaching language or mathematics, at elementary or secondary levels. As a result, it is essential for in-service teachers to gain knowledge and develop skills in working with ESL students. Teaching English as a second language (TESL) courses have been delivered traditionally at the Faculty of Education at Queen's University through on-site training and with opportunities for working with ESL students. These courses, however, are now delivered online to teachers in different locations across the province and even in other parts of the world. This paper addresses the challenges of converting the on-site courses to an online format.     

北美大学图书馆"服务整合"案例研究

过去十余年,北美大学图书馆面临着经费紧张、人员冗余、发展挑战等一系列问题,许多图书馆把流通、咨询、馆际互借等传统的服务内容整合到一个物理咨询服务点完成。同时,该服务点还作为其他深层次服务的转接点,承担图书馆各项服务的转接功能。该文主要介绍了北美大学图书馆服务整合的背景、措施、内容、带来的好处和存在的问题等。     

图书馆转型期的服务工作

图书馆转型期的服务将传统图书馆的服务功能和先进的数字化图书馆的多功能高效服务形式融为一体,相辅相成,形成独具特色的图书馆服务形式。