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’.     

线性离散系统的H∞开环迭代学习控制器设计

针对线性离散系统,研究了开环动态迭代学习控制律的设计问题.首先给出了闭环系统的收敛充分条件,然后把迭代控制转化为H∞设计问题,最后利用线性矩阵不等式（LMI）方法求解迭代学习控制器.通过仿真实例表明了设计方法的有效性.     

基于网络环境下协作学习模式的构建和实践

随着信息技术的发展，网络环境已成为学习者学习的重要环境之一。基于网络环境下的协作学习，能够激发学习者的学习动机，消除学习的孤独感，有利于培养学习者之间的合作交流能力和创新能力，增强互助意识，提高学习效率。文章从协作学习的概念和特点入手，介绍了协作学习的四个基本要素，分析了协作学习的几种模式，探讨了基于网络环境下协作学习的教学设计和实施。     

多维视角中的学习不良研究

目前的学习不良现象的研究,理论视点多集中在心理学和教育学领域。而在急遽变动的多元化社会中,对学习不良现象的研究需要建立多重分析框架,从情境视角、互动视角和反思视角等不同的视角来进行。     

How do university teachers combine different approaches to teaching in a specific course? A qualitative multi-case study

Teaching approaches in higher education are at the general level well researched and have identified not only the two broad categories of content-focused and learning-focused approaches to teaching but also consonance and dissonance between the aspects of teaching. Consonance means that theoretically coherent teaching practices are employed, but dissonance occurs when two broad approaches are combined. Previous studies researched teaching approaches at the general level, whereas the present study, researched approaches to teaching at the course level. Three university teachers were interviewed in depth about their teaching approach to one particular course. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. While previous studies have found that dissonance occurs between different aspects of teaching, this multi-case study revealed that dissonance can also be found within a single aspect. The present study suggests that neither content- nor learning-focused approaches to teaching are mutually exclusive and therefore may co-exist in individual teachers’ practices.     

英语教学中如何实施文化背景知识教学

语言有着丰富的文化内涵。在英语教学中,文化主要指英语国家的历史,地理,风土人情,传统习俗,宗教信仰,生活方式,行为规范和价值观念等。针对忽视文化背景知识所造成的英语教学和教材中的问题,本文将从听、说、读、写、译五个方面浅谈如何在英语教学中灌输英语国家文化背景知识,而不是简单地教授语言知识和技能,从而实现跨文化交际教学法。只有这样学生才能在英语学习中具有全球视野,不仅学到英语语言知识,而且学到文化背景知识。     

在远程网络教程编制中关于有效教学策略的应用

随着利用 Internet进行远程教育的日渐深入 ,网络教学资源的开发与利用显得越来越重要。本文以高师《公共心理学》网上教程为例 ,从信息的组织结构、内容的表现、支持自主学习的策略等几方面 ,探讨了在远程网络教程编制中有效教学策略的应用     

基于遗传算法和BP神经网络的优化设计方法

随着生产规模的复杂化、多维化和非线性等复杂特性的增加，对生产中高效的优化技术要求也越来越迫切，利用并行遗传算法和BP网络的优点，提出采用遗传算法的并行搜索和解空间搜索的优点进行网络参数的选取，利用BP网络简单和可塑性强的优点来优化样本空间，以取得整体的优化效率。     

Reflectors as online extraverts?

Increasingly, online learning is perceived as an effective method of instruction. Much recent educational research has focused on examining the purposes and situations for which online education is best suited. In this paper, students enrolled in two online courses are compared with their peers enrolled in equivalent classroom‐based courses to investigate aspects of the relationship between learning style and mode of delivery. Student satisfaction measures are taken from participants in both modes of delivery and compared with student learning style. Feedback from the ‘Reflector’ learning style demonstrates higher satisfaction levels with the online mode of delivery compared with their matched counterparts following equivalent classroom‐based courses. Therefore, whilst ‘Reflectors’ might be regarded as Introverts in the traditional classroom setting, the additional time for reflection offered by online delivery makes this group more likely to contribute to online discussion, report higher satisfaction levels and generally behave more like online Extraverts.     

Evaluating efforts to enhance health and wellbeing in Scottish secondary schools

Curriculum for Excellence in Scotland outlines a policy vision of a more progressive, integrated and holistic form of education; a commitment which contains an obligation for health and well-being (HWB) to be a responsibility of all teachers. A critical policy analysis approach was utilized in order to review school-level progress in different stages of policy development, i.e. policy formulation, legitimation, implementation and evaluation. Evidence was collected through 15 semi-structured interviews with head teachers, teacher education academics and staff with national and local authority quality improvement remits. Questions focused on: aims and curriculum goals; school culture; learning and teaching; partnership relationships and evaluations of practice. Findings suggest a high degree of support for curriculum aims, however, there were often problems communicating policy expectations (policy formulation). Thus, despite impressive examples of innovative practice in relation to school ethos, wider achievement and pupils’ broader general education (policy legitimation), there were also examples of HWB being constrained by senior school examinations and the backwash effect this had on curriculum planning and engagement with interdisciplinary learning approaches (policy implementation/evaluation). These findings have implications in terms of policy to practice coherence as well as highlighting the need for further more specific research evaluations.