Harvard recently published an analysis of four blended-format courses that offer “practical guidance for faculty members interested in fresh pedagogical approaches.” The study led by the Bok Center for Teaching and Learning showed that students responded most to lesson structure and execution, placed a premium on person-to-person interaction, and found redundancies between in-class and online instruction. The blended versions of the courses used a variety of online learning experiences at different stages of development. The online content was developed through HarvardX to assess how each class integrated the online elements, evaluate its strengths and weaknesses, and gauge student reactions to the format. Key findings included:
- Students tended to conflate the teaching approach with the blended format, responding more to the teaching itself than to how specific online or blended elements worked.
- Students valued the increased flexibility and ability to learn at their own pace, but still wanted in-person interactions with faculty and among themselves.
- The most common student complaint was that online learning opportunities were often redundant with in-class components, as faculty experimented with how to best use class time and encourage participation.
The report includes a set of recommendations for faculty who are planning to blend existing courses and the executive summary, recommendations, and assessment tools are available here (pdf).
http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2014/07/a-virtual-analysis/