A question of balance — by Clive Sheperd
Excerpt:
The issue, as ever, is getting the balance right between taking advantage of new developments as they come available, while continuing to exploit the potential of long-standing approaches.
.Some of the sessions being offered include:
- Innovative Assessment Techniques
- Teaching the Nontraditional Adult Learner
- Designing Educational Experiences that Promote Deep Learning
- Developing an Academic Honesty Program that Works
- Modeling Writing for Developmental Learners
- Computers in the Classroom: Evidence of Student Engagement (Not Distraction)
- Fostering Student Engagement in Online Learning Environments
- Integrating Emerging Technology in the Classroom and Beyond
- Setting Up Your Hybrid Course for Success
- Engaging Millennial Students in the Basic Course
Putting the Learning in Blended Learning — from Faculty Focus by Ike Shibley, PhD. in Instructional Design
Blended learning involves using a combination of face-to-face interactions and online interactions in the same course. Students still regularly meet in the classroom in a blended course, but the frequency of those meetings is usually decreased. The goal of blended learning is to facilitate greater student learning and could thus fit within a learner-centered paradigm.
Many discussions about blended learning, however, focus not on learning but on blending. “Blended” is an adjective and “learning” is a noun; why has our focus been directed at the adjective? Do we assume, as is often done in the teaching paradigm, that learning is automatically assumed? I think that blended learning has become widely established enough that attention can now be paid to the learning portion of the name.
In higher education learning must be the focus—the push for learner-centered teaching is a noble, pedagogically defensible goal. Improving the cost-effectiveness of teaching should play only a secondary role. An instructor should not begin a blended design by asking how many face-to-face hours are really necessary, even though some administrators may use reduced hours as a starting point. The course should be designed to maximize learning.
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