T-BLE participants at wrap-up event in November 2014: Kerry Renwick, Michael Rochemont, Bonita Bray (facilitator), Judy Chan, and Joseph Anthony (facilitator). Absent: Luisa Canuto.
The research is clear – teaching in a blended learning environment enhances student learning. At UBC, increasing numbers of instructors are adopting this “blend” of online and face-to-face teaching in their own classrooms. For many faculty, this is a new teaching strategy – they have not learned in this way, and have not taught in this way.
Interested in learning more but unsure of where to start? The Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology (CTLT) offers a six-week immersive course delivered in a combination of face-to-face and online sessions, called “Teaching in a Blended Learning Environment” (T-BLE).
Informed by published research in the field, T-BLE was designed and developed collaboratively by members of two teams at CTLT, and is facilitated by Bonita Bray, Professional Development Strategist, Learning Ecosystem, CTLT, and Dr. Joseph Anthony, Health Professions Education Coordinator, Faculty of Medicine. Together, Bonita and Joseph possess over five decades of teaching experience, and a decade’s experience in online learning.
“Teaching in a Blended Learning Environment (T-BLE) is a short blended course designed in support of UBC’s strategic goals related to educational transformation and flexible learning. Aimed at instructors, T-BLE will give you a great start in navigating the blended learning environment, working within a cohort of your peers. As part of your T-BLE activities, you will redesign a module of your own course in a blended format by incorporating more active learning and evidence-based strategies.”
Dr. Simon Bates, Senior Advisor, Teaching and Learning and Academic Director, Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology (CTLT).
For Christina Hendricks, a Senior Instructor in UBC’s Department of Philosophy, taking T-BLE during the first cohort in mid-2014 proved invaluable. Her current classes include some online elements, but she plans to begin teaching a fully “blended” course in the summer of 2015. “I came out of the T-BLE course with so many ideas I would not have had otherwise,” she says.
She posts all lecture notes online, and her students post comments and create discussions in a number of different locations, including Connect, the UBC Wiki and Christina’s own WordPress blog. Ultimately she hopes to move all online discussion to the blog and to increase the number of online student discussions.
“The assignments and activities – such as being encouraged to create a whole module for your course, which I’m now planning to work from when I begin teaching in the blended format – are all presented at a very reasonable pace. You can go through one part at a time and not feel overwhelmed, which helps you to progress well, and the checklists that are provided are also very helpful to keep you on track,” says Christina.
For Michael Rochemont, Professor in the Linguistics Department, taking the second T-BLE pilot from September – November 2014 gave him the opportunity to “be a student again” and gain empathy with his own current students on how to get the best out of your learning.
“Linguistics is very hands on and has always included a large out-of-classroom component, so I was already quite familiar with using blended learning in my teaching,” he says. “However, studying the T-BLE course has proved very useful for course design, and I also have a number of colleagues who are now interested in undertaking it.”
“I can now re-design my courses, in terms of lectures, assignments and assessments, and what I think the outcomes should be,” says Michael. “How can I make blended components a part of the course, and the assessments? I’m looking at a number of ways I can improve this. It’s also reminded me of the importance in fostering student engagement with the material, both in and out of the classroom, and how to continue to encourage and recognize this.”
Michael is also a strong proponent of blended learning aspects such as exposing students to video lecture content outside of the classroom. “I want my students to view the footage in their own time, so that it gives them time to pause, rewind and reflect,” he says. “I particularly want them exposed to the words of certain individuals such as Noam Chomsky, and to hear him deliver this material in his own voice – it does not have the same impact when they are reading it on a page or even someone else reading it aloud.”
Candice Rideout, Instructor in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems, doesn’t use online learning during her class hours, but finds it enhances her students’ learning if she blends one hour of lectures with two hours of group work each week.
“I began taking the T-BLE course during the summer and have not had time to complete it yet, but I found it very systematic and clear, and also well presented,” she says. “Being able to create a module for my own course is very practical; you’re not just exploring hypothetical situations.” She also feels that anyone currently receiving Flexible Learning Initiative funding should strongly consider participating in the course and has suggested to facilitators that all recipients be invited to do so.
Certainly, all faculty agree that some face-to-face time should still play a part for tertiary students, as well as online. Michael has personally seen many strong friendships generated amongst students in his classes from working together in groups. “It’s important that students establish respect for one another as well as for me, and I feel that a great deal of this is created by them talking to one another face-to-face in class,” he says.
Christina agrees, but says that while some face-to-face and synchronous learning is definitely useful for the majority of students, some do prefer to complete their studies wholly online. “I’m fine with that,” she says. “I’m a big proponent of Open Learning and there are some amazing philosophy blogs and resources out there. I feel it’s possible to study philosophy asynchronously: it’s just a different kind of conversation.”
Christina, Michael, and Candice also expressed their appreciation for the readings, web links, and resources Bonita and Joseph provided, and emphasized the importance of ensuring that participants allow themselves enough time to read through them all, either during the course or by returning to the course at a later date. Bonita reports that participants consistently say that while T-BLE is a lot of work, it is definitely worth the effort.
The next installment of Teaching in a Blended Learning Environment will take place from January 28 – March 31, 2015:
January 28 – Online – Before We Meet Module Opened
February 2, 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. – Face-to-Face Launch
February 2 – 15 – Online – Designing Active Learning and Learner Engagement
February 16 – March 1 – Online – Collaboration and Creating a Community of Inquiry
March 2 – 16 – Online – Assessment in a Blended Learning Environment
March 31, 1:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. – Face-to-Face Celebration and Wrap-Up
How do I apply?
If you are interested in joining the T-BLE faculty cohort, please complete the online application by January 26, 2015.
For more information, contact kele fleming (kele.fleming@ubc.ca), Associate Director, Teaching and Learning Professional Development, CTLT.
This article was published in the December 2014 CTLT Newsletter, Dialogues. Below is a list of articles included in the issue:
- Interested in Teaching in a Flexible and Blended Environment? (currently viewing)
- STLHE 2015: Call for Proposals and Call for Reviewers
- Create Short, Dynamic Videos with Lightboard
- A Landless Territory: How Do We Articulate Cyberspace Within the Discourse of Indigenous Studies?
- This Changed My Teaching: Transforming Large Classes into Interactive Learning Environments
