Blended Learning in a Faculty Learning Community

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Blended Learning in a Faculty Learning Community
CADE/ACED 2005 Conference
Norm Vaughan D. Randy Garrison Learning
Commons nvaughan_at_ucalgary.ca garrison_at_ucalgary.c
a
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Overview

• 1) Blended learning in higher education
• 2) Blended faculty community of inquiry model
• 3) Practical guidelines for supporting a blended
  learning environment

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Promise of Transformation

• rarely have we witnessed pedagogical
  transformations in postsecondary teaching and
  learning. Technologys role has been mainly to
  support existing, long-standing pedagogical
  approaches.
• Hannafin, Orrill, Kim, Kim, 2005, p. 17

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Re-Design
Blended
Flexible
Distance
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Blended Learning

• The thoughtful integration of face-to-face
  classroom (spontaneous verbal discourse) and
  Internet based (reflective text-based discourse)
  learning opportunities
• An opportunity to enhance the campus experience
  and extend learning through the use of Internet
  information and communication
• Traditional classroom contact hours are
  restructured to accommodate the properties of
  online learning and appropriate activities

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Blended Learning

• 80 of all American higher education institutions
  and 93 of doctoral institutions offer hybrid or
  blended learning courses (Arabasz Baker, 2003)
• 85 of faculty surveyed in British higher
  education institutions believe learning
  technologies are improving access to education
  and 94 think that a mix of online and
  classroom-based teaching is more effective than
  classroom teaching alone (Marquis, 2004)

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Higher Education Survey

• More American faculty teach online and hybrid
  courses 16 vs 11 24 vs 18 and more have
  course websites than Canadian HE institutions.
• it seems that faculty in the United States are
  pulling well ahead of Canadian faculty in
  practice.
• Technology and Student Success in Higher
  Education, 2003

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Why Blended Learning?

• New approaches to teaching (change culture)
• Enhance student learning
• Maximize institutional resources
• Access convenience

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Improved Learning

• 25 of 30 have shown improvement
• five have shown equal learning
• PEW Grant Program in Course Redesign

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Cost Savings

• Redesigned courses reduce costs by 40 on
  average, with a range of 20 to 77.
• PEW Grant Program in Course Redesign

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Students and blended courses
Student satisfaction
47
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Willingness to take another Web course
41
29
16
11
6
3
2
1
More positive

Neutral
Less positive
N485
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Community of Inquiry

• Definition
• A critical community of learners, from an
  educational perspective, is composed of teachers
  and students transacting with the specific
  purposes of facilitating, constructing, and
  validating understanding, and of developing
  capabilities that will lead to further learning.
  Such a community encourages cognitive
  independence and social interdependence
  simultaneously.
• (Garrison Anderson, 2003, p.23).

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Community of Inquiry Framework
Social Presence The ability of participants in a
community of inquiry to project themselves
socially and emotionally as real people
(i.e., their full personality), through the
medium of communication being used.
Cognitive Presence The extent to which learners
are able to construct and confirm meaning
through sustained reflection and discourse in a
critical community of inquiry.
Teaching Presence The design, facilitation and
direction of cognitive and social processes for
the purpose of realizing personally meaningful
and educationally worthwhile learning outcomes.
Garrison, Anderson and Archer (2000)
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Faculty Learning Community (FLC)

• A FLC consists of a cross-disciplinary group of
  5 or more faculty members (8 to 12 is the
  recommended size) engaging in an active,
  collaborative, yearlong program with a curriculum
  about enhancing teaching and learning and with
  frequent seminars and activities that provide
  learning, development, interdisciplinarity, the
  scholarship of teaching and learning, and
  community building.
• (Cox, 2003, p.1)

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Community of Inquiry Framework Adapted for a
Blended Faculty Learning Community
Supporting Discourse
InquiryProcess
Community
Faculty Development Experience
SettingClimate
SelectingContent
Blended Support
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Inquiry Process within a Blended FLC
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Community Presence within a Blended FLC
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Blended Support within a Blended FLC
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Supporting a blended community of inquiry

• How can Internet based information communication
  technologies be used to support an inquiry
  process within a blended faculty development
  context?
• Think
• Pair
• Share

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Using Internet-based technologies to support a
blended inquiry cycle

• Before face-to-face (FTF) session
• During FTF session
• After FTF session
• Preparing for the next FTF session

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Blended FLC Model
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Stage One Before a Face-to-Face
(FTF) Session
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Pre-readings
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Self-assessment quizzes (knowledge probes)
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Examples of Internet-based tools to support
inquiry-based learning

• Before FTF Session
• Communication
• Announcements section of your course web site
• Group email feature
• Posting or linking to pre-reading assignments
• U of C Library - Electronic Indexes and Abstracts
  http//www.ucalgary.ca/library/gateway/indabs.html
  
• Digital learning objects
• Learning Object Repositorieshttp//www.mtroyal.ab
  .ca/adc/adc_learningobjects.htm
• Self assessment quizzes
• Test manager tools
• Anonymous surveys
• Survey manager tools

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Stage Two During a FTF Session
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Quiz survey feedback
Display quiz survey results
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Digital learning objects/resources
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Displaying assignments/faculty work
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Examples of Internet-based tools to support
inquiry-based learning

• During FTF Session
• Displaying quiz or survey results
• Online grade book results (for anonymous surveys)
• Overheads of information printed out from the
  Blackboard online grade book
• Displaying digital learning objects and resources
  
• Objects uploaded to the course web site and links
  to external learning object and resource sites
  (e.g. animations, video clips, PowerPoint
  presentations)
• CAREO www.careo.org
• Displaying assignments and faculty work
• Assignment folders within course site which
  contain the assignment handout, tutorial,
  resources and examples of past faculty work

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Stage Three Between the FTF Sessions
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Anonymous end of session survey
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Online discussion forums
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Project Support and Development
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Links to Projects
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Examples of Internet-based tools to support
inquiry-based learning

• After FTF Session
• Anonymous feedback surveys
• Communication
• Announcements section of course site for faculty
  to do list
• Group email feature for the faculty to do list
• Individual email feature for individual faculty
  questions or clarification (try to put common
  questions into a Frequently Asked Questions
  discussion forum)
• Online discussion forums to facilitate faculty
  moderated discussions
• Virtual classroom tools for synchronous sharing
  sessions among faculty-student groups
• Individual and Group Project Work
• Assignment folders within course site which
  contains the assignment handout, tutorial,
  resources and examples of past faculty work
• Groups work area within learning management
  systems which contain communication tools (email,
  discussion forum, virtual chat) and a digital
  drop box for sharing documents
• Opportunities for further exploration
• External links section within Blackboard for
  enrichment resources

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Stage Four Next FTF Session
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Anonymous survey feedback
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Archive survey feedback
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Comments from Faculty Participants

• This FLC experience provided me with the
  incentive, time, support and encouragement to
  re-examine and reflect on my teaching practice,
  course curriculum and use of educational
  technology.
• Prior to this FLC experience, I had been using
  Blackboard and other educational technologies to
  package and disseminate content resources to my
  students where as now I am using technology to
  create a process and structure to help my
  students become more intentional and reflective
  about their learning. In essence, to learn how
  to learn.

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Questions, Comments, Discussion
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Resources

• Arabasz, P., Baker, M. B. (2003). Evolving
  campus support models for e-learning courses.
  Educause Center for Applied Research.
  http//www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ecar_so/ers
  /ERS0303/EKF0303.pdf
• Cox, M.D. (2003). Faculty Learning Communities
  What Are They? . http//www.units.muohio.edu/flc/i
  ndex.shtml
• Garnham, C. and Kaleta, R. (2002). Introduction
  to Hybrid Courses. Teaching with Technology
• Today, 8 (6). http//www.uwsa.edu/ttt/articles/ga
  rnham.htm
• Garrison, D.R. Anderson, T. (2003).
  E-Learning in the 21st Century A Framework for
  Research and Practice. London RoutledgeFalmer
• Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T., Archer, W.
  (2000). Critical thinking in a text-based
  environment Computer conferencing in higher
  education. Internet and Higher Education, 11(2),
  1-14. http//www.atl.ualberta.ca/cmc/CTinTextEnvFi
  nal.pdf

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Resources

• Marquis, C. (2004). WebCT Survey Discovers A
  Blend of Online Learning and Classroom-Based
  Teaching Is The Most Effective Form Of Learning
  Today. WebCT.com. http//www.webct.com/service/Vie
  wContent?contentID19295938
• Novak, Greg (1999). Just-in-Time Teaching.
  http//webphysics.iupui.edu/jitt/what.html/
• Portland State University (2001). Classroom
  Assessment Techniques Examples.
• http//www.oaa.pdx.edu/CAE/cat.html
• Twigg, C.A. (2004). The Roadmap to Redesign
  (R2R). http//www.center.rpi.edu/R2R/R2R_PlanRes.h
  tml
• University of Wisconsin _at_ Milwaukee (2002).
  Hybrid Course Website. http//www.uwm.edu/Dept/LTC
  /hybrid.html/