This week at World Bank EduTech
week of May 30, 2022
During the pandemic, the disruption generated by the global school lockdown forced most countries to implement emergency remote learning. Mounting evidence indicates that remote learning at scale is difficult to implement effectively. On the positive side, different education technology policies were deployed at scale in the five continents. Now, as schools are increasingly reopening, and remedial education gains momentum, different countries are expressing more interest in exploring or adopting blended learning models for learning recovery as well as for system resilience.
This week, we discuss blended learning. What is blended learning? What are the enabling conditions for blended learning? Does blended learning work?
What is Blended Learning (BL)?
There is no a single definition of Blended Learning (AKA hybrid, flexible, HyFlex), however, there are three distinct features:
- Time (when): learning can be synchronous (at the same time, also known as “real-time”) or asynchronous (sequential, at different times) or it can have a bit of both.
- Space (where): learning can be in person (also known as face-to-face, sharing the same location) or can be remote (two or more people in different places).
- Interaction (how): learning can be unpacked in terms of the direction of the communication (one-way; bi-directional or multi-directional) or type of engagement, from no-participation (an individual is learning alone), limited participation (where the interaction with others is limited/controlled) and high participation (active and dynamic exchange with others).
Why Blended Learning?
BL is far from new. The combination of technology, in-person, and remote learning is a model that universities explored way before the Internet. Some attribute the popularity of technology-enabled BL to the early days of Khan Academy (today broadly used for “flipped classroom”) but its history is much older. Virtual and open universities have used a combination of radio and TV plus print for many years.
Today, BL is especially relevant since we have learned the limitations of remote learning, something that was earlier analyzed by the study “Remote Learning During COVID-19: Lessons from Today, Principles for Tomorrow”, and more recently highlighted in “Analysis of COVID-19 Student Learning Loss”. BL combines the advantages of e-learning in its various forms and the advantages of face-to-face learning in classrooms under the supervision and guidance of the teacher.
What are the enabling conditions for Blended Learning?
BL aims to maximize the benefits of technology and digital resources to improve the differentiation of instruction, promote classroom interaction, and adapt teaching to the level of the student. Through highly-planned and structured sequences of activities, technology can compliment traditional teaching to enhance interactive classroom activities and allow learning to happen at the pace of the student. BL requires the alignment of different elements within the system:
- Clear definition of future education vision and goals;
- Effective leadership;
- Determining all the required procedures;
- Adapting quality courses/content with flexibility for different learning styles;
- Optimal use of teaching methods and educational technology;
- Providing human and material support; and
- Comprehensive and continuous assessment.
Does Blended Learning work?
A study from Montreal (Canada) reveals that students in the BL classroom (treatment) experience higher performance compared to the students in the traditional lecture-based class (control group).
Other research conducted in the State of Texas (US) finds BL was more effective in facilitating growth in math learning as compared to meeting grade-level criteria. Schools can benefit from implementing BL, particularly for students who are behind academically and need additional academic growth.
In a study in schools in Japan, successful BL implementation requires a strong leadership team and specific teacher training; and to evaluate alignment between the implementation of BL and changes in students learning. A key recommendation of the report is that schools need to contextualize BL to maximize its success.
However, not all studies are conclusive: some BL interventions improve outcomes, but the existence of a positive effect varies for different interventions and domains of achievement (Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education).
In a nutshell… it depends on its implementation.
Where can I learn more about Blended Learning?
BL could be an opportunity to redefine the relationships between educators and students. BL implies rethinking the organization and hierarchy of knowledge in the curriculum, as well as group and personalized instruction times. To effectively design and implement BL models capacities at the system level (e.g. the institutional, administrative, educational, ethical, and technical dimensions) need to be developed. Here are a few capacity-building opportunities.
- BlendedX: Blended Learning with edX
- Making Blended Education Work with FutureLearn
- Blended Learning: Personalizing Education for Students with Coursera
Our World Bank EdTech team, in collaboration with teams from KSA and Peru, prepared short EdTech Policy Academy workshops (currently available in English, Arabic, and Spanish) on this topic to support TTLs and government officials.
