“We should consider online learning, not face to face instruction, as the default option when making [educational] choices,” Daniel says. “This is a break with current habits.”
2) Look into what resources students need
When considering what resources students need for a better blended learning experience, Daniel suggests that colleges start with what instructional environment students need/want, and what do they need to learn for life and work in the 21st century.
Instructional environment
Daniel says his own research found that current colleges students are most successful when they have opportunities to study by themselves than when they study in groups.
He also says working individually enables students to engage more deeply in a particular subject, and they learn to keep working independently – ideal reasons for colleges to include online environments within their blended learning curricula.
Things to learn
While considering which environments will better support students’ blended learning experience, colleges will recognize which skills they need to help students foster.
Daniel says these skills, which includee critical thinking, creativity leadership and communication skills via social media, need to be embedded within a knowledge domain so that developing them is context specific.
“Replace the cottage industry approach to teaching through teamwork and specialization,” Daniel says. “The key faculty roles requiring interaction with students are inculcating difficult skills, helping students grasp challenging academic knowledge and commenting carefully on the assignments that students produce through independent work.”
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