Blended
Learning Means More Student Engagement
Christina Cavage
Blended learning, brick and click,
tailored learning . . .we are surrounded by these terms today. However,
do we know what they really mean? Can they benefit our students? Most
importantly, do we really understand the pedagogy behind them?
The brick is
the traditional classroom setting. The traditional setting promotes a
social and cooperative learning environment. It motivates learners
through peer interactions and immediate teacher feedback. It allows
both teachers and students to address questions and confusions as they
arise. The click is
the autonomous learning environment available through the web.
Web-based tools allow learners to practice and acquire new language
skills without classroom distractions, as well as self-direct their
learning. Merging these two worlds together creates an environment that
meets a variety of learning styles, and a variety of both student and
teacher needs. This merge is blended learning. Blended learning blends
the social nature of the classroom with the self-paced environment
available in a web-based setting (Clark 2001).
Blended
learning does not mean a reduction of face-to-face class time.
Conversely, it requires greater participation of learners, greater
interaction with content, and an overall greater level of engagement.
As ESL
educators, we understand the importance of students being engaged.
Traditionally, the more students are engaged, the more learning occurs.
Following a blended learning model can increase learning by over 11%
compared to that in a traditional classroom (Siltzmann, Ely 2009). The
reason is simple. Students are more engaged with a digital tool over a
traditional text outside of the classroom. They can interact with
content at their own pace, on their own schedule, receive reinforcement
of course content, and self-select exercises and activities. Students
have access to their language success outside
the walls of the traditional classroom.
Blended
learning can enrich our students learning experience through
interactive activities and immediate feedback. We as ESL educators can
be more informed about our students' successes and failures, and
perhaps even our own. Lastly, it offers both teachers and students a
flexible solution. Students can practice when and where they like.
Teachers can choose the most appropriate activities and customize
course content to meet curricular and programmatic demands.
Christina Cavage is a professor of ESL at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). Prior to joining SCAD, Ms. Cavage served as the Department Chairperson and Professor of ESL at Atlantic Cape Community College for 19 years. During TESOL in 2010, while she was still at Atlantic Cape, she recorded a podcast about Blended Learning. Click here to listen to her podcast.
Next month's article: MyEnglishLabs and
Blended Learning
References
Clark, Richard (2001). Learning
from Media: Arguments, Analysis, and Evidence. Greenwich, CT:
Information Age Publishing.
Sitzman, T. & Ely, K.
(2009). Web-Based Instruction: Design and Technical Issues which
Influence Training Effectiveness.
Retrieved Nov. 25, 2011:
http://webboard.adlnet.org/Technologies/Evaluation/Library/ Additional
Resources/Presentations/ASTD 2009 Presentation Slides.pdf
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