Abstract:

The development of learning theories coupled with technology innovations has derived change in higher education. Thus, e-learning applications have increasingly raising of attention especially the incursion’s wave of “blended learning” (BL). Such importance of BL comes from its potential to improved pedagogy, enhanced cost-effectiveness and provided flexible learning experiences. Although, BL essentially means a combination of the best practice of F-2-F practice with the best practice of e-learning means, it is more complicated in its practical side than it appears in its definition. Such complexity integral with the lack of educational technology research on exploring practitioners’ experiences and real-world practices of BL, has forced the failure on accomplish its desirable outcome. This paper presents a new educational methodology agenda that has been designed to understand the complex nature of blended learning in a real-world learning environment and more importantly shed a light in practitioners’ experience of change. The theoretical foundation of this research based on a design-based research (DBR) methodology and adopted Cultural-historical Activity theory CHAT. Thus, this paper gives a general background about (DBR) and (CHAT) first and then discusses the importance of combining CHAT in different stages of DBR.

Keywords:

Blended learning, integration, research, design-based research, Cultural-historical Activity theory CHAT, academic practice of blended learning.