Abstract:

More than ten years has passed since the university professors Heather Kanuka and Randy Garrison at University of Calgary defined blended learning as the thoughtful integration of classroom face-to-face learning experiences with online learning experiences. It is still my favourite definition of blended learning as it emphasizes the aspect of thoghtfulness. Kanuka and Garrison point out that no blended learning designs are identical and that blended teaching require teachers that know the both the characteristics of face-to-face instruction and the properties of the properties of online learning spaces.

I have in addition to the traditional classroom and online learning spaces also included the "at home" or outside school as a significant learning arena, and combined these three learning arenas in a model called the blended classroom. The union of properties and characteristics in these three aspects of the blended classroom can enhance the learning process if the teachers manage to utilise them.

But how can a good blended learning design look like?

My latest whitepaper titled ‘The blended classroom’ demonstrates the benefits afforded to teachers who plan and conduct their teaching and learning activities in the blended classroom. It includes an example from primary school teacher Stine, who reaps these benefits while teaching reading comprehension in Norway. Stine's teaching practice is inspired by Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction (CORI) that was developed by Professor John T. Guthrie at the University of Maryland. It also includes important elements from concepts like assessment for learning, visible learning and the flipped classroom.

The other example in the whitepaper describes how Mattias, a science teacher in Sweden, takes advantage of the blended classroom while teaching physics. Mattias, like Stine, measures student background knowledge and uses it as the basis for the learning journey. He activates his students in the blended classroom with the intent of raising the quality of student homework and better utilising classroom time.

Both teachers demonstrate a deep understanding for the properties and characteristics of the three aspects of the blended classroom, but they also understand the potential in the intersections between the learning arenas. The result of this is a thoghtfull integration of the opportunities available.

The Whitepaper and presentation demonstrate practice that I hope will inspire other teachers to design their teaching for a blended classroom and in that way take advantage of of its enormous potential.

Keywords:

Blended learning, unified classroom, reading comprehension, learning platform, assessment for learning.