Abstract:

In the traditional higher educational environment, students were largely passive receptors of information from the faculty members. For decades, efforts have been made to introduce more active learning options; nonetheless, many higher education institutions (HEIs) have continued in a predominantly traditional sense. When the Covid-19 pandemic came to Switzerland in March 2020, and Swiss HEIs locked down, new emergency remote teaching procedures and new learning methods were implemented. As the pandemic continued, HEIs experimented with various modes of online and onsite options. By February 2022, most Swiss HEIs were allowed to return to campus, yet many HEIs continued offering an online option for those who tested positive for Covid-19. With the second onsite semester beginning, HEIs are examining the possibility of including some aspect of online learning into their traditional curriculum. One of the options that have been implemented is blended learning. Blended learning is defined as a mix of face-to-face and digital or online options. However, according to the literature, this definition defines the blending, not the actual learning. For many faculty members, it is a conundrum defining what and how to blend. Currently, there is scant literature on the pedagogical aspect of blended learning to assist faculty members in making their choices; after all, it is not the technology that drives the pedagogy nor the sheer introduction of technology that makes a course ‘blended .’In this study, we intend to bridge this gap by investigating the phenomenon of blended learning as a holistic approach in higher education. We began with the initial question: How effectively have higher education institutions (HEIs) blended traditional learning and technology? The purpose was to gauge what innovative approaches should be kept and what should be dismissed. The results are based on six surveys conducted during and after the Covid-19 pandemic with business students at one business HEI in Switzerland. The results identify the challenges and opportunities of adding more technology into traditional higher education business studies. Some of the challenges include inequalities in access to digital tools and resources or the lack of knowledge of using digital tools. Opportunities include a shift toward an educational environment with greater flexibility and efficiency. Blended learning also encourages learner-centered methods allowing for communication, collaboration, and interaction, which have been missing so much during the different waves of the pandemic, some with pure online teaching. It puts the faculty members and students at an equal level for co-creating the learning experience, promoting engagement, and offering authentic learning and teaching opportunities. We posit that this type of co-creation should be called blending learning with technology (BLT). We aspire to define how the blending can be done with concrete recommendations and a model of BLT. We hope to contribute to the blended learning literature by addressing BLT through a holistic approach. Our results can be applied to other HEIs that focus on business studies.

Keywords:

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), blended learning, digital technology and resources, business studies, Switzerland.