To support the introduction of blended learning after the COVID-19 era, we developed a teacher training program to improve the course design process of teachers. This presentation will share how the “Rebuild method” and “Course design toolkit” support course design while visualizing and modifying the course structure effectively and interactively.
With the rapid introduction of blended learning after the COVID-19 era in higher education institutions, faculty members face the challenges of how they design blended learning based on their existing teaching style. While blended learning can increase flexibility in knowledge acquisition and improve learning effectiveness, they also require a sense of responsibility for individual learning outside of class. The reduced opportunities for social interactions in face-to-face classes increase feelings of isolation (Poon, 2013). Boelens et al. (2017) found that designing blended learning has several challenges and stresses the importance of social interaction during face-to-face classes and online learning environments to monitor students’ learning process. Also, professional development is crucial to prepare and support teachers to teach blended courses (Owens, 2012). Suzuki (2021) proposes a new blended model of higher education based on the idea of blending on-demand and real-time models rather than in terms of blending online and face-to-face.
In 2021, we developed the teacher training program to improve the blended learning course design. In advance of the development, we surveyed 824 teacher members who experienced remote teaching in the COVID-19 era. The survey revealed that teachers found the advantages of online learning to enable individualized and optimal learning for each student. At the same time, they face various challenges to have enough relationships and communication with students, which leads to physical and mental impacts, including on students. It was also considered that cooperative learning and communication should be conducted face-to-face. In contrast, the remaining activities could be conducted online, such as knowledge acquisition and individual student learning assessments. Based on this research, we developed a method for teachers to effectively design blended learning with an interactive tool used in the teacher training program.
We developed a design methodology and an artifact - the “Rebuild method” and “Course design toolkit,” designed to interactively visualize and modify the course design process. In the "Rebuild Method," teachers categorize existing course designs into five instructional activities: communication, input, output, collaboration, and assessment. After that categorization, the teacher member chooses whether each teaching activity should be conducted face-to-face or online, referring to the materials on the features and benefits of blended learning. Afterward, teachers choose a synchronous or asynchronous mode for each activity and arrange the sequence of activities. The benefit of this method is that teachers could plan blended learning based on the existing teaching strategy by analyzing and refining it by the instructor’s perspective. In addition, we developed the “Couse Design Toolkit”, which supports teachers in visualizing and modifying the structure of their courses. This Toolkit consists of learning materials and a design tool utilizing Google Jamboard, which enables teachers to learn the characteristics and advantages of blended learning, support visualization and modification of teaching strategies, and share with teacher training program participants. The toolkit is open and available as Open Educational Resources via https://sites.google.com/huoec.jp/onlinelecture/forteachers/toolkit (in Japanese, the English version will be available soon). In the teacher training program in 2021, 10 faculty members participated. By analyzing the course design they conducted, the method and toolkit effectively supported the course design process of blended learning.
This discovery session will share the methodology and toolkit we developed on how teachers design their existing face-to-face or online class for blended learning effectively and interactively.
Session goals：
Participants will be able to see how a teacher training program designed to support the design of blended learning classes is framed. After the session, participants will know how to apply the Class Design Toolkit to blended learning design. They can also take away the Class Design Toolkit as a digital tool that they can use in their classroom courses and training programs.
Level of Participation：
In addition to presenting the Class Design Toolkit developed in this study and examples of utilization, the presenters will provide an opportunity for all participants to ask questions and share ideas and tools related to the topic. This toolkit will be provided for all participants to implement in their classroom courses and training programs.
References：
Boelens, R., De WEVER, B., & VOET, M. (2017) Four key challenges to the design of blended learning: A systematic literature review. Educational Research Review, 22：1-18
Owens, T. (2012). Hitting the nail on the head: The importance of specific staff development for effective blended learning. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 49(4), 389-400.
Poon, J. （2013）Blended learning: an institutional approach for enhancing students' learning experiences, Journal of online learning and teaching, 9(2)：271-288
Suzuki, K. (2021) Proposals for a New Blended Model of University Education. The 46th Annual Conference on Japanese Society for Information and Systems in Education. 77-78