Blended Learning

BLENDED LEARNING

Blended learning is an educational approach that combines traditional face-to-face classroom instruction with online learning activities and resources. It leverages technology to support the learning process beyond the classroom so that students can benefit from the ‘best of both worlds’: in-person interaction with teachers and peers along with self-paced online learning. This approach has the potential to enhance learning effectiveness, accommodate individual needs, and improve student success.

While blended learning is not a new concept, it is an educational model that is gaining renewed attention in educational institutions. At the University of Twente, it is regarded as an instrument with the potential to support fundamental goals of our education, such as self-directed learning and student engagement (see Vision on Learning and Teaching).

Among the crucial aspects that are often neglected, we find students’ motivation and social connections in such environments. This emphasis has become even more pronounced since the COVID-19 pandemic, as researchers have observed a decline in students' motivation and social connections.

The Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework offers insights into this aspect, serving as a social constructivist model for understanding teaching and learning processes in blended environments. This framework integrates the three key interconnected presence:

  • Social Learning

    The ability for students to interact with others in a meaningful way.

  • Cognitive Presence

     The extent to which the students can construct and confirm meaning through sustained interactions.

  • Teaching Presence

    The design, facilitation and direction of cognitive and social presence for meaningful learning

Figure 1: Community of Inquiry

CELT SERVICES IN BLENDED LEARNING

CELT offers support for teachers to develop blended learning for more active and connected learning experiences. Contact us to

MORE INFORMaTION

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BLENDED LEARNING EXPERTS