20 Blended Learning Design

Chapter Objectives

• Consider various instructional design approaches as a pathway toward blended learning
• Examine learning objectives as a building block for blended learning design
• Outline how you might determine learning objectives for your own course and identify resources to help with this

Observe & Consider

Blended learning requires a thoughtful design process

The key to a successful blended learning environment is bringing face-to-face and online activities together in a seamless and complimentary way. That can mean there are many moving parts for which to keep track to minimize confusion and take advantage of the opportunities for deeper learning and improved outcomes. To help manage the process of aligning activates, assessments, and course content with the various technology choices and classroom management strategies, this week we’ll turn our attention to instructional design.

In addition to helping manage the work involved with creating a blended learning course, instructional design process works to make thoughtful choices that directly benefit students. In their book Blended Learning in Higher Education, D. Randy Garrison and Norman D. Vaughan concentrate on seven basic principles for blended learning and the blended learning design process:

1. Design for open communication & trust
2. Design for critical reflection and discourse
3. Create and sustain sense of community
4. Support purposeful inquiry
5. Ensure students sustain collaboration
6. Ensure that inquiry moves to resolution
7. Ensure assessment is congruent with intended learning outcomes

To that end, we’ll look at several design approaches to help work toward these principles.

Please keep in mind that it is often a good idea to initiate blended learning by starting small and growing over time. The approaches we discuss this week can be applied just one activity or an entire course. If you ever need assistance, remember there are support units across campus like LSS and DoIT Academic Technology that are glad to help.

Observe & Consider

To get us started, this podcast with Jonathan Klein and Theresa Pesavento of UW-Madison L&S Learning Support Services and Ron Cramer and Chad Shorter of DoIT Academic Technology helps lay a foundation for further investigation of blended learning design.

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