ERIC ED548381: A Review of Literature: Mix It up with Blended Learning in K-12 Schools

2013·0.36 MB·English

by  ERIC

A(cid:3)Review(cid:3)of(cid:3)Literature(cid:3)
(cid:3)
Mix(cid:3)It(cid:3)Up(cid:3)with(cid:3)
Blended(cid:3)
Learning(cid:3)in(cid:3)K(cid:882)12(cid:3)
Schools(cid:3)
(cid:3)
Laura Kassner, Ed.D.
Educa(cid:415)onal Consultant

M(cid:155)(cid:227)(cid:217)(cid:202)(cid:214)(cid:202)(cid:189)(cid:174)(cid:227)(cid:131)(cid:196) E(cid:151)(cid:231)(cid:145)(cid:131)(cid:227)(cid:174)(cid:202)(cid:196)(cid:131)(cid:189) R(cid:155)(cid:221)(cid:155)(cid:131)(cid:217)(cid:145)(cid:171) C(cid:202)(cid:196)(cid:221)(cid:202)(cid:217)(cid:227)(cid:174)(cid:231)(cid:195)
MERC
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MERC(cid:3)Membership(cid:3) Background(cid:3)
Virginia Commonwealth University and the school divisions of Chesterfield,
Colonial Heights, Goochland, Hanover, Henrico, Hopewell, Powhatan, and
Chesterfield County Public
Richmond established the Metropolitan Educa(cid:415)onal Research Consor(cid:415)um
Schools
(MERC) on August 29, 1991. The founding members created MERC to provide
(cid:415)mely informa(cid:415)on to help resolve educa(cid:415)on problems iden(cid:415)fied by prac(cid:415)cing
professional educators. MERC currently provides services to over 12,000
Colonial Heights City Schools
teachers in eight school divisions. MERC has based funding from its

membership. Its study teams are composed of university inves(cid:415)gators and
prac(cid:415)(cid:415)oners from the membership.
Goochland County Public
Schools
MERC is organized to serve the interests of its members by providing tangible
material support to enhance the prac(cid:415)ce of educa(cid:415)onal leadership and the
Hanover County Public Schools
improvement of teaching and learning in metropolitan educa(cid:415)onal se(cid:427)ngs.
MERC’s research and development agenda is built around four goals:
Henrico County Public Schools (cid:105)(cid:3)To improve educa(cid:415)onal decision(cid:882)making through joint development of
prac(cid:415)ce(cid:882)driven research ques(cid:415)ons, design and dissemina(cid:415)on,

(cid:105)(cid:3)To an(cid:415)cipate important educa(cid:415)onal issues and provide leadership in
Hopewell City Public Schools
school improvement,

(cid:105)(cid:3)To iden(cid:415)fy proven strategies for resolving instruc(cid:415)on, management,
policy and planning issues facing public educa(cid:415)on, and
Powhatan County Public Schools
(cid:105)(cid:3)To enhance the dissemina(cid:415)on of e(cid:299)ec(cid:415)ve school prac(cid:415)ces.

Richmond City Public Schools
In addi(cid:415)on to conduc(cid:415)ng research as described above, MERC conducts

technical and educa(cid:415)onal seminars, program evalua(cid:415)ons, an annual
Virginia Commonwealth conference and publishes reports and research briefs.
University

Copyright©(cid:3)2013.(cid:3)(cid:3)Metropolitan(cid:3)Educa(cid:415)onal(cid:3)Research(cid:3)Consor(cid:415)um(cid:3)(MERC),(cid:3)Virginia(cid:3)Commonwealth(cid:3)University(cid:3)
The(cid:3)views(cid:3)expressed(cid:3)in(cid:3)MERC(cid:3)publica(cid:415)ons(cid:3)are(cid:3)those(cid:3)of(cid:3)individual(cid:3)authors(cid:3)and(cid:3)not(cid:3)necessarily(cid:3)those(cid:3)of(cid:3)the(cid:3)consor(cid:415)um(cid:3)or(cid:3)its(cid:3)
members.(cid:3)(cid:3)

M(cid:174)(cid:248)(cid:3)I(cid:227)(cid:3)U(cid:214)(cid:3)(cid:243)(cid:174)(cid:227)(cid:171)(cid:3)B(cid:189)(cid:155)(cid:196)(cid:151)(cid:155)(cid:151)(cid:3)L(cid:155)(cid:131)(cid:217)(cid:196)(cid:174)(cid:196)(cid:166)(cid:3)(cid:174)(cid:196)(cid:3)K(cid:882)12(cid:3)S(cid:145)(cid:171)(cid:202)(cid:202)(cid:189)(cid:221)(cid:3)
A(cid:3)R(cid:155)(cid:242)(cid:174)(cid:155)(cid:243)(cid:3)(cid:202)(cid:165)(cid:3)L(cid:174)(cid:227)(cid:155)(cid:217)(cid:131)(cid:227)(cid:231)(cid:217)(cid:155)(cid:3)

T(cid:131)(cid:144)(cid:189)(cid:155) (cid:202)(cid:165) C(cid:202)(cid:196)(cid:227)(cid:155)(cid:196)(cid:227)(cid:221)

Introduc(cid:415)on and Defini(cid:415)ons ........................................................................................... p1
Prolifera(cid:415)on ..................................................................................................................... p1
Methodology ................................................................................................................... p1
Resul(cid:415)ng Resources ......................................................................................................... p2
Pedagogy ......................................................................................................................... P8
Content ............................................................................................................................ p3
Professional Development ............................................................................................... p4
Tools and Logis(cid:415)cs ........................................................................................................... p4
Impact on Students ......................................................................................................... p5
Summary and Conclusion ................................................................................................ p7
References ....................................................................................................................... p9

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Figure 1: Search Terms for Literature Review .................................................................. p2
Table 1: Hallmarks of Best Prac(cid:415)ce in Online/Blended Learning ..................................... p3
Table 2: Six Models for Blended Learning (Horn and Staker, 2011) ................................. p4
Table 3: Class Size From the Literature ........................................................................... p5

Mix It Up with Blended Learning in K(cid:882)12 Schools Page 1
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D(cid:155)(cid:165)(cid:174)(cid:196)(cid:174)(cid:227)(cid:174)(cid:202)(cid:196)(cid:221)(cid:3)
This review was based in part on feedback from MERC
school division personnel familiar with blended learning.
The term “blended learning” represents a wide
Phone interviews were conducted to be(cid:425)er understand
spectrum of delivery op(cid:415)ons, tools, and pedagogies, but
the ques(cid:415)ons and informa(cid:415)onal needs on the topic. The
conceptually refers to instruc(cid:415)on that is a mix or
ques(cid:415)ons that surfaced in these interviews were
blending of tradi(cid:415)onal face(cid:882)to(cid:882)face (f2f) and online
compiled and organized into five themes.
components. Horn & Staker (2011) define blended
learning as “any (cid:415)me a student learns at least in part at 1.(cid:3) Pedagogy(cid:3)
a supervised brick(cid:882)and(cid:882)mortar loca(cid:415)on away from home
and at least in part through online delivery with some (cid:105)(cid:3) What does research say about best prac(cid:415)ces in
element of student control over (cid:415)me, place, path, and/ blended learning?
or pace” (p.3). Allen, Seaman, & Garre(cid:425) (2007) further
(cid:105)(cid:3) What are the hallmarks of good blended learning
a(cid:425)empt to quan(cid:415)fy the divide, defining it as “between
experiences?
30(cid:882)79% of content delivered online with remaining
por(cid:415)ons delivered by f2f or other non(cid:882)web(cid:882)based
(cid:105)(cid:3) What instruc(cid:415)onal elements will make it more
methods” (Watson, 2008). Lastly, Brew (2008) describes
e(cid:299)ec(cid:415)ve?
blended learning as “integra(cid:415)ng online and f2f formats
to create a more e(cid:299)ec(cid:415)ve learning experience than (cid:105)(cid:3) What learning ac(cid:415)vi(cid:415)es are best for the
either medium can produce alone.” acquisi(cid:415)on of di(cid:299)erent skills and content?
(cid:3) (cid:105)(cid:3) Should blended learning be used for introducing
P(cid:217)(cid:202)(cid:189)(cid:174)(cid:165)(cid:155)(cid:217)(cid:131)(cid:227)(cid:174)(cid:202)(cid:196) new concepts or for remedia(cid:415)on and review?
(cid:3)
2.(cid:3) Content(cid:3)
Online and blended learning have experienced
significant rates of growth in recent years, and further (cid:105)(cid:3) What subject ma(cid:425)er, content areas, and/or skills
expansion is an(cid:415)cipated (Horn & Staker, 2011; Picciano, best lend themselves to a blended format?
Seaman, Shea, & Swan, 2012; Watson, 2008). A 2009
3. Professional(cid:3)Development
survey conducted by the Sloan Consor(cid:415)um of 700,000
American public school administrators found over one
(cid:105)(cid:3) How do teachers’ roles change in rela(cid:415)onship to
million students enrolled in one or more online or
ownership and prac(cid:415)ce when moving to blended
blended learning course. This figure represents 2% of
learning?
the K(cid:882)12 public school popula(cid:415)on in 75% of the
country’s districts. An addi(cid:415)onal 15% of districts
(cid:105)(cid:3) How do we encourage teacher and administrator
indicated plans to embark on o(cid:299)ering online or blended
buy(cid:882)in?
courses within three years. Addi(cid:415)onally, while online
learning growth of 23% was projected by those (cid:105)(cid:3) What resources are available for professional
surveyed, they an(cid:415)cipated even greater growth for development in this area?
blended learning opportuni(cid:415)es (Picciano, et al., 2012).
Page 2 Mix It Up with Blended Learning in K(cid:882)12 Schools
4.(cid:3) Tools(cid:3)and(cid:3)logis(cid:415)cs(cid:3) search was limited to peer(cid:882)reviewed journals published
in the last ten years, using mul(cid:415)ple combina(cid:415)ons of
(cid:105)(cid:3) What percentages represent an appropriate
search terms presented in Figure 1. Other relevant
balance between (f2f) and online instruc(cid:415)onal
journal ar(cid:415)cles were iden(cid:415)fied through cita(cid:415)ons in the
components
original list of peer(cid:882)reviewed ar(cid:415)cles.
(cid:105)(cid:3) What technologies are best in suppor(cid:415)ng and
(cid:3)
facilita(cid:415)ng blended learning?
R(cid:155)(cid:221)(cid:231)(cid:189)(cid:227)(cid:174)(cid:196)(cid:166)(cid:3)R(cid:155)(cid:221)(cid:202)(cid:231)(cid:217)(cid:145)(cid:155)(cid:221)
(cid:3)
(cid:105)(cid:3) What are appropriate ra(cid:415)os for teacher(cid:882)student
interac(cid:415)on to be maximized in blended learning
The number of journal ar(cid:415)cles that directly addressed
formats?
online or blended learning in K(cid:882)12 se(cid:427)ngs was
astonishingly low. (cid:3)However, this was not necessarily a
5. Impact on student popula(cid:415)ons
flaw of the search process, as the absence of research in
this area has been documented.
(cid:105)(cid:3) Is blended learning e(cid:299)ec(cid:415)ve for struggling
learners/disadvantaged/at(cid:882)risk popula(cid:415)ons?
The United States Educa(cid:415)on Department (USED)
a(cid:425)empted to conduct a meta(cid:882)analysis of experimental or
(cid:105)(cid:3) How do we iden(cid:415)fy students for which blended
controlled quasi(cid:882)experimental studies comparing f2f and
learning will be appropriate?
online learning modali(cid:415)es published from 1996(cid:882)2006 in K
(cid:105)(cid:3) What popula(cid:415)ons of students are successful (cid:882)12 se(cid:427)ngs only to discover that no such studies existed
with blended learning? mee(cid:415)ng methodological criteria. By expanding the
publica(cid:415)on date to 2008, some studies were iden(cid:415)fied,
U(cid:415)lizing databases and print resources from Virginia
but only five K(cid:882)12 studies were eligible for inclusion
Commonwealth University’s Cabell Library, a thorough
(Means, Toyama, Murphy, Bakia, & Jones, 2009).
review of literature was conducted. The database
In another study, all archived masters
theses and doctoral disserta(cid:415)ons on
blended learning uploaded to ProQuest
through April, 2012, were analyzed in an
a(cid:425)empt to iden(cid:415)fy trends in the research.
Of the 205 resul(cid:415)ng manuscripts, only 8%
involved K(cid:882)12 schools, and the authors
noted that studies of blended learning in
K(cid:882)12 se(cid:427)ngs did not consistently appear
in the database un(cid:415)l 2008 (Drysdale,
Graham, Spring, & Halverson, 2013).
As a result, some studies were included in
this literature review that might not have
been if the body of literature had been
more robust. All total, over 50 peer(cid:882)
reviewed journals, 10 professional
Mix It Up with Blended Learning in K(cid:882)12 Schools Page 3
resources (not peer(cid:882)reviewed, but subject to editorial Pennegar, & Egan, 2005; Wang, 2009; Willekens, 2009;
processes), and 20 published books were iden(cid:415)fied, Zen, 2008; Zhao, Lei, Yan, Lai, & Tan, 2005).
read, evaluated, and synthesized. General principles
Addi(cid:415)onally, one professional resource encouraged
regarding best prac(cid:415)ce in online educa(cid:415)on and blended
administrators and teachers to rethink their use of
learning will be shared with cau(cid:415)ons against broad
classroom (cid:415)me with blended learning. Fletcher (2012)
generalizability, as many of the contexts di(cid:299)ered from a
encourages teachers to “mine” informa(cid:415)on from the
tradi(cid:415)onal K(cid:882)12 se(cid:427)ng. This is a similar approach taken
work in which students engage online to inform and
by Means (et al., 2009) in the o(cid:312)cial USED publica(cid:415)on.
enrich face (cid:415)me, bridging connec(cid:415)ons between the two
P(cid:155)(cid:151)(cid:131)(cid:166)(cid:202)(cid:166)(cid:249)(cid:3) modali(cid:415)es.
With regard to technology tools and their poten(cid:415)al
Numerous studies highlighted the importance of shi(cid:332)ing
pedagogical impact on student learning, Hew & Cheung
pedagogy in moving from tradi(cid:415)onal f2f to blended and
(2012) analyzed experimental studies in which Web 2.0
online learning scenarios, not simply changing the
tools were employed in K(cid:882)12 and higher educa(cid:415)on
medium. Skillful online teaching is ul(cid:415)mately focusing
se(cid:427)ngs to determine their impact on student learning.
on the facilita(cid:415)on of good communica(cid:415)on in ways that
Results indicated that the impact of podcasts, wikis,
promote quality interac(cid:415)ons, student engagement, and
blogs, Twi(cid:425)er, and the use of virtual worlds were either
connec(cid:415)ons (Davies & Gra(cid:299), 2005; Donnelly, 2010;
posi(cid:415)ve or neutral, a finding that will hopefully
Kruger(cid:882)Ross & Waters, 2012; Orellana, 2006; Pelz, 2003;
encourage greater instructor experimenta(cid:415)on in blended
Picciano et al., 2012; Siemens, 2005; Su(cid:425)on 2001).
learning applica(cid:415)ons.
Table 1 summarizes hallmarks of best prac(cid:415)ce online
components of blended learning, according to research
C(cid:202)(cid:196)(cid:227)(cid:155)(cid:196)(cid:227)(cid:3)
(Dixson, 2010; Donnelly, 2010; Drysdale, et al., 2013;
Jaggars (2012) conducted a qualita(cid:415)ve
study on student preferences related to
enrollment in online courses and found
that students preferred “di(cid:312)cult”
courses, such as math, to be delivered
tradi(cid:415)onally in f2f formats, preferring
courses perceived to be “easy” in online
formats. Among subjects that were rated
as poorly suited to online context were
lab sciences and foreign language
(Jaggars, 2012). The researcher also
called for further study into the
rela(cid:415)onship between academic content
Gayton & McEwan, 2007; Kruger(cid:882)Ross & Waters, 2012;
areas and suitability to online learning, and as reported
Manning, 2010: McCombs & Vakili, 2005; Oblinger &
by Xu & Jaggars (2013) (cid:882) “the field has no informa(cid:415)on
Hawkins, 2006; Orellana, 2006; Pelz, 2003; Qiu, Hewi(cid:425),
regarding which subject areas may be more or less
& Bre(cid:425), 2012; Roby, Ashe, Singh, & Clark, 2012;
e(cid:299)ec(cid:415)vely taught online” (p.5).
Siemens, 2005; Su(cid:425)ons, 2001; Teemant, Smith,
Page 4 Mix It Up with Blended Learning in K(cid:882)12 Schools
Xu and Jaggars (2013) conducted a large(cid:882)scale analysis development and expected professional prac(cid:415)ce, which
of online course enrollment across Washington state’s could take the form of using of the same technology
community college system and no(cid:415)ced that humani(cid:415)es, tools (Ertmer & O(cid:425)enbreit(cid:882)Le(cid:332)wich, Sadik, Sendurer &
social sciences, educa(cid:415)on, computer sciences, applied Sendurer, 2012; Darling(cid:882)Hammond, Wei, Andree,
professions, English, mass communica(cid:415)on, and natural Richardson, & Orphanos, 2009), sustained and job(cid:882)
sciences comprised the bulk of student online embedded support through mentoring (Kopcha, 2012),
enrollment. Falling on the lower end of the spectrum an online class open to instructors across ins(cid:415)tu(cid:415)ons
were math, applied knowledge, foreign language, (Lane, 2013), or even a hybrid model (Fletcher, 2012).
English as a second language, and engineering courses
Obtaining buy(cid:882)in from teachers and administrators is a
(Xu & Jaggars, 2013).
cri(cid:415)cal first step to pilo(cid:415)ng new ideas, and researchers
(cid:3) suggest that sharing evidence of the posi(cid:415)ve impact on
student learning will be essen(cid:415)al (Ertmer & O(cid:425)enbreit(cid:882)
P(cid:217)(cid:202)(cid:165)(cid:155)(cid:221)(cid:221)(cid:174)(cid:202)(cid:196)(cid:131)(cid:189)(cid:3)D(cid:155)(cid:242)(cid:155)(cid:189)(cid:202)(cid:214)(cid:195)(cid:155)(cid:196)(cid:227)
(cid:3)
Le(cid:332)wich, Sadik, Sendurer & Sendurer, 2012). Pioneering
educators should receive recogni(cid:415)on as well as the
The literature documents the perceived shi(cid:332)ing of roles
opportunity to provide leadership to others (Lane, 2013). (cid:3)
in the move from tradi(cid:415)onal to online and blended
learning, where teachers take on
greater facilita(cid:415)on
responsibili(cid:415)es while lessening
their responsibili(cid:415)es in providing
direct instruc(cid:415)on. Placing a
course in an online format alone
does not cons(cid:415)tute high(cid:882)quality
online learning, and Donnelly
(2010) highlights the “di(cid:299)erence
between using technology as a
delivery mechanism and using it
as a communica(cid:415)ons
medium” (p.351). Fletcher (2012) describes teachers in (cid:3)
online formats as “curators” of high(cid:882)quality content. (cid:3)
T(cid:202)(cid:202)(cid:189)(cid:221)(cid:3)(cid:131)(cid:196)(cid:151)(cid:3)L(cid:202)(cid:166)(cid:174)(cid:221)(cid:227)(cid:174)(cid:145)(cid:221)
Since the instruc(cid:415)onal pla(cid:414)orm requires changing (cid:3)
skillsets and a(cid:427)tudes, Lane (2013) suggests “the goal of
Blended learning can be implemented in many di(cid:299)erent
professional development [in this arena] should be
ways, and Horn and Staker (2011) share six possible
transforma(cid:415)ve learning” (p.3). In order to achieve this
models or configura(cid:415)ons, summarized in Table 2.
transforma(cid:415)on, professional development should
include reflec(cid:415)ve examina(cid:415)on of prac(cid:415)ce (McQuiggan,
With regard to commercial technologies for online
2007) to discourage con(cid:415)nued tradi(cid:415)onal pedagogies in
learning, Horn & Staker (2011) describe the state of the
the new delivery format (Lane, 2013).
market as previously reluctant to significant investment
in K(cid:882)12 products, and as a result, many products lack the
Researchers call for parallels between professional
needed “raw func(cid:415)onality” and compa(cid:415)bility with
Mix It Up with Blended Learning in K(cid:882)12 Schools Page 5
others. In a study of instructor u(cid:415)liza(cid:415)on of learning Classes that are too small may pose challenges for
management so(cid:332)ware features, Chris(cid:415)e and Jurado engaging discussions, while classes that are too large can
(2009) found that some tools go unused. Rather than lead to di(cid:312)culty in crea(cid:415)ng class cohesion,
worry about underu(cid:415)liza(cid:415)on, the researchers encourage disengagement from students, student anxiety, a lack of
instructors to let their pedagogical needs dictate which confidence to par(cid:415)cipate and share ideas, and
tools they use (Chris(cid:415)e & Jurado, 2009). With regard to “informa(cid:415)on overload” (Aragon, 2003; Colwell & Jenks,
instruc(cid:415)onal pla(cid:414)orms, researchers cau(cid:415)on ins(cid:415)tu(cid:415)ons 2004; Qiu, Hewi(cid:425), & Bre(cid:425), 2012). Addi(cid:415)onally, one
not to make assump(cid:415)ons about instruc(cid:415)onal quality study cited an underu(cid:415)liza(cid:415)on of instructor exper(cid:415)se
(Picciano, Seaman, Shea, & Swan, 2012). due to focused energy on managing large classes (Russell
& Cur(cid:415)s, 2012). Suggested class sizes from the literature
Online instructors’ self(cid:882)reports of perceived workload
range from 13(cid:882)30, as summarized in Table 3.
show increased (cid:415)me needed in the new format, ci(cid:415)ng
greater e(cid:299)ort in planning and implementa(cid:415)on as (cid:3)
compared to tradi(cid:415)onal classroom instruc(cid:415)on (Green,
I(cid:195)(cid:214)(cid:131)(cid:145)(cid:227)(cid:3)(cid:202)(cid:196)(cid:3)S(cid:227)(cid:231)(cid:151)(cid:155)(cid:196)(cid:227)(cid:221)
(cid:3)
Alejandro, & Brown, 2009; Orellana, 2006; Seaman,
2009); some organiza(cid:415)ons are designing innova(cid:415)ve
In determining the characteris(cid:415)cs of successful online
approaches to teachers’ new demands. Horn and Staker
students, researchers describe them as self(cid:882)directed, self
(2011) discuss the possibility of “disaggrega(cid:415)ng the role
(cid:882)disciplined, self(cid:882)controlled, mo(cid:415)vated for learning,
of a teacher” to increase job sa(cid:415)sfac(cid:415)on and directly
possessing awareness of/interest in a topic, and having
target the needs of students. This concept includes
self(cid:882)e(cid:312)cacy related to the computer, the internet, and
hiring a “mix of online teachers, who are in charge of
online communica(cid:415)on (Collis, Bruijstens, & van der Veen,
academic content; in(cid:882)person mentors who work with
2003; Donnelly, 2010; Hung, Chou, Chen, & Own, 2010;
students and their families throughout their high(cid:882)school
Kruger(cid:882)Ross & Waters, 2012). Picciano et al. (2012)
careers; and in(cid:882)person “relevance managers,” who help
raises concern about the trend toward online credit
students apply learning in projects or internships” (p.9).
recovery, sta(cid:415)ng that “many of the students who need to
As teachers design courses and create content, divisions
recover credits are those who may not have [the]
may encounter the need to consider revising policies
characteris(cid:415)cs [to be successful in these
related to compensa(cid:415)on and intellectual property
courses]” (p.134). One school district in Washington
(Roby, Ashe, Singh, & Clark, 2012).
Since a cri(cid:415)cal
component of e(cid:299)ec(cid:415)ve
online instruc(cid:415)on is high
(cid:882)quality interac(cid:415)ons
among and between
students, instructor, and
content, the size of
online and blended
learning classes should
be appropriate for
maximizing the impact
of these interac(cid:415)ons.