Week 2: Forum, Peers Responses & My Comments
- Alice Walton
- Jun 2
- 6 min read
1 Jun 22:32| Last reply 2 Jun 9:49
Manage Discussion by RABEEA RIZWAN
Reply from RABEEA RIZWAN
As an educator, I’ve used the flipped classroom model to scaffold theoretical knowledge before practical application. For example, students reviewed pre-recorded lectures on communication theories (e.g., Egan’s SOLER model) and completed quizzes on Moodle prior to workshops. I also created some guiding recorded lectures and share animated topic videos for students pre-session watch activities. While I did for in-person time -- role-playing case studies, aligning with constructive alignment principles (Biggs and Tang 2011: 52).
I worked to enhance my students learning through:
Self-paced engagement: Dyslexic learners benefited from revisiting materials (Moon, 2005).
Active application: I also give poster making and group presenting activities in the physical live session as a workshop. Workshop discussions deepened the students understanding via peer feedback (Salmon, 2003).
However, challenges included uneven pre-session preparation, which I addressed by embedding reflective questions (Gibbs, 1988) into pre-work. As a student on this course, I’ve valued flipped resources (e.g., webinar recordings) but recognise the need for structured accountability—perhaps through weekly check-ins, as Jamie’s study group demonstrated in previous reflection discussion.
References:
BIGGS, John and TANG, Catherine. 2011. Teaching for Quality Learning at University. 4th edn. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
GIBBS, Graham. 1988. Learning by Doing: A Guide to Teaching and Learning Methods. London: FEU.
MOON, Jennifer. 2005. Learning Through Reflection. York: HEA.
SALMON, Gilly. 2003. E-Moderating: The Key to Teaching and Learning Online. 2nd edn. London: Routledge.
2 Jun 9:49
Manage Discussion by ALICE ROBSON - WALTON
Reply from ALICE ROBSON - WALTON
Hi Rabeea,
I really enjoyed reading your response, and hearing about your experience with a flipped classroom. I can relate to both of your points regarding using the flipped classroom model to support a scaffold approach. This also identifies how you are aware of a student-centred approach to your teaching. I use this model to leave classroom time/ workshop time for physical making and learning hand skills, which can only be carried out by looking, doing, making, succeeding failing and practicing. I can then supply theory or reading through webinars, online presentations or videos.
It is great to hear you have also mentioned the benefit to students who have dyslexia. I have personally experienced this benefit within this PGCHE course.
Finally, it was incredibly useful to me to hear your counter argument or realisation of constraints to the flipped classroom. This is always something I struggle with, so it was very useful to hear your view. Thank you!
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1 Jun 13:22| Last reply 1 Jun 22:38
Manage Discussion by CLARE GIBSON
Reply from CLARE GIBSON
As a tutor, I have not had very much experience with blended learning. Generally, when I teach, it is either in person or live online. That said, I do provide students with handouts and reading materials before each session. Sometimes I direct them to videos, etc, if it is appropriate. I always make sure students have access to presentations after the sessions; however, having experienced some flipped classroom experiences as a student recently, I think I need to probably change my approach.
I am currently taking a history of yoga online course (just for interest), the way the course is being run is excellent and is something I will be trying to implement in the future.
Every 2 weeks, students are sent a recording of a topic, which is usually about 2 hours long. In some respects, it is possibly too long and does contain a huge amount of information. The positives are that it can be watched in small segments, which can fit around a working week. Every second week, there is a synchronous online session where the content of the recording is discussed. There are lots of Zoom breakout groups for small group discussion and everyone has a chance to say something. The downsides are that the breakout groups are small, usually just three people. I have found that those who haven’t watched the recording can’t add very much and the breakout groups can feel a little awkward if there are people not contributing. When the breakout groups' feedback to the whole cohort, it appears that it is often the same people feeding back each time.
Having spoken with a family member who is a lecturer in nursing at Brunell University, it is seemingly not uncommon for students to not watch recordings prior to a session, so when it comes to the synchronous activity, they have not done the formative aspects required to make the synchronous activity a success.
From my limited understanding, I think keeping asynchronous aspects of a task short, focused, clear and easy to implement away from the learning environment is key. It is evident from reading that blended learning is the way forward as it allows tutors to focus more time on specific in-person tasks. Stein and Graham (2020, p 9) state that research suggests blended learning can have a positive impact on efficiency, convenience, and learning outcomes.
They also address the point that blended learning works well with our modern lives as it can be so adaptable, as an example, reducing the amount of time being ‘on site’(Stein and Graham 2020, p 11)
I like how Littlejohn and Pelger (2007) state that blended learning can change our attitudes as to where and when learning takes place, how it can cut costs and how it can make study accessible for certain disabilities with assistive technologies. However, they also discuss difficulties such as who owns, creates and controls knowledge and resources, quality control, plagiarism how to motivate students outside the classroom environment.
These are all areas that I will need to consider more fully as I begin to approach blended learning activities with my own students over the coming months.
References
Littlejohn and Pelger (2007), Connecting with e-Learning series, Routledge, 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Stein and Graham. (2020). Essentials for Blended learning, 2nd ed, Routledge, Oxon.
2 Jun 10:21| Last edited 2 Jun 10:23View History
Manage Discussion by ALICE ROBSON - WALTON
Reply from ALICE ROBSON - WALTON
Hi Clare,
I really enjoyed reading your reflection, particularly, like Rabeea, your point about how your family member, who is a lecturer in nursing at Brunell University. Their experience that pre lesson recordings or information is not normally read or watched it interesting, and I have personally experienced this with my personal online lessons, however, I choose to still submit the information to the students. I do this to firstly give the students the option to pre watch or pre read (giving the few the potential to pre-prepare), and secondly, to give students confidence in what is to come.
My students generally find out about my teaching through social media, or through my website. At the end of the day, they do not know me, I am not part of an institution, and I am a stranger to them. I feel that by giving students information before the day of the course, in a structured and organised way, it brings confidence and assurance that what they have signed up for is going to be good. If no information is given, they arrive on zoom on the day having no idea what they will receive. This adds value to the students learning and allows them to see the end goal if they take in the information in the lesson. Biggs, J.; et al. (2022) writes about the importance of role models for students to aspire to, to motivate to potentially acquire deep learning outcomes.
I further resonated with your point with supported scholarship from Stein and Graham (2020), addressing how blended learning works well with our modern lives. By reducing the amount of time being on site or face-to-face, it also makes teaching cost effective and efficient (Littlejohn & Pegler, 2006). This is evident on my intensive colouring clays workshop, in which I give students all the information they need prior to the class, asynchronously, teach the workshop online intensively in a group setting, then follow up with questions and the recorded lesson for later student reference and asynchronous learning. This means that the time I spend teaching is small, yet the students feel that they are getting a lot of valuable information. If I scale my lessons up further I need to consider Weller’s, (2004) counter argument that, costs can rise if numbers get so great that the amount of student support needed to run the course smoothly has to increase to match.
References
Biggs, J., Tang, C., & Kennedy, G. (2022). Teaching for quality learning at university (5th ed.). McGraw Hill.
Littlejohn, A. and Pegler, C. 2007. Preparing for Blended e-Learning. Abingdon: Routledge.
Stein and Graham. (2020). Essentials for Blended learning, 2nd ed, Routledge, Oxon.
Weller, M. J. (2004) ‘Models of large-scale e-learning’, Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks (JALN) 8(4), www.sloan-c.org/publications/jaln/v8n4/v8n4_wellerLinks to an external site.. asp (retrieved 31 January 2007).
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