Blended learning and team teaching: Adapting pedagogy in response to the changing digital tertiary environment

Increased accessibility of advanced technology, the targeted use of online learning platforms, student flexible learning expectations and the pressures of faculty budget constraints and priorities have called into question the effectiveness of traditional tertiary teaching and learning models. The tertiary education context must evolve at a pace consistent with the growing expectations and requirements of an innovative society. A teacher-led research project was devised to navigate through some of the complexities and implications associated with necessary pedagogical change in response to the transitioning digital tertiary environment. The development and implementation of blended learning and team teaching strategies were introduced into the pedagogy of a tertiary pre-service teacher education methods class. This paper reports on three sequential years of findings, which will explore student understandings of blended learning and team teaching and the overall impact they had on their learning in this context.

[1]  James R. Davis Interdisciplinary Courses and Team Teaching: New Arrangements for Learning , 1995 .

[2]  Josh McCarthy,et al.  Blended learning environments: Using social networking sites to enhance the first year experience , 2010 .

[3]  Kenneth E. Vogler,et al.  Team Teaching Two Sections of the Same Undergraduate Course: A Case Study , 2003 .

[4]  Andrew P. Johnson,et al.  A Short Guide to Action Research , 2001 .

[5]  Steve Drew,et al.  The literature landscape of blended learning in higher education: the need for better understanding of academic blended practice , 2013 .

[6]  Thomas A. Brush,et al.  Student perceptions of collaborative learning, social presence and satisfaction in a blended learning environment: Relationships and critical factors , 2008, Comput. Educ..

[7]  Kimberly B. Dugan,et al.  Team Teaching a Cross-Disciplinary Honors Course: Preparation and Development. , 2004 .

[8]  Kaye Thorne,et al.  Blended Learning: How to Integrate Online and Traditional Learning , 2003 .

[9]  Geoffrey E. Mills Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher , 1999 .

[10]  Shanna Smith Jaggars,et al.  Online and Hybrid Course Enrollment and Performance in Washington State Community and Technical Colleges , 2011 .

[11]  Judith A. Winn,et al.  Team Teaching at the University Level: What We Have Learned , 1995 .

[12]  Elizabeth Bondy,et al.  Teaching Teams: Creating the Context for Faculty Action Research , 1998 .

[13]  Shanna Smith Jaggars,et al.  The Effectiveness of Distance Education across Virginia's Community Colleges: Evidence from Introductory College-Level Math and English Courses , 2011 .

[14]  J. Mansell Team Teaching in Further Education , 1967 .

[15]  E. Haddon Multiple teachers: multiple gains? , 2011, British Journal of Music Education.

[16]  Ercan Kiraz,et al.  Design of a blended learning environment: Considerations and implementation issues , 2013 .

[17]  Valia Spiliotopoulos Towards a Technology- Enhanced University Education , 2011 .

[18]  A. G. Geen,et al.  Team Teaching in the Secondary Schools of England and Wales. , 1985 .

[19]  Charles R. Graham,et al.  Blended Learning Environments: Definitions and Directions. , 2003 .

[20]  D. Edwards,et al.  Completing university in Australia: A cohort analysis exploring equity group outcomes , 2015 .

[21]  Rebecca Francis,et al.  Engaging with blended learning to improve students’ learning outcomes , 2013 .

[22]  Ray Jones,et al.  Using Blended Learning to Improve Student Success Rates in Learning to Program , 2003 .

[23]  James L. Bess Teaching Alone, Teaching Together: Transforming the Structure of Teams for Teaching. The Jossey-Bass Higher and Adult Education Series. , 2000 .

[24]  J. B. Arbaugh,et al.  Subject matter effects and the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework: An exploratory study , 2010, Internet High. Educ..

[25]  James A. Henley,et al.  To Team Teach or Not to Team Teach—That Is the Question: A Faculty Perspective , 1998 .

[26]  Barbara Means,et al.  Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies , 2009 .

[27]  M. Prensky Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Part 1 , 2001 .

[28]  Richard D. Sagor,et al.  Guiding School Improvement With Action Research , 2000 .

[29]  David Robinson,et al.  Using technology to direct learning in higher education , 2009 .

[30]  D. Garrison,et al.  Blended learning: Uncovering its transformative potential in higher education , 2004, Internet High. Educ..

[31]  Marshall A. George,et al.  Team Teaching a Graduate Course: Case Study: A Clinical Research Course , 2000 .

[32]  J. Benjamin,et al.  The Scholarship of Teaching in Teams: What does it look like in practice? , 2000 .

[33]  Richard G. Fuller,et al.  Team Teaching in the Online Graduate Environment: Collaborative Instruction , 2011, Int. J. Inf. Commun. Technol. Educ..

[34]  Doo Hun Lim,et al.  Team learning and collaboration between online and blended learner groups , 2008 .

[35]  Susan Wainwright,et al.  Blended Learning in Higher Education: Framework, Principles, and Guidelines. , 2011 .

[36]  I. Shibley,et al.  Interdisciplinary Team Teaching: Negotiating Pedagogical Differences , 2006 .

[37]  Karl A. Smith,et al.  Constructive Controversy: The Educative Power of Intellectual Conflict , 2000 .

[38]  Cooperative Teaching: Pictures of Possibilities , 1997 .

[39]  Betty D. Robinson,et al.  Collaborative Teaching: Reaping the Benefits , 1995 .

[40]  Sandra M. Alber A Toolkit for Action Research , 2010 .

[41]  Reid A Robison Selected faculty experiences in designing and teaching blended learning courses at Brigham Young University , 2004 .

[42]  Natasa Hoic-Bozic,et al.  A Blended Learning Approach to Course Design and Implementation , 2009, IEEE Transactions on Education.

[43]  J. Whitehead,et al.  Action research in organisations , 2000 .

[44]  Meltem Ö. Gürel,et al.  Blended Learning in Design Education: An Analysis of Students' Experiences within the Disciplinary Differences Framework. , 2014 .

[45]  Paul Ginns,et al.  Evaluating the quality of e-learning at the degree level in the student experience of blended learning , 2009, Br. J. Educ. Technol..

[46]  Reflection in the context of team‐teaching , 1995 .

[47]  K. Hambridge Action research. , 2000, Professional nurse.

[48]  S. Donnison,et al.  Reflecting on Improving our Practice: Using Collaboration as an Approach to Enhance First Year Transition in Higher Education , 2009 .

[49]  John Larson,et al.  Beyond e-learning : approaches and technologies to enhance organizational knowledge, learning, and performance , 2006 .

[50]  Ernest T. Stringer Action Research in Education , 2003 .

[51]  Robert P. Pelton,et al.  Action Research for Teacher Candidates: Using Classroom Data to Enhance Instruction , 2010 .

[52]  M. Friend,et al.  Interactions: Collaboration Skills for School Professionals , 1991 .

[53]  Mike Carbonaro,et al.  Blending for Student Engagement: Lessons Learned for MOOCs and Beyond. , 2015 .

[54]  Bridget Somekh,et al.  The SAGE Handbook of Educational Action Research , 2009 .

[55]  Fernando Mortera-Gutierrez,et al.  Faculty Best Practices Using Blended Learning in E-learning and Face-to-face Instruction. , 2004 .

[56]  I. E. Allen,et al.  Blending In The Extent and Promise of Blended Education in the United States , 2007 .

[57]  Ellen Newcombe A Work in Progress: Refining the “Blend” of Face-to-Face and Online Instruction , 2011 .

[58]  Jennifer York-Barr,et al.  Collaborative Teaching to Increase ELL Student Learning: A Three-Year Urban Elementary Case Study , 2007 .