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How effective was the “Blended Learning” strategies on students’ success?

Guadalupe Mata-Claflin

Lamar University

EDLD 5315

 

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            As all educators are aware that in today’s educational learning environment, the way students are learning is different in every school and classroom.  Therefore, it is of upmost importance that everyone involved with students make all necessary adjustments to assure that all issues in learning are resolved.  Research studies confirm that Blended Learning models are successful in students’ learning.  “Blended learning is any formal education program in which a student learns at least in part through online learning, with some element of student control over time, place, path/or pace” (Horn, M.B., & Staker, H., 2015, p.33).  Everybody in a school setting should be held accountable for all students’ learning outcomes.  While countless schools continue to rank low in their state due to low student test scores, districts are scrambling to find ways to raise their ranking.  Therefore, many school districts are jumping onboard by implementing blended learning models.  If the model is implemented with success, there will be in increase in higher student test scores/grades, student engagement, intervention strategies and aligned teacher training.  These strategies will best predict students' positive learning outcomes.  There can be potential pitfalls during the implementation and measurement of the results.  The following literature reviews have supported the success in the issues stated above.

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Strategies with Positive Outcomes

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            Studies have confirmed that the flipped classroom is one of the blended learning strategies that have shown increases in student achievement.  The flipped classroom takes the lecture part of the instruction and places it in videos or podcasts for students to watch at night as their homework (Morgan, 2014).  By students viewing these videos at night on their own or with their parents provides comprehension reinforcement on the concept they are studying.  Students who are absent from class benefit from the flipped classroom because they are better able to retrieve the information and knowledge of the content without falling behind (Peterson, 2016).  Even though many teachers find it hard to fit in their schedule the work entailed in this model, they need the assistance from their administrators.  This model has had excellent results when the development and implementation is correctly executed.

            A study was conducted at the network of KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program) New Orleans schools.  Their data was collected and analyzed from surveys from the implementation blended learning models at the KIPP schools.  According to Alijani, Kwun and Yu (2014), the result data analysis shows that overall, 48% of respondents agreed blended learning is higher quality instructional method than traditional face-to-face instruction and that 94% of respondents indicated that blended learning has the propensity to increase scholar success.  We all know that if the classroom instruction is not engaging learners, then students are not learning.  The results of this study indicate that transitioning from the traditional learning environment to a blended learning model is beneficial to all students. 

            U.S. Department of Education’s (2015) data continually indicate that students who are English Learners (ELs) underperform in reading compared to students who are not English Learners (non-Els).  Kazakoff, Macaruso and Hook (2017) conducted a study that examined whether a personalized, adapted blended learning approach can support reading development in Els and non-Els.  They also had to integrate professional development training for the teachers.  Since they were also implementing a computer-based software, they had two training sessions.  The first training provided strategies for integrating Lexia Reading Core 5 which is a computer-based program.  The second training focused on the use of online teacher reports which tracked student progress and aligned instruction according to the data collected through the program.  During each of the two years of the study, significant gains in both groups.  Therefore, their findings suggested that their blended learning approach lead to significant advances on a standardized reading test for Els and non-Els.  If students can read and comprehend, they will be successful in all subjects. 

             Using quantitative methods, the current study addresses the phenomenon of blended learning and the impact of profes­sional development (PD) in blended learning on teacher practice (Parks, Oliver & Carson, 2016).  The survey sampled 366 secondary public-school teachers that were in the Southeastern state of the United States.  They also completed the Blended Practice Profile, a self-assessment diagnostic instrument to measure their practices integrating blended learning.  The results indicated that most of the teachers were not able to fully comprehend blended learning to its fullest.  The data indicated that there was a need for personalized professional development of blended instruction to meet the needs and gaps in understanding the model.  They indicated that if the professional development was to be implemented effectively, there needed to be ongoing and supported by the administrators, peer teachers and all other staff involved in the training.  The study consisted of four research questions and the use of a quantitative design. Their instrument analysis addressed six domains of blended instruction.  One of the limitations of the study was that the study was supposed to be voluntary but, in some schools, the administrators requested the teachers to take the survey.  The authors felt that the influence of power could reduce the opportunity for participants to select a correct answer for different personal reasons.

 

Measurement Tools

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            It has been shown in several studies that students’ test scores are ultimately better in a blended learning environment vs. a traditional classroom.  But all studies used different types of measurement tools to determine both positive and negative results.  It is important to view the pros and cons of the different measurement tools applied.  Chen and Wang (2015) collected date and analyzed them by both quantitative and qualitative means.  According to Creswell and Clark (2011), the mixed-methods sequential explanatory design consists of two distinct phases, a researcher first collects and analyzes the quantitative data, and qualitative data are collected and analyzed second in the sequence and help explain, or elaborate on, the quantitative results.  Their results were explained in an appropriate manner that were easy to follow.  It allows the reader to decide which method or both to use in their studies.  Their detailed research design and experimental process were described in detail.  They constructed three research instruments for their quantitative instrument development.  Their data collected were analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics.  Their qualitative interviewing process was designed in various stages.  The students’ responses were audio-recorded and transformed into verbatim transcripts and classified into categories. 

            The integration of new mobile technologies and online media is proving highly effective in media is proving highly effective in helping schools meet the expectations of 21 century learners while addressing the challenges of limited resources and the individual needs of many students Nair & Bindu (2015).  They had three hypotheses formulated and eleven objectives that comprised their study.  The following tools were used for their study:  Combination of Objectives (cognitive, affective & psychomotor), Methods (exploratory, guided discovery, self-paced learning), and Media-Synchronous (instructor-led classrooms, field visits) and asynchronous (surveys, web/computer-based learning).  The data collected were analyzed using appropriate statistical techniques like Computation of percentages, mean scores, standard deviation, t-Test for testing the significant differences and Analysis of Co-variance.  Their results were explained and graphed in an explicit detail method.  Most of their findings of the study resulted in several different two groups (experimental and control groups). 

            Technology has become an essential component of this process in a way it does not affect the teacher, student or course materials but it connects all these elements and makes the output of the educational process of high quality (Al Musawi, A., Ambusaidi, A., Al-Balushi, S., & Al-Balushi, K., 2015).  They only used the quantitative research methodology to measure the effectiveness of the e-lab.  The variables they measured were:  Science processes skills, logical and visual thinking, academic achievement and scientific attitudes.  This study integrated multiple studies that were related to the e-lab.  Those studies displayed significant differences in student achievement between students that study using technology and those that did not use computer software.

            Wendt, Rockinson-Szapkiw (2015) examined the effects of online collaborative learning on eight-grade student’s sense of community in a physical science class.  They used a quasi-experimental, nonequivalent pretest/post test control group design.  Students participated in the collaborative activities for only 9 weeks. The control group participated in face-to-face learning environment with other students.  But the experimental group participated using online collaborative activities.  The study consisted of a pretest and a post test.  Even though, the control group students had a higher overall success than the experimental group, 9 weeks is not enough time for valid results.  There were several limitations to the study.  One of the limitations was the length of time that each group participated in the study..  There needs to be stronger quantitative/qualitative designs to determine what were the obstacles the students encountered.  Another limitation of this study is that the results may not be the same as the other subjects or grade levels.

            Despite an increased focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in U.S. schools, today’s students often struggle to maintain adequate performance in these fields compared with students in other countries (Lamb, Vallett & Annetta, 2014).  The authors developed a short-form measure of self-efficacy to help identify students in need of intervention.  Even though, the United States has increased focus on STEM,our students still struggle to maintain adequate performance compared to students in other countries. The authors felt that developing a short form version of a survey would allow researchers and teachers to quickly identify “at risk” students.  They felt that they could improve academic motivation in students while reducing the failure in academic settings.  The authors intended to determine if their study met the formal requirements for fitting their data to the Rasch model which they did.  They found that the study indicated that SETS-SF is a valid and reliable measure of the single construct known as self-efficacy.  It related to computer technology and video gaming in adolescent students ages 13 through 18.

 

Conclusion

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            After reviewing numerous articles, the blended learning strategies can increase student learning, test scores/grades, student engagement, intervention strategies and aligned teacher training.  Even though, these strategies can result in students’ positive learning outcomes, there can also be potential pitfalls during the development and implementation of the models. There needs to be more articles geared toward pros and cons of blended learning.  Several of the studies had limitations which lacked a valid result of their findings.  It is important to learn from the mistakes/failures of others and try to avoid them.  The measurement tools applied in the studies will be very useful for the measurement of my data in my innovation plan.  Therefore, the articles that I reviewed will be extremely important in the development and implementation of my innovation plan.

           

References

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Al-Balushi, K., Al-Balushi, S., Al Musawi, A. & Ambusaidi, A. (2015).  Effectiveness of E-La Use in Science Teaching at the Omani Schools. 

     The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, 14(1).

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Alijani, G., Kwun, Ob., & Yu, Y. (2014).  Effectiveness of Blended Learning in KIPP New Orleans’ Schools. 

      Academy of Educational Leadership Journal, 18(2).

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Bindu, R. L. & Nair, T.  (2016).  Effect of Blended Learning Strategy on Achievement in Biology and Social and Environmental Attitude of Students at Secondary Level.

      I-managers Journal on School Educational Technology, 11(4), 39. Doi:10.26634/jsch.11.4.6011

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Carson, E., Oliver, W., & Parks, R.  (2016).  The Status of Middle and High School Instruction: Examining Professional Development, Social Desirability

      and Teacher Readiness for Blended Pedagogy in the Southeastern United States.  Journal of Online Learning Research, 2(2), 79-101.

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Chen, C., & Wang, C.  (2015).  Employing Augmented-Reality-Embedded Instruction to Disperse the Imparities of Individual Differences in Earth Science Learning. 

      J Sci Educ Technol, 24, 835-847.

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Creswell, J. W. & Plano, C.   (2011).  Designing and conducting mixed methods research, 2nd ed. Sage, Thousand Oaks.

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Hook, P., Kazakoff, E. R., & Macaruso, P.  (2017). Efficacy of a blended learning approach to elementary school reading instruction for students who are English Learners.

      Educational Technology Research and Development, 66(2), 429-449. doi:10.1007/s11423-017-9565-7

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Horn, M. B., & Staker, H. (2015). Blended: Using disruptive innovation to improve schools. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

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Lamb, R. L., Vallett, D., & Annetta, L. (2014). Development of a Short-Form Measure of Science and Technology Self-efficacy Using Rasch Analysis.

      Journal of Science Education and Technology, 23(5), 641-657. doi:10.1007/s10956-014-9491-y

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Morgan, H. (2014). Flip your classroom to increase academic achievement. Childhood Education, 90(3), 239-241.

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Peterson, K. (2016).   A Blended Learning Approach to Increasing Student Achievement in a Sixth Grade Mathematics Classroom Using Flipped Classroom

      with Tiered Activities. Master of Arts in Education Action Research Papers. Paper 164.

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Rockinson-Szapkiw, A.J., & Wendt, J.L.  (2015).  The Effect of Online Collaboration on Adolescent Sense of Community in Eighth-Grade Physical Science. 

      J Sci Educ Technol, 24, 671-683.

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U.S. Department of Education. (2015). National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

       Washington, DC: US Department of Education.  Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/.