Blended learning works well for covering a large amount of course material with learners who are independent and engaged. But how can you get learners to take responsibility for their own education? By putting best practices and blended learning strategies to work with the rest of your curriculum, you can make the most of a combined at-home and in-class effort.
If your learners don’t truly understand the reasoning behind combining both independent and in-class learning, you may lose them from day one. Instead, take the time to explain exactly why you’ve chosen blended learning as your method for delivery. Perhaps you want to respect how your learners learn at different paces—and respect their time; or you would rather spend class time putting concepts to work and engaging in dialog.
2. Include diverse activities
Try to be everything to everyone: While some learners prefer to learn by reading, others get better results by doing. There is no cookie cutter method of effective learning, but including diverse activities such as group discussions, online quizzes, games and even role playing drives user engagement for all learning types.
You and your learners have the most powerful learning tool of all time readily accessible at your fingertips: the internet.
Why write out a whiteboard question when you could show an engaging video? Take this a step further: ask learners to watch a video on their own time, then be prepared to answer discussion questions in class the next day. Why tell your learners a fact when you can have them research at home and report back in class?
Or, try an online module paired with a quick in-class presentation. When learners are given a chance to apply their new knowledge, they increase retention.
Blended learning is effective because learners aren’t just watching or hearing: they’re doing. By applying the new knowledge shortly after they’ve left the physical or virtual classroom, learners retain what they’ve learned, which is a win-win for all.
