Interestingly, the motivation for our own experimentation with blended-learning – in the form of my Modern World History course for sophomores – does not make an appearance in this list from Keeping Pace With K-12 Digital Learning
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I’d say my primary justification for teaching the course in a blended-learning format is that it allows students the individual time necessary to learn content deeply. Research by cognitive psychologists shows repeatedly that real learning requires time for the individual to process material and make it personally meaningful. That is an individual, a solitary task; not one that necessitates or can survive a classroom environment.
Students use our class time to share what they have learned so far and learn from their classmates. I think the blended-learning model allows for an instructional-process that respects and leverages the neurological process of learning. In short, I believe: blended-learning helps students learn better than the traditional model of teaching. Having said that, I am fully aware of the experimental research necessary to test that hypothesis…