Blended Learning: Across the Disciplines, Across the Academy(New Pedagogies and Practices for Teaching in Higher Educatio)

About the Book

This is a practical introduction to blended learning, presenting examples of implementation across a broad spectrum of disciplines. For faculty unfamiliar with this mode of teaching, it illustrates how to address the core challenge of blended learning--to link the activities in each medium so that they reinforce each other to create a single, unified, course--and offers models they can adapt.

Francine Glazer and the contributors to this book describe how they integrate a wide range of pedagogical approaches in their blended courses, use groups to build learning communities, and make the online environment attractive to students. They illustrate under what circumstances particular tasks and activities work best online or face-to-face, and when to incorporate synchronous and asynchronous interactions. They introduce the concept of layering the content of courses to appropriately sequence material for beginning and experienced learners, and to ensure that students see both the online and the face-to-face components as being equal in value and devote equal effort to both modalities. The underlying theme of this book is encouraging students to develop the skills to continue learning throughout their lives.

By allowing students to take more time and reflect on the course content, blended learning can promote more student engagement and, consequently, deeper learning. It appeals to today's digital natives who are accustomed to using technology to find and share information, communicate, and collaborate, and also enables non-traditional students to juggle their commitments more efficiently and successfully.

About the Author :
Francine S. Glazer is assistant provost and founding director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at New York Institute of Technology (NYIT). A biologist by training, she also holds a Master Online Teacher certificate from the Illinois Online Network, University of Illinois. Prior to joining NYIT, she was professor of biological sciences and assistant director of the Center for Professional Development at Kean University. She has been working actively with faculty members since 1993. Her current areas of interest include course redesign to incorporate active learning, use of student teams in the classroom, faculty mentoring, and online and blended learning. James Rhem

Review :
"Blended Learning offers readers an opportunity to develop and/or refine online pedagogical teaching skills, strategies, and dispositions while enhancing overall teaching style in a blended learning environment. It takes a practical approach to blended learning course design, informed by academic practitioners. The book is easy to navigate and provides simple examples for application. As distance education channels continue to grow and expand, cultivating the craft of teaching in an online learning environment from an in-depth comprehensive knowledge base has become a highly sought-after skill. Readers can readily use the book as an instructional guide to eliminate complexities often associated with online and blended learning course design."--Renee Sinow Mandelbaum, Illinois State University "The Review of Higher Education" (3/12/2013 12:00:00 AM) "Blended Learning: Across the Disciplines, Across the Academy is a collection of essays that provides wisdom for redesigning courses to fit a format that is "partially virtual, partially tangible." The five essays that form the heart of this book highlight fundamental values of blended learning: activity, interactivity, and a learning community. There is much to gain from the authors' arguments for the benefits of blended courses and practical tips for assignments in both "virtual" and "tangible" formats. For instructors who want to move beyond lecturing with three exams and a term paper and who appreciate the challenge of dabbling in something new to improve student learning, redesigning courses to fit a blended format is worth the work. I walk away from this book excited about the versatile and experimental nature of designing blended courses. Prepare to have your imagination sparked as you contemplate your own teaching."--Shauna K. Hannan, Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary "Teaching Theology & Religion" (7/17/2013 12:00:00 AM)