Blended learning

In blended learning, online learning and teacher-led learning are equally important.

The online environment provides students with the opportunity to control the pace, time, place and learning path on their own. This helps to develop planning skills, self-control and self-regulation, and also gives freedom. Teacher-assisted learning is an important part of blended learning. The role of the teacher varies depending on the needs of the students. Pupils of elementary grades need an almost constant presence of a teacher in the classroom. The teacher demonstrates patterns of behavior and thinking, ways of building relationships. Adolescents, students and adults need a tutor, adviser, specialist.

The integration of learning experience online and with the teacher is an active form of work in the lesson. Such activities should be practice oriented. The most convenient format for holding them is in small groups (work on projects, board games, and more). Collective and individual work on projects is also possible.

The Clayton Christensen Institute identifies the following success factors for blended learning ^[1] :

1. Personalization
2. Skill Based Learning
3. High expectations environment
4. Personal responsibility

Also important factors are: project work focused on real life and the use of various forms of group interaction.

There are more than 40 blended learning models, but not all of them are equally effective.

Inverted Class

The simplest model to implement. It allows you to minimize frontal work (the teacher explains, the children listen) and allows you to implement interactive forms of work in the lesson.

Students work at home in an online learning environment, using their own electronic devices connected to the Internet: they get acquainted with the material or repeat the lesson. In the class, the material is consolidated and work with it, which can take place in the form of a project activity, a seminar, or in other interactive forms. This blended learning model can be applied in a school for students from grade 3-5.

Station Rotation

The most effective blended learning model in primary and secondary schools. Requires computers or tablets in the classroom and the use of learning management systems (such as Moodle ).

All students are divided into groups by type of educational activity: work with a teacher, online education and project work. Each group works in a separate part of the class - the station. Stations have different goals: working with a teacher - receiving feedback from a teacher; online learning - the development of independent work skills, personal responsibility, self-regulation, the ability to learn; project work - the application of knowledge in solving practical problems, the development of communication skills and obtaining feedback from classmates.

During the lesson, students move from station to station so as to visit each of them. The composition of groups varies from lesson to lesson, depending on the pedagogical task ^[2] .

Instead of three stations, you can organize two: work with a teacher and online work; or four: work with a teacher, online work, work on a collective project and individual independent work.

Laboratory rotation

The “Rotation of laboratories” blended learning model assumes that part of the classes for students takes place in a regular classroom, and for one lesson they move to a computer class (laboratory), where they individually work in an online environment. In an online environment, students can learn new material, consolidate what they have learned, train various skills and also work on their own project. If this model is implemented in school, then the most effective learning becomes when teachers create an online space common for several subjects for children. This blended learning model is suitable for students of all ages, provided that the online environment is adequate for their age. Examples of online environments for students: the Open School platform and the Khan Academy .

Flexible Model

The basis of a flexible model of blended learning is that students are not limited in time by this or that type of educational activity. Students independently draw up a work schedule, choose the topic and pace at which they will study the material. In this model, the online environment is mostly used. The teacher works with small groups or individually with students who need help ^[3] .

This model is most effective for teaching high school students, students and adults, as it requires a developed skill of self-organization.

Blended learning combines the advantages of distance and traditional teaching methods and has many advantages:

1. Face-to-face training provides the opportunity for students and teachers to interact with each other. In the process of joint study, a favorable educational environment is created, the mood to achieve a result, motivation to study. Participants in the learning process instantly receive feedback, discuss material, ask questions.
2. Collaborative learning and student interaction not only enhances cognitive abilities, but also develops students' emotional intelligence.
3. In terms of online learning, the blended model provides more freedom for students: they can choose the material, pace, time and place of study.
4. The teacher has more freedom in the presentation of training materials, monitoring and evaluation. Reduces the time to test performance, due to the fact that testing can be performed online ^[4] .

One of the obstacles to the introduction of blended learning may be the low level of knowledge of information and communication technologies (ICT) among students and teachers. In addition, varying levels of ICT ownership can make teamwork difficult.

Another difficulty may be the technical support of the place where the training takes place.

In addition, blended learning requires ongoing technical support and certain costs for the creation of video materials, training programs and testing modules ^[5] .