ERIC Number: EJ1198657
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018
Pages: 7
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0009-1383
EISSN: N/A
Hybrid Learning and the Residential Liberal Arts Experience
Pazich, Loni Bordoloi; Kurzweil, Martin; Rossman, Daniel
Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, v50 n6 p45-51 2018
The excitement about massive open online courses (MOOCs) in the early 2010s prompted many liberal arts colleges to consider whether technology would or could play a role in their own institutions. No college has the human resources to offer an endless variety of courses and programs, and the smaller the institution, the greater the constraints. Hybrid learning--a combination of online learning and face-to-face classes--could enable colleges to enrich their curricula by joining forces with other institutions and offering new possibilities for active learning (such as through flipped classrooms) without eroding the quality of the education they offer. To spur more experimentation with technology in liberal arts settings, the Teagle Foundation launched the "Hybrid Learning and Residential Liberal Arts Experience" initiative to support the integration of online or hybrid approaches in ways that speak to both the quality of the educational experience and institutional capacity-building in residential liberal arts settings. The initiative supported a series of demonstration projects at over 35 institutions and engaged over 180 faculty and staff between 2014 and 2018. One-sixth of the participating campuses were based in rural locations, underscoring how resource-sharing may be especially salient to geographically remote institutions. Faculty perceptions of student learning indicated that gains in Teagle-funded hybrid or online courses were comparable to the gains in traditional classrooms. These perceptions were consistent with research suggesting that for academically prepared students, learning outcomes in hybrid or blended courses are as good or better than those in face-to-face courses. ••?Successful hybrid course-sharing arrangements need a strong consortial backbone to identify strategic areas for cross-campus collaboration, to coordinate multiple stakeholders, and to supply centralized support for training and instructional designers.
Descriptors: Blended Learning, Liberal Arts, Curriculum Enrichment, Technology Integration, Capacity Building, Demonstration Programs, Shared Resources and Services, Rural Areas, Online Courses, Outcomes of Education, Consortia, Residential Programs
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A