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An effective way of designing blended learning: A three phase design-based research approach

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Abstract

Online learning is common in higher education, but has its drawbacks. As a result, blended learning (BL) has emerged as an alternative to alleviate the challenges of online learning. The purpose of this design-based research study was to determine what elements were needed to assist a higher education instructor inexperienced in designing and teaching a BL course to successfully create and implement it, and to document the instructor’s perceptions about the first experience of teaching a BL course. The BL course was designed, implemented and redesigned to make the BL course an effective and efficient learning environment through the three phases of this design-based research. Qualitative and quantitative research methods including instructor interviews, learning environment observations and student surveys were employed to collect data. Results indicated that iterative analysis, design and evaluation of the created BL course provided an opportunity for the researchers to find applicable solutions to any real-world problems that the instructor faced in the course. Besides, the design and implementation of BL led the instructor to shift from a passive teaching approach to an active teaching approach and allowed the students to become active and interactive learners through the process of three iterative design cycles. Although challenges were identified, she had an overall positive perception toward teaching the BL course.

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Acknowledgments

This study is extracted from Ph.D. Thesis. Ustun, A. B. (2018). Moving Toward Blended Learning: A Multiple Case Design Based Research Study in Higher Education (Doctoral dissertation, Wayne State University).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bartin University, Bartın, Turkey

    Ahmet Berk Ustun

  2. Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA

    Monica Walch Tracey

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  1. Ahmet Berk Ustun
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Correspondence to Ahmet Berk Ustun.

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Author Ahmet Berk Ustun declares that he has no conflict of interest. Author Monica W. Tracey declares that she has no conflict of interest.

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Ustun, A.B., Tracey, M.W. An effective way of designing blended learning: A three phase design-based research approach. Educ Inf Technol 25, 1529–1552 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-019-09999-9

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