Introduction
Literature review on blended synchronous courses
Conceptual framework: academic and social integration
Methodology
Context of the study
Participants
Characteristics | Instructors | Online students | Face-to-face students | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Gender | Male | 1 | 1 | |
Female | 3 | 3 | 4 | |
Age group | 25–30 | 1 | ||
30–35 | 1 | 1 | ||
35–40 | ||||
40–45 | 2 | |||
45–50 | 2 | 2 | ||
50–55 | ||||
55–60 | 1 | |||
60–65 | 2 | |||
Number of years of teaching in the MTP (for instructors) | 0–5 | 3 | 2 | |
5–10 | 2 | 2 | ||
Number of years of teaching at the college level (for students) | 10–15 | 1 | 1 | |
15–20 | 1 | |||
Number of BSC taught (for instructors) | 0–5 | 2 | ||
Number of BSC enrolled in (for students) | 5–10 | 3 | 1 | |
10–15 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
15–20 | 2 | |||
Level of computer skills | Average | 1 | 1 | |
Good | 1 | 1 | ||
Very good | 3 | 3 | 2 |
Methods and analysis
Results
Themes | Sub-themes |
---|---|
Appropriateness of pedagogical strategies and BSC to students’ training needs | ✓ Course content, teaching, and learning and assessment strategies ✓ Appropriateness of BSC for student training needs |
Attitudes, experience and skills of participants for online students’ inclusion | ✓ Instructors’ and teaching assistants’ experience with BSC ✓ Instructors’ and teaching assistants’ attitude ✓ Instructors’ level of technological proficiency ✓ Face-to-face students’ attitude ✓ Online students’ attitude and technological skills |
Appropriateness of pedagogical strategies and BSC for students’ training needs
Course content, teaching, learning and assessment strategies
The assessment strategies also help students in their daily practices, according to an instructor, because the assignment they have to do is directly related to their own teaching. This has an impact on their academic and social integration, and, thereby, their persistence in the program. In one instructor’s words:They need to explain in such a way that people understand what you mean and you need to be able to maybe provide examples, tangible examples so that it becomes clear that we can kind of take that information and consolidate it (SP3).
In the MTP, the emphasis is much more on pedagogical approaches than on specific content, because these approaches give students a better toolbox in the end. The approaches used by some MTP instructors are directly deployed in their MTP teaching. However, this is not always the case. Some instructors do not practice what they teach themselves: “They were giving us all sorts of amazing pedagogical practices to do, and making us almost feel guilty for not using them, and then you get to see them teach, and they’re not practicing what they preach” (SD1). This is also true for assessment strategies. The harsh assessments of some MTP instructors seemed inadequate to their students. Being teachers themselves, the latter were well aware of the effects of grading:We found that it helped us in our practice. The fact that every single assignment we give them is to prepare something for one of their classes. It's not just to do something. I think that's had an impact too on them choosing to continue (T1).
MTP students are less interested in theoretical content and difficult readings that are not related to their daily teaching practices. Thus, the required readings were often a source of dissatisfaction for the students, which led instructors to review their strategies:We were graded very kind of harshly in a way and I kind of felt like it was a little bit heavy handed. It was a bit unnecessary. The thing is that as teachers taking courses to improve our teaching, we're very well aware of grading and rubrics and all of that kind of stuff. Sometimes it can feel a little stern, I guess (SP3).
They had been asked to read something before they came to the first class and came out the first day saying that they hated the book and why would we ever choose this alpha book and talking about. I mean it’s so negative and it was first class and like, “Oh my goodness.” I knew what my challenges were (T4).
Appropriateness of BSC for students’ training needs
Instructors’ use of BSC provides students with examples of this delivery mode to inspire their own courses. According to an online student:I teach blended yeah. It was my first semester, it was also my first semester in the MTP and it just made me realize that there were so many options that we could do both to integrate online learners but also to mix them up with students in class because I have both types (SD2).
The use of Moodle in the BSC context gave students some examples of how to use this platform and helped them discover its interactive tools. According to a face-to-face student: “My ClassA classroom that was blended, it opened my eyes to the idea of using Moodle as a more blended learning tool, online tool, and I’ve taken it on for one course” (SP1). Moreover, students’ ability to share experiences and resources amongst themselves during the course was also helpful because it provided them with new strategies and tools that could be reinvested in their own teaching in BSC. A face-to-face student commented on this: “You get samples from people when they do their own presentation. That was really helpful and it’s going to help me in my job to develop blended” (SP4).The fact that the teachers were able to use the blended format so well, it was directly relevant to what we were learning. It was like they were sort of giving us examples of what we could use in our own classrooms in the future. I found that really helpful (SD3).
Participants’ attitudes, experience and skills pertaining to the inclusion of online students
Instructors’ and teaching assistants’ experience with BSC
In all courses of the MTP, each instructor is paired with a teaching assistant. Teaching assistants are employed to manage technology-related problems, respond to online student chat comments, and manage other issues. The qualities and qualifications of the teaching assistant also seem to be an issue in BSC. A teacher’s or assistant’s lack of skill could, conversely, be a concern for students, especially for online students. According to an online student:Well the teacher was very experienced. She had a good vision of where she wanted to go. Had she not been such a good teacher, I don't think any level of technology would have made it good, and the technology did not get in the way for sure (SP8).
My point was to get a masters (…). I knew I was going to keep going, but it made me dread sometimes when I would know that it was that teacher teaching, or that tech tech-ing for another course (SD1).
Instructors’ and teaching assistants’ attitude
This was also reported by a face-to-face student: “There are a few classes where that person was very much involved and looking onto the person on screen, and making sure that the activity that was planned worked well with somebody else abroad” (SP1).I choose to arrange the classroom so that when I’m even when speaking to the group in front of me, I am looking at the camera. Most people have the camera on the side but I’m actually face on, on the camera (T4).
Giving them extra attention, especially when they are few, may, however, lead to some problems with face-to-face students, who can feel neglected by the instructor:I always have to keep, as if ... I mean, remember you have these students that are outside, because it's so hard to disengage from the environment of the classroom, but always intentionally I go first to teach the [online] students ... (T3).
Moreover, from face-to-face students’ point of view, interactions with online students seem somewhat disjointed because instructors have to regularly check if they want to pitch in:They are far, they are not there. You want to put them as much as possible. Sometimes even artificially, just to take them in and you compensate, but it's a must because there are only two out there and the class is 15 here. What do you do with that? It's a big conflict (T3).
A negative attitude on the part of some instructors towards online students may be a source of dissatisfaction. Some online students reported that certain instructors turned their backs to the camera, which prevented them from hearing the instructor and excluded them from the classroom. Others even celebrated the fact that they had no online students in their courses:That it was a little bit disjointed having to ask the people online, do you have anything to say and they had like, they would raise their hand or they'd put like smiley faces or thumbs up, whatever icons they had, but they did seem a little, it did seem a little disjointed (SP3).
Other instructors ignore or forget online students. This was confirmed by a face-to-face student: “There’s some teachers who as much as they want the blended learning, they do forget that there is somebody abroad out there” (SP1). These instructors either turn their backs to the camera and/or consider only face-to-face students:TeacherB, who is the guru of the project, and who really needs online students, was celebrating the fact that she didn't have online students in her course this summer. It’s just the feeling that you're a burden for everybody, you know? (SD1).
Certain instructors do not even greet online students, making the latter feel that the course is intended only for face-to-face students and leading to their disengagement: “It was really disempowering and I definitely felt myself disengaging a lot in that course” (SD1).She would routinely stand with her back to the camera facing away from us, so we couldn’t hear her very well, we couldn’t see her, and we just felt that she was completely teaching to the students in the room and just forgetting about us (SD3).
This leads to a strong sense of exclusion:We never really were asked a question, we never had the chance to answer, we never had a way to raise our hand to say we have something to say, so yes, in the software there’s the option for it, but either the IT person or the teacher were not interacting with us. We were just seeing the classroom (SD4).
Including online students is a constant challenge for instructors. According to an instructor, it is easy to forget them: “I’ll be honest with you, sometimes it’s very easy to forget students outside. It’s so easy” (T3). According to an online student, some instructors suddenly remember that online students are attending the course session, and then they ask them sporadic questions, which make them feel uncomfortable:I think the best way to explain it is that I felt like a fly on the wall in the classroom. […] either the IT person or the teacher were not interacting with us. We were just seeing the classroom (SD4).
The use of microphones and cameras in the classroom by some instructors or some teaching assistants could affect online students’ integration and participation in the course. Following are some examples of this poor use of these devices. According to an online student: “Sometimes just where the mic is placed in the classroom can make a huge difference for us online learners” (SD2). Some teaching assistants stand too close to the microphone instead of turning up the volume of their speakers, causing sound problems:It happened so often with other teachers where they just forget about you, and then all of a sudden they turn around and then they ask you a question. You have nothing to say, and so it sounds like you don't participate, but you had so many things to say before (SD1).
Sometimes, they neglect to move the camera to allow online students to see who is speaking in the classroom, or fail to keep an eye on the screen when an online student cuts in: “When you’re at a distance, you say something, and then they don’t even look at you or at the screen, and then they’re just like, moving on” (SD1). For all these reasons, an online student reported that the program was not ready to welcome online students: “If I would have come up with the idea that the program is not ready for the students that are online” (SD4).I had some techs who were just so close to the microphone, but you have to turn the volume up to hear what people are saying in the class, and so they would just go ahem, and it just bursts into your ears (SD1).
Instructors’ level of technological proficiency
Face-to-face students’ attitude
However, some online students complained that face-to-face students make no effort to include them, for example, by failing to greet them on camera at the beginning of the course sessions, or neglecting to switch off their microphone when they are not speaking, which creates noise that can prevent online students from hearing class discussions. Some face-to-face students were even reluctant to interact with online students in group work and chose to team up with their face-to-face classmates. An instructor mentioned on this topic: “I noticed that people in the class, sometimes during the breakout rooms, are reluctant to go out. They want to be in” (T3).They want to connect with the students from a distance and it just all works well because we all collectively recognize that there’s people at a distance that need to be included and that the group in class is aware of them. Each of them individually is also aware that there’s these people at a distance (T4).
Online students’ attitude and technological skill
Others refuse to participate, and then pretend to feel they are not included in the class, as an instructor mentioned:For example online learners, some students don’t necessarily raise their hand because we have this little click option that we can “I have a question.” Some people just turn on their mic and sort of cut off the person talking in class which I don't really find respectful (SD2).
All students’ level of technological skill may also be a challenge for academic and social integration in BSC. Talking about some students in a particular course, an instructor reported that:I know for a fact, and other people, like the technician that I was working with, also acknowledged that I would pause during the class and turn to the screen and ask the people online “Do you have anything to say, do you have any comments?” and they were silent. Nobody would answer, but then meanwhile they were chatting with the technician, saying, “We don’t feel like we're being included,” and the technician would say, “Well T5 just asked you a question” (T5).
They were so afraid of technology. It was very difficult to get them to break the barrier to buy into it, of course. I’d say the biggest difficulty is always the difference in skill level. Some are very, very low, some are very high or more high (…). When you have a class of 28, it’s really difficult to have 8 people who can’t help themselves (T1).