Covid and increased investment in digital education
The unforeseen move to remote learning during the pandemic has brought educational technology into the limelight. In a recent survey conducted by Ofsted involving 969 teachers, 84% reported that investment in digital education has been prioritised at their school since the first COVID lockdown.
This compared with 24% who reported that this was a priority before the pandemic.i In the main, remote learning has meant a combination of self-study online (asynchronous learning) and live online lessons with the teacher (synchronous learning). However, it is worth reminding ourselves that this type of ‘Blended Learning’, the union of face-to-face instruction with independent technology-based study is not new.
Its potential to enrich the educational experience has been discussed since the early 2000s, if not earlier. Furthermore, although the literature on Blended Learning does not always point to higher student attainment, it has been consistently linked to increased learner motivation, engagement, and involvement. ii
Has it got legs to run and run?
How effective was Blended Learning during the pandemic? We may get closer to an answer as more data around remote learning is analysed, but the current picture is a murky one. For example, although the majority of the teachers (65%) in the Ofsted survey were confident that their remote teaching methods were effective, 40% of the parents identified lack of learner focus and motivation as a ‘main challenge’ of remote learning.
In contrast, a survey in Finland involving tens of thousands of students (aged 10-16), 60% reported that they enjoyed learning remotely and learnt the same amount or more compared to the learning that happens in school.iii Given these mixed findings will teachers continue to teach with a blended approach after the pandemic? Reasons to continue this practice include:
· Bridging the gap: There is growing evidence that students have made less academic progress during the pandemic, compared with previous year groups.iv Assessing and bridging this gap will be at the forefront of every school’s agenda as students return to school. Using a blended learning approach such as the ‘The Flipped Classroom’ method can free up some teacher time and make space for feedback, personalised scaffolding and assessment.v
- Nurturing student independence: The experience of remote learning would have required a certain level of independence and ownership from students. If developing self-regulated learners is a key goal for education, then we must want to sustain this momentum. Sahlberg takes student ownership further and suggests that enabling student self-regulation allows schools to respond better to emerging inequalities within students.vi Continuing with Blended Learning will ensure that there are planned and strategic opportunities for students to work independently, post the remote learning phase.
- Ensuring learning: We have a better understanding today of how learning happens. Elements such as direct instruction, scaffolding, retrieval, mastery, application, and assessment are all required for learning to happen. Some elements absolutely require a face-to-face teacher interaction. Some elements can be owned by students. Traditionally, teachers take on full responsibility for the entire learning process and it is therefore inevitable that some of these elements are neglected. A Blended Learning approach can help us split this responsibility.
- Building Teacher Credibility: Students’ perception of their teacher’s subject knowledge, understanding and competence to offer feedback and support helps them regard their teacher as a credibly authority and one whose tasks they are willing to invest in. Teacher credibility has a high effect size on student outcomes.vii A Blended Learning approach will mean that teachers are using their time to focus on modelling, providing feedback and scaffolding rather than ‘playing an instructional’ video in their lesson. This will give them an opportunity to really showcase their credibility.
- Higher Education: In a recent survey conducted by the sector technology agency Jisc, 73% of senior leaders at universities reported that by 2030 a quarter of the teaching will be done online.viii Only 3% thought that university teaching will be conducted via face-to-face sessions only. If institutions of higher education are moving positively towards Blended Learning, then surely, we need to provide this opportunity in schools.