Inquiry and Blended Learning

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Inquiry and Blended Learning at the University
of Calgary
Dr. Randy Garrison, Professor Director, Learning
Commons garrison_at_ucalgary.ca Dr. Norm Vaughan,
Instructor Coordinator, ITBL nvaughan_at_ucalgary.ca
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Learning Plan University of Calgary

• That inquiry-based learning approaches be at the
  centre of the undergraduate learning experience.
• All students must have the opportunity to
  participate in communities of inquiry
• Learning technologies (i.e., eLearning) offer
  opportunities to enhance the campus experience
  and extend learning through the innovative use of
  on-line resources, asynchronous collaborative
  learning opportunities,

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Inquiry Defined

• Essential Features
• problem or question driven,
• involves critical discourse,
• requires self-directioni.e. students take
  responsibility for their own learning,
• incorporates research methods such as information
  gathering, synthesis of ideas, and communication,
• evaluation of the student is appropriate to
  foster Inquiry Learningit must include
  reflection on the learning experience of the
  student, what they have learned, and why the work
  is relevant (to their discipline).
• Inquiry Learning Action Group

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Inquiry Defined

• Enhancing features
• small-group feature
• multi-disciplinary.

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IBL - Humanities

• Involves shared exploration and encourages group
  discussion
• Application or project focused
• Focus on questions, issues
• Learn how to ask good questions and challenge
  assumptions (discussion groups)
• Give up anxiety about covering material
• Inductive? Constructing schema? (RG)
• Anne McWhir, English

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IBL Sciences(Problem Based Learning)

• Problem-based learning is intended to acquire
  specific knowledge and skills through the
  solution of genuine problems
• Requires students to be self-directed, critical
  thinkers, and work collaboratively
• Particularly applicable to professional practice
  contexts (e.g., project, case study).
• Deductive? Applying principles?

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Query

• Is the lecture an anachronism?
• What is the role of the lecture in inquiry
  learning approaches?
• Role in blended learning?

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Technology

• The University community must consider how to
  redesign courses whereby the integration of
  communication technologies supports inquiry and
  enriches the teaching and learning enterprise.

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President of Penn State

• cites the convergence of classroom and online
  education as the single greatest unrecognized
  trend in higher education today
• (Young, 2002).

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Blended Learning

• The thoughtful integration of face-to-face
  classroom (spontaneous verbal discourse) and
  Internet based (reflective text-based discourse)
  learning opportunities
• An opportunity to enhance the campus experience
  and extend learning through the use of Internet
  information and communication
• Traditional classroom contact hours are
  restructured to accommodate the properties of
  online learning and appropriate activities

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Redesign Characteristics

• Rethink the whole course
• Integrate appropriate approaches (i.e.,
  capitalize on strengths of f2f and online)
• Emphasize learner engagement and discourse (CoI)
• Include strong facilitation

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Why Blended Learning?

• Poor performance
• student-faculty interaction, active learning
  feedback, support sig. below the mean (NSSE)
• Strategy to fundamentally redesign courses and
  programs
• Enhanced student engagement
• Focus on higher learning (e.g., CT)
• Cost-effective

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IBL Redesign Grants

• Purpose to initiate innovative projects through
  the development of inquiry blended learning
  opportunities
• Must be significant redesigns not normal course
  upgrades or add-ons
• 10k for small course redesign 32 courses
  funded to date
• 30K for large enrolment course redesign

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Framework

• The concept of a community of inquiry provides
  the framework to guide the research and practice
  of asynchronous online learning (i.e.,
  e-learning)

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Community of Inquiry Model
Social Presence The ability of participants in a
community of inquiry to project themselves
socially and emotionally as real people
(i.e., their full personality), through the
medium of communication being used.
Cognitive Presence The extent to which learners
are able to construct and confirm meaning
through sustained reflection and discourse in a
critical community of inquiry.
Teaching Presence The design, facilitation and
direction of cognitive and social processes for
the purpose of realizing personally meaningful
and educationally worthwhile learning outcomes.
Garrison, Anderson and Archer (2000)
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NEW APPROACHES

• NEW METHODOLOGIES

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ChemistryUniversity of Wisconsin

• Redesigned its General Chemistry sequence to
  increase the level of active learning and student
  feedback
• Eliminated one lecture and one discussion period
  per week and implemented a modularized, online
  system of diagnostic examples, tutorials, and
  quizzes
• Controlled study found learning to be equivalent
  to that of students who were conventionally
  taught
• UWM expects a cost-per-student reduction of 28
• http//www.center.rpi.edu/PewGrant/rd1award/UWM.ht
  ml

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EnglishBrigham Young University

• Redesigning its first-year writing course (3400
  students)
• The redesign will
• reduce classroom time from three hours to one
  hour per week
• make use of interactive multimedia lessons, more
  one-on-one time with faculty, and additional
  peer-to-peer sessions
• Initial pilot revealed overall paper quality is
  higher in the online versus the traditional
  version of the course
• A 41 cost savings estimated
• http//www.center.rpi.edu/PewGrant/RD320Award/BYU
  .html

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Spanish University of Tennessee

• Increase active speaking via in-class interaction
• Use technology to support skill practice
• Provide immediate feedback online
• Encourage collaborative learning, both online and
  in class

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• Traditional
• 57 sections (27)
• Adjuncts 6 TAs
• 100 in class
• 167,074 (2931/section)
• 1529 students _at_ 109

• Redesign
• 38 sections (54)
• Instructor-TA pairs
• 50 in class, 50 online
• 56,838 (1496/section)
• 2052 students _at_ 28

• Oral skills significantly better performance
• Language proficiency language achievement
• no significant difference

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IMPROVED LEARNING

• 25 of 30 have shown improvement
• 5 have shown equal learning
• PEW Grant Program in Course Redesign
• http//www.center.rpi.edu/PewGrant.html

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COST SAVINGS

• Redesigned courses reduce costs by 40 on
  average, with a range of 20 to 77.
• PEW Grant Program in Course Redesign
• http//www.center.rpi.edu/PewGrant.html

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More

• National Center for Academic Transformation.
• http//www.thencat.org/
• PEW Program in Course Redesign
• http//www.center.rpi.edu/PewGrant.html

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Science 311U of C

• Writing Reviewing Scientific Reports
• Originally capped at 40 students BL used to
  increase cap and implement inquiry approaches
• Students focus on writing instead of passively
  listening to lectures
• Allows professor more time to engage with
  students in the writing process
• Course material presented online weekly
  discussion drop-in tutorials with professor
• Peer review document mgmt system facilitates
  anonymous feedback (reduced administration)

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English 239U of C

• No lectures some regular large class meetings
• Team based inquiry (early English books)
• Most of work done in small groups (f2f and
  online) learn to use library resources
• Goal to create a web resource on a book
• Present preliminary writings to team

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Inquiry Through Blended Learning

• Faculty member plans, designs, and develops their
  blended learning course (often in a team
  approach)
• ITBL is a formal course with a combination of
  class meetings, labs, and web instruction
• Course models the blended learning format (i.e.,
  f2f online)
• Faculty learn from each other and web vets

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ITBL Topics

• Inquiry blended learning
• Teaching approaches techniques
• Assessment feedback
• Student orientation and support
• Piloting and course evaluation strategies

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ITBL Options

• Cohort participation in a set of specially
  designed, structured sessions
• Series of stand-alone workshops
• Website with tip sheets
• Consulting
• Technical Help

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CONCLUSION
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UK Survey

• 94 of lecturers stated that blended learning is
  more effective than classroom-based teaching
  alone
• 85 of lecturers stated that online learning
  improves both teaching creativity and student
  learning
• WebCT Survey, 2004

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Blended Courses

• 80 of U.S. institutions offer hybrid i.e.,
  blended learning courses
• (Evolving Campus Support Models for E-Learning
  Courses, 2003)

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Higher Education Survey

• More American faculty teach online and hybrid
  courses 16 vs 11 24 vs 18 and more have
  course websites than Canadian HE institutions.
• it seems that faculty in the United States are
  pulling well ahead of Canadian faculty in
  practice.
• Technology and Student Success in Higher
  Education, 2003

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Challenges

• Awareness and understanding of true inquiry (too
  much focus on content lecturing too little
  effective use of collaboration)
• Student orientation (resistance)
• Commitment to fundamental redesign
• Strategic plan covering all four undergraduate
  years
• Teaching-research imbalance

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Change ManagementLearning Commons

• Est. May 1998 consolidated three units
• Three directors in three years
• Mistakes location, cappuccino bar, technology
  focus
• Vision, implementation plan, approval ratings
• Strategic plan, re-organization
• Institutional learning plan, BL position paper
• ITBL, redesign grants program mixed model

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Following Up

• Learning Commons Website

http//commons.ucalgary.ca/