Here - EnglishAgenda - British Council

8Blended learning:The IDLTM experienceRon White, Andy Hockley, Stephen Heap and George PickeringBackgroundTen years ago, the International Diploma in Language Teaching Management (IDLTM),whose origins are based on an earlier advanced diploma (ADLTM), was launched.With tripartite design and ownership, viz., Cambridge ESOL, ICTE-UQ, SIT WorldLearning, the certificates are triple badged. The course has been delivered by ICTE-UQ (Australia), SIT (US) and International House Barcelona, in Australia, Brazil, Oman,Spain, Turkey and Vietnam. Typically, it is individuals who enrol, but courses forclosed groups are also provided.The course attracts managers/leaders and prospective managers locally andinternationally, both native and non-native English speakers (the latter with aminimum of IELTS 7 or equivalent). There is a maximum of 12 participants per courseand well over 200 have successfully completed the course since 2001.The IDLTM was designed in response to indications that there was a demand for amanagement course which, by being made available in blended learning mode wouldenable participants to combine study with work, a benefit valued by the studentssurveyed by Heinze and Procter (2004). In the IDLTM, such blending also facilitatesprofessional development by being relatively long term, collaborative and schoolbased (Hiebert, Gallimore and Stigler, 2002, cited by Owston, Sinclair and Wideman,2008). It was also felt that a blended learning approach would allow participants moretime to study management theory and to relate it to their own context. Furthermore,as Garrison and Kanuka (2004) argue ‘the combination of face-to-face and onlinelearning can result in a transformative learning experience … because courseparticipants can benefit from being connected to a learning community regardlessof whether they are physically apart and together’ (Owston, Sinclair and Wideman,2008). Finally, with the predicted expansion of computer mediated training andlearning, there was a belief that blended learning course delivery would contributeto the information literacy of participants, and that, as Dziuban, Hatman, and Moskal(2004: 3) point out, albeit in the context of undergraduate teaching, this would be of‘benefit to them throughout their entire academic and employment careers’.After several iterations, the current model was established:■■■■A two-week face-to-face phase, usually of two consecutive weeks, this being themaximum time most managers can be away from work.Six-month online tuition and assessment for the eight course modules.Blended learning: The IDLTM experience | 91