Forging new pathways of research and innovation in open and distance learning

A Programmatic Approach to Blended Learning
Norman D. Vaughan, David Cloutier
Study Context
Figure 1. Bachelor of Education approach to blended learning
Mount Royal University is a four- year undergraduate institution located in Calgary, Alberta,
Canada (http://www.mtroyal.ca). In the fall of 2011, the University launched a new Bachelor
of Education (B.Ed.) program, a four- year direct entry B.Ed. degree, with an emphasis on
connecting theory with practice through early, consistent, and on-going field experiences
(http://www.mtroyal.ca/bed). In the first two years of the program, students have a core
education course each semester that meets once a week with a twenty- or thirty- hour fieldplacement.
In the third and fourth years of the program, the students have extended field
placements connected to program of studies courses and a capstone experience designed to
integrate theory (of the coursework) and practice (of the field experiences). To facilitate
opportunities for communication and reflection between the classroom and field-based
learning experiences, the institution has adopted the use of Google Applications
(http://google.mtroyal.ca): Gmail for communication; Google Docs
(http://tinyurl.com/bedjournal) for reflective journaling; and Google Sites
(http://tinyurl.com/bedportfolio) to construct a learning portfolio throughout the program.
This student-faculty research partnership study evaluates the effectiveness of the integration
between the classroom and field-based learning experiences in this blended B.Ed. program
from a student perspective, using the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)
framework (2011).
Theoretical Framework
The concept of student engagement has been discussed extensively in the educational research
literature (Kuh et al., 2005). In 1998, the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) was
developed as a “lens to probe the quality of the student learning experience at American
colleges and universities” (NSSE, 2011; p.3). The NSSE defines student engagement as the
amount of time and effort that students put into their classroom studies that lead to
experiences and outcomes that constitute student success, and the ways the institution
allocates resources and organizes learning opportunities and services to induce students to
participate in and benefit from such activities.
Reaching from the roots – 9 th EDEN Research Workshop Proceedings, 2016, Oldenburg 201
ISBN 978-615-5511-12-7