Strategies for engaging learners in a blended environment - Summary Report Lynn M Jeffrey, John Milne, Gordon Suddaby and Andrew Higgins
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Summary Report
Strategies for engaging
learners in a blended
environment
Lynn M Jeffrey, John Milne, Gordon Suddaby
and Andrew Higgins
UNIVERSITY OF NEW ZEALAND
STRATEGIES FOR ENGAGING LEARNERS
IN A BLENDED ENVIRONMENT
contents
1 Introduction
2 A framework for considering
engagement in a blended
environment
3 Top 10 engagement strategies
from the literature
5 Findings
11 Conclusions
14 Recommendations
15 Toolbox
16 References
Acknowledgement This project was supported
We would like to pay special tribute to the following through the Ako Aotearoa
people who contributed their ideas, enthusiasm and National Project Fund 2009.
time to this project: Alison Holmes, University of
Canterbury; Keith Comer, University of Canterbury; PUBLISHED BY AkoAotearoa –
the late Mark Laws, Te Whare Wānanga o The National Centre for Tertiary
Awanuiārangi; Janine Pearce, Te Whare Wānanga o Teaching Excellence
Awanuiārangi; Helen Gilmour, Lincoln University. www.akoaotearoa.ac.nz
To see the full report visit the project space at: ISBN 978-1-927202-30-2 (online)
www.akoaotearoa.ac.nz/blended-approaches- ISBN 978-1-927202-29-6 (print)
learner-engagement
DESIGN AND LAYOUT: FitzBeck Creative
November, 2012
This work is published under the Creative
Commons 3.0 New Zealand Attribution Non-
commercial Share Alike Licence (BY-NC-SA).
Under this licence you are free to copy, distribute,
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as long as you credit the author/s and license your
new creations under the identical terms.Introduction
This project sought to identify effective There were six overarching objectives in
strategies that teachers can use within this project. These were to:
a blended learning environment to • identify appropriate engagement
enhance learner engagement and strategies in a blended learning context
achievement. • identify student preference for, and
Blended learning has its roots in both perceptions of, a blended learning
classroom teaching and online learning environment
so it is not surprising that engagement • determine the effect of blended learning
strategies that work in these two strategies on student engagement and
environments are also going to be the students’ perceptions of the quality
important in a blended course. What of their learning experience
distinguishes the blended course is the • establish the relationship between
careful planning needed to blend these student learning orientations and
two modes to maximise learning for engagement strategies in a blended
students. learning context
Blended learning is an area that does • determine effective methods in
not have a widely accepted definition in a learning management system
the literature. The project team used the of identifying students at risk of
following definition: “at its simplest, blended disengagement
learning is the integration of classroom • develop an integrated toolkit of
face-to-face learning experiences with effective engagement strategies that
online learning experiences” (Garrison & will help academic staff to scaffold and
Kanuka, 2004, 96). support student learning.
A mixed-method approach, using both
quantitative and qualitative methods,
was used to collect and analyse data.
In total, 541 participants from two North
Island universities participated in this
project.
To see the full report go to: www.akoaotearoa.ac.nz/blended-approaches-learner-engagement
“at its simplest, blended learning is
the integration of classroom
face-to-face learning experiences
with online learning experiences”
(Garrison & Kanuka, 2004, 96)
STRATEGIES FOR ENGAGING LEARNERS IN A BLENDED ENVIRONMENT 1A framework for considering engagement
in a blended environment
Overall, the literature highlights This project draws upon the framework
considerable reluctance among presented below, which illustrates the
academics to engage with online three key types of student engagement
learning. This has often been attributed strategies,1 which are:
to reluctance by academic staff to take • capturing engagement
up online teaching. Over the past 15 • maintaining engagement, and
years there has been a substantial body
• re-engaging those who have either
of research around the factors that
never engaged or have become
encourage and discourage academic
disengaged.
staff in the tertiary sector to teach in
online environments. Furthermore, This framework is used in this project
given that many academics receive to describe the key learnings from
little teacher education or training, the literature on blended learning
the idea of adopting a new way of engagement strategies and to describe
interacting with students becomes the results of this study. Critically, the
quite daunting. Organisations and best learning outcomes occur when
teachers are encouraged to consider engagement strategies focus on all
the 10 following strategies in light of
areas of this framework.
their practices.
Start of the course During the Course
Get students engaged: Maintain engagement:
• Primers for getting • Clear content structure
attention • Unambiguous
• Social presence and instructions and
belonging guidelines
• Challenging tasks
• Authentic tasks
• Timely feedback
• Elaborated feedback
Re-Engaging
Recapturing the
disengaged:
• Monitor for early
identification
• Personal contact with
student and appropriate 1 Please note these strategies
are not listed in order
support of priority but rather in
relation to the framework. A
comprehensive account of
each strategy is presented
in Jeffrey et al. (2012).
2 www.akoaotearoa.ac.nz/blended-approaches-learner-engagementTop 10 engagement strategies
from the literature
The literature points to 10 engagement part of the class and a part of the
strategies that have particular potency in subject discipline are less likely to
enhancing outcomes for learners. These feel alienated or isolated and are
strategies are not interchangeable. Each consequently more likely to become
strategy represents a critical aspect of engaged. Teachers, particularly
the learning process and all are required in the online environment, are an
to achieve the maximum benefit. Each important aspect of social presence.
strategy is considered in the context of the Impersonal environments are
framework presented above (see page 2). more likely to alienate students.
Teacher immediacy − a sense of
Getting students engaged the presence of the teacher − is
Capturing student attention at the start reassuring to students.
of the course has the biggest impact
on the retention of students. Two major Maintaining engagement
types of strategies were identified as Maintaining student engagement through
being important: the course requires the following six
1. Primers for getting student strategies:
attention: Curiosity, relevance 3. Clear content structure
The literature identifies two possible When students start a new
approaches: curiosity and relevance. course most of the material will
Students experience curiosity when be uncharted territory for them.
they become aware of a gap in The constants they expect in a
their knowledge and are motivated course are a clear course outline
to find the answer. One interesting that includes the content structure
aspect of curiosity is that it grows as and other organisational features.
knowledge grows, which suggests Students become very disgruntled
that teachers may need to prime with disorganised courses
curiosity early in a course. When and changes to the expected
students see a subject or topic as programme.
having personal relevance they are 4. Clear, unambiguous instructions
more likely to experience an optimal and guidelines
level of arousal for learning.
Students are intensely interested
2. Social presence and belonging: in assessment instructions and
Teacher enthusiasm, immediacy guidelines. They may experience
and an inclusive environment high levels of anxiety associated
The social context plays an important with this part of the course, which
role in encouraging student increases the need for clarity in
engagement. Students who feel a these matters.
STRATEGIES FOR ENGAGING LEARNERS IN A BLENDED ENVIRONMENT 35. Challenging tasks Re-engaging students who drift
Challenging tasks are those that away or fail to engage
make the student stretch to their In most courses a proportion of students
limits of performance. Learning will procrastinate at the start of the
happens when students make an course or stop engaging, usually at
effort and the greater the effort, the key points such as assessment. The
greater the sense of achievement literature identifies two critical strategies
and motivation. Students are not for re-capturing the engagement of these
motivated when given high marks students:
for simple tasks, but nor are they 9. Monitoring and early identification
motivated when the task is far
Early identification through
beyond their ability.
monitoring student engagement
6. Authentic tasks is essential to identify disengaged
Students are further motivated students. The earlier the
when they engage in tasks that identification, the greater the chance
they perceive as preparing them for of success. Ideally, this should
the ‘real world’. They understand start in the first week. Learning
that effort now has a later benefit. management systems such as
Transfer of learning occurs when Blackboard and Moodle make this
learning tasks are structurally similar a very simple process. Taking rolls
to real world tasks. at class is also recommended.
7. Timely feedback Students who are performing poorly
are also at risk of dropping out and
The weight of evidence strongly
should be monitored.
suggests that in most circumstances
immediate feedback is more 10. Personal contact and negotiated
effective than delayed feedback. conditions for re-engagement
Immediate feedback allows students Having identified students who are
to correct errors quickly, making not engaged, the most effective
learning more efficient. strategy for re-engaging is personal
8. Elaborated feedback contact with the student by the
teacher. A personal email to each
Studies consistently report that
student is one simple option. Follow-
highly specific feedback that
up contact for students who do not
elaborates on the ways students can
respond initially is also important.
improve their performance results in
Such contact is most effective when
better learning.
the teacher works with the student
to provide help and support for
problems the student may have.
4 www.akoaotearoa.ac.nz/blended-approaches-learner-engagementFindings
Here we highlight sixteen major findings from our study:
Finding 1: Students value
blended learning.
Teachers should be
Students showed a strong liking for
blended modes of learning. While strongly encouraged
previous research shows preferences for
to systematically
traditional modes of teaching, the results
of our study suggest that the value of incorporate all 10
blended learning is increasing over time.
engagements strategies,
not to mix and match
Finding 2: Blended learning may
offer a richer learning experience them, into each course
than either online or traditional for maximum effect on
modes of learning.
Current literature indicates that a blended
student engagement
learning environment, rather than being and retention.
a compromise between two extremes of
traditional and fully online learning, offers
the student a wider range of affordances
to enhance the learning experience.
Finding 3: Teachers are
the gatekeepers to student
experiences.
Teachers, through their selection and
design of learning experiences, will
influence the nature and quality of
student learning. What students learn
is determined by what they have the
opportunity to do when they engage in
the experiences and activities designed
by teachers. Student perceptions of the
usefulness of such experiences to their
learning are strongly influenced by their
opportunity to use them.
STRATEGIES FOR ENGAGING LEARNERS IN A BLENDED ENVIRONMENT 5Finding 4: Teachers are more Finding 6: In a blended
conservative and less enthusiastic environment students will engage
than students about embracing in a blend of learning behaviours
opportunities offered by and activities that have personal
technology. efficacy and relevance for them.
Teachers held deep reservations about Students choose their own idiosyncratic
the role of technology and had a strong mix of engagement activities for learning
belief that teachers should still be the with some favouring a greater online
central actor, with technology playing blend and others more traditional
a minor support role. They thought components in their blend. It would
that lectures were useful for explaining appear that while a range of blends
theory, and that tutorials provided the might be successful in promoting
opportunity for students to actively learning, not all blends are equally
engage with the theory at an applied effective.
level. Online learning environments were
seen primarily as a central repository for
all course-related information.
Finding 7: High levels of
engagement and persistence in
structured and other learning
Finding 5: Teachers lack sufficient activities are associated with
time, support and resources to academic success.
create effective blended learning The most successful students were
environments. those who reported being deeply
Competing academic pressure for engaged in structured learning activities
research outputs reduces time for designed by teachers. These students
developing online teaching sites. were high on planning and persistence,
Teachers also felt frustrated they did not and low on procrastination. They used
have time to learn to use the system a wide range of learning resources
properly nor to be able to personalise and approaches, including talking
it to reflect their own approach to to teachers, collaborating with other
teaching and learning. A lack of time students, using additional resources and
for development and infrastructural online forums.
support were also significant inhibitors to
developing suitable online experiences.
6 www.akoaotearoa.ac.nz/blended-approaches-learner-engagement
www.akoaotearoa.ac.nz/blended-approaches-learner-engagementFinding 8: Levels of engagement Finding 9: Using the 10
are strongly influenced by engagement strategies at the
assessment and online activities appropriate time increases
such as quizzes. student engagement.
The levels of students’ online The application of the 10 engagement
engagement fluctuated widely during the strategies at the appropriate time had
semester, but generally followed a similar a positive impact on student levels of
pattern; peaking strongly immediately engagement. Courses that incorporated
prior to assessment dates, then engagement strategies in their online
dropping sharply. However, this pattern environment experienced much higher
was moderated when online quizzes levels of student activity online. We found
or activities were used. In courses clear evidence of the efficacy of using
that included online activities such specific types of engagement strategies
as quizzes,2 the level of engagement at appropriate stages in the teaching
between peaks was higher and more process.
sustained than for other courses.
Teachers reported a steady decline in
attendance at lectures, though these
also peaked immediately prior to an
assessment. Some classes had only 25
percent attendance levels by the end of
the semester.
2 Quizzes did not have to be for credit to enhance
engagement.
STRATEGIES FOR ENGAGING LEARNERS IN A BLENDED ENVIRONMENT 7Finding 10: The greatest potential
for improving student engagement Student learning depends
comes from using primers. on the level and quality
Most teachers did not use online
primers3 to stimulate interest and
of their interaction with
curiosity, though most used some kind learning experiences.
of priming strategy in the classroom.
With one exception teachers did not
Students who reported
rate this strategy as very important and being deeply engaged
did not seem to invest a great deal of
time thinking about stimulating curiosity
in structured learning
or demonstrating relevance. Changes activities, using a wide
here would have a significant effect on
student engagement at a time when
range of learning resources
students are particularly vulnerable to and approaches, including
dropping out.
non-structured learning
resources, talking to
Finding 11: Potential dropouts can
be retrieved while they are in the teachers, collaborating
‘zone of discontent’.
with other students, and
Teachers who actively monitored
engagement and then applied strategies
online forums, achieved the
to recapture disengaged students highest learning outcomes.
were able to re-capture students with
relatively little effort. Our results suggest
there are times during which some
students experience discontent with
their studies and become vulnerable to
disengagement. However, most of these
students can be re-engaged if contacted
before making the final decision to
withdraw. The key is early identification
through monitoring, personal contact
and negotiation for a workable solution
for the student.
3 Primers are examples or activities that are designed
to stimulate curiosity and/or demonstrate personal
relevance of learning.
8 www.akoaotearoa.ac.nz/blended-approaches-learner-engagementFinding 12: Most teachers had Finding 13: Social presence is
well-organised courses with good largely underdeveloped in most
structures. online environments.
These online learning sites were well Most online sites had contact details,
organised and structured. They were a welcome message and a discussion
divided into appropriate chunks, easy to forum; however, these tended to be
navigate, followed a logical structure and informational and it was hard to get a
had clear guidelines and instructions. sense of the teacher from them. Teacher
Students prefer well-organised courses presence is felt as a sense of immediacy
and dislike ambiguity. Carefully structured and intimacy in the way teachers
courses increase student confidence communicate with their students.
and competence and are an important Forums were almost wholly teacher-to-
determinant of a student’s tendency student. Teachers reported that student
to follow a deep or surface learning forums are important for establishing a
approach. sense of community.
The most successful students were those
who reported being deeply engaged in
structured learning activities designed by
teachers. These students were high on
planning and persistence, and low on
procrastination.
STRATEGIES FOR ENGAGING LEARNERS IN A BLENDED ENVIRONMENT 9Finding 14: Levels of Finding 16: High dropout rates
disengagement in the classroom are associated with higher course
are of concern to teachers. grades.
Most teachers expressed concern at the Surprisingly, courses with higher average
poor levels of class attendance, some marks had higher dropout rates. One
of which were as low as 25 percent. possible explanation is that students
Most teachers attributed this to the who drop out are struggling with either
provision of online materials, which they the course work or course load, raising
believe convinces students they did the overall mean marks of the remaining
not need to attend class. Despite this students.
belief teachers feel pressured by student
demand to supply these materials. Class
attendance is important for academic
success. Although tertiary teachers may
feel resistant to monitoring attendance,
evidence strongly supports its efficacy.
Finding 15: About one third of
students either dropped out or
seriously considered dropping out.
By the end of the semester, 15 percent
of students had dropped out, and
a further 15 percent had actively
considered doing so. Teaching quality
was most frequently identified as the
main reason. These students described
their teachers as ‘boring’ and ‘not very
good’.
10 www.akoaotearoa.ac.nz/blended-approaches-learner-engagementConclusions
Drawing upon these findings we reached five conclusions. Tertiary teachers
and organisations are encouraged to think about these conclusions with
reference to their context and current practices.
structures, unambiguous instructions
1. The quality of learning and guidelines, monitoring and early
depends on the depth of identification of students in the ‘zone
student engagement in the of discontent’, and personal contact
learning process. with the student.
Student learning depends on the
These strategies should be applied
level and quality of their interaction
both online and in the classroom,
with learning experiences. Students
though the application in different
who reported being deeply engaged
contexts will vary. Applying these
in structured learning activities, using
strategies online is more difficult
a wide range of learning resources
for most teachers because of their
and approaches, including non-
greater familiarity with classroom
structured learning resources, talking
teaching.
to teachers, collaborating with
other students, and online forums,
achieved the highest learning 3. The skill and effort that
outcomes. These students were teachers use to create
also highly organised in their study learning experiences is
and persisted with difficult problems. the single most important
What students DO matters. determinant of the quality of
the learning environment.
2. The systematic application of This skill was most evident in
all 10 engagement strategies how well teachers used the 10
identified in this study to both engagement strategies. The
online and classroom learning quality of the learning experience is
gave teachers the best chance rooted in the application of the 10
of achieving high levels of engagement strategies. Teachers
student engagement. who use these strategies when
integrating an online component
Engagement is enhanced when all
with classroom teaching are able to
10 strategies are used: primers,
create a greater variety of learning
social presence, challenging
experiences for their students.
and authentic tasks, timely and
These offer students greater
elaborated feedback, clear course
flexibility in structuring their own
STRATEGIES FOR ENGAGING LEARNERS IN A BLENDED ENVIRONMENT 11learning and multiple perspectives 4. Teachers are time-poor and
of the learning content. The most lack adequate technical
successful students used a blend support and training in
of online and classroom elements. pedagogical principles.
Unless teachers consciously Many teachers are unclear about
entice, stimulate, curate, structure, the pedagogical benefits of a
communicate and attend to student blended environment. Most saw it
needs then all that remains is a as a repository for resources and an
volume of undifferentiated resources opportunity to ease the burden of
that students must interrogate alone. student questions. Teachers were
Students are not trained, nor do they harried to have their online sites
have the time, to do this. It would be ready for the semester and had little
more honest to give them a library time for exploration or reflection
card and tell them to go and find out on the opportunities presented by
what they need. the digital environment. They had
Teachers who developed high- had minimal training and very little
quality engagement strategies made technical support. Not surprisingly,
measurable differences to the level of these teachers were much less
engagement by their students. This enthusiastic about merging
was most evident when teachers traditional and digital modes of
applied the engagement strategies teaching than students.
online as well as in the classroom.
Students in these classes worked
harder and longer. Even good
students will struggle in poorly
developed learning environments.
Teachers who lacked these skills or
effort created much less satisfactory
learning experiences and increased
the incidence of withdrawal. These
withdrawals represent lost income
and wasted resources. The key to
improving retention is to improve the
quality of the learning experience,
and enthusiastic, competent
teachers are one of the main means
of achieving this aim.
12 www.akoaotearoa.ac.nz/blended-approaches-learner-engagement5. Blended learning can make a
difference.
We found clear
We conclude that blended learning
evidence of the has the ability to make a major,
positive impact on tertiary teaching.
efficacy of using
Learning management systems are
specific types capable of helping identify students
who are at risk of disengaging
of engagement
and that, with substantial staff
strategies at development, and improved digital
teaching strategies, levels of student
appropriate stages in
disengagement can be minimised.
the teaching process. This is an important finding
because in a constrained financial
environment, each student who
disengages is a substantial loss not
only to the institution but also to the
nation as a whole.
The most successful students used a blend
of online and classroom elements.
STRATEGIES FOR ENGAGING LEARNERS IN A BLENDED ENVIRONMENT 13Recommendations leadership role in changing the teaching
culture. A key area of focus would be the
The results of this study can
30 percent of students who withdraw or
be considered from a national,
consider withdrawing from their studies.
organisational or teacher’s perspective.
A major strategy should be to improve
Below we consider the key
teacher performance and accountability.
recommendations at each level.
This could include:4
a. developing objective procedures
National Recommendations and practices for evaluating teaching
Much learning and development in the practice (see Stein et al., 2012).
practice of good teaching in a blended Reviews of teacher performance
environment can be achieved through should consider retention rates
the creation of a national community and success in creating engaging
of learning for tertiary teachers. One courses that result in higher levels of
example of an existing community of learning
practice is the Ako Aotearoa Academy of b. collecting data at the institutional
Tertiary Teaching Excellence. Additional level to identify areas having
groups could be established, that might: particular retention problems.
a. host online wiki(s) for tertiary Blended learning, when it is the
teachers to share teaching and “thoughtful integration of classroom
learning strategies, examples and face-to-face learning experiences with
tools for blended learning online learning experiences” (Garrison &
b. engage in further research to Kanuka, 204, 96), can have a powerful
measure the effect of engagement effect on student engagement, and
strategies both in the classroom and through this, retention and student
online. satisfaction. Improving teacher capacity
to develop these more sophisticated
Institutional Recommendations courses is urgently needed. Teachers
Retention has clear economic and need time, resources and support
reputational implications. In addition to develop both their skills and their
to the broader obligations to develop courses. These may include:
a sense of belonging and social a. workshops to give teachers the
integration, institutions must take a opportunity to explore learning
technology and/or to develop
blended courses, supported by
technical staff to minimise frustration
and maximise learning
4 Note that these recommendations are consistent with
current good practices in other parts of the sector.
14 www.akoaotearoa.ac.nz/blended-approaches-learner-engagementb. the opportunity to view sample Toolbox
courses that integrate the 10 A toolbox has been developed to
engagement strategies support tertiary organisations and
c. providing course templates that teachers to engage with blended
teachers can populate with their own learning effectively. The toolbox contains
materials strategies, tools and examples that
d. time release for teachers to develop can be used when designing blended
their blended learning courses. learning courses. These are presented
in a framework that allows the user to
work systematically through the design
Teacher Recommendations process, or to select items that have
Teachers should redesign their courses particular value.
for blended learning, not just by adding
The design process outlined in the
an online component to their regular
toolbox involves five steps:
teaching. The best courses we saw
had been thoughtfully considered and • needs analysis
the online and classroom components • design of layout and format
coherently integrated. These courses • development of content
had been designed starting with a blank • evaluation of the course
slate. • reflection.
A wide range of tools and strategies is
Teachers should be strongly encouraged
included to cover the 10 engagement
to systematically incorporate all 10
strategies identified in the project. It is
engagements strategies, not to mix
envisaged that teachers will use these
and match them, into each course for
tools and strategies to assist with the
maximum effect on student engagement
design and development of their own
and retention.
blended courses.
Teachers should monitor student
The toolkit is presented as a wiki,
engagement online (learning analytics)
available through the Ako Aotearoa
and in the classroom (taking rolls) for
website at
early identification of dis-engagement.
http://akoaotearoa.ac.nz/blended-
This is essential to improving retention.
approaches-learner-engagement.
Blended learning environments should
The website is in the form of a wiki to
allow students to select their own
encourage teachers to add their own
preferred blend of learning components
tools and examples for other teachers.
to foster diverse ways of learning.
This carries the proviso that students
are given guidance in selecting useful
blends.
STRATEGIES FOR ENGAGING LEARNERS IN A BLENDED ENVIRONMENT 15References
Garrison, D. R., & Kanuka, H. (2004). Tiakawia, S. J. H. (2010). A literature
Blended learning: Uncovering its review focused on virtual learning
transformative potential in higher environments and e-learning in the
education. The Internet and Higher context of te reo Māori and kaupapa
Education (7), 95−105. Māori. Wellington: Ministry of
Jeffrey, L. M., Milne, J., Suddaby, G., Education.
& Higgins, A. (2012). Strategies Stein, S. J., Spiller, D., Terry, S., Harris,
for engaging students: Helps and T., Deaker, L., & Kennedy, J. (2012).
hindrances in a blended learning Using student evaluations to enhance
environment. Wellington: Ako teaching practice: Closing the loop.
Aotearoa. Wellington: Ako Aotearoa.
16 www.akoaotearoa.ac.nz/blended-approaches-learner-engagementTo see the full report go to
www.akoaotearoa.ac.nz/blended-approaches-learner-engagement
STRATEGIES FOR ENGAGING LEARNERS IN A BLENDED ENVIRONMENT 17AKO AOTEAROA | Email info@akoaotearoa.ac.nz | Web www.akoaotearoa.ac.nz ISBN 978-1-927202-29-6
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