The Blended Learning Experiences Of Students With Specific Learning Difficulties: A Qualitative Case Study Located In One British Higher Education Institution

ABSTRACT

Blended learning (BL) has been widely adopted across the higher education (HE) sector, with a growing body of literature exploring its impact on both students and faculty. However, to date, few studies have examined how students with Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLDs) experience BL. This paper presents the results of a qualitative case study investigating the BL experiences of students with SpLDs in a British HE institution. A thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews conducted with six participants revealed five major themes regarding the BL experience of students with SpLDs: (1) clarity of purpose and instruction; (2) ease of use; (3) accessibility; (4) fear of ‘getting it wrong’ in online spaces and (5) interaction and staff engagement. The findings underscore the significance of addressing these areas in order to increase the efficacy of BL to meet the learning needs of students with SpLDs.

KEYWORDS:

• Blended learning
• disability
• higher education
• specific learning difficulties

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Part III: Specific teaching strategies, learning experiences and assessment strategies

Successful blended learning activity

• Think about a blended activity which you have enjoyed/found meaningful.

  • Tell me about the activity.

  • What did you like most about the activity and why?

  • What could make the activity even better?

Writing

• Think about activities that involve writing online, for instance, blogs, discussion boards or chat forums.

  • As a learner with SpLD, which of the features of these activities have you found most engaging or successful? Why?

  • Which areas have you found challenging?

  • What could make these activities easier to complete/more beneficial/meaningful?

Dealing with information

• With regards to dealing with information, how would you describe the impact that moving some of the teaching and learning online has had on you in terms of doing research and dealing with information?

Time management and organisation

• With regards to time management and organisation, how would you describe the impact that moving some of the teaching and learning online has had on your workload and organisation?

Assessment

• Think about an assessment which included an online element. This might have been an online exam, writing a blog entry, taking an online quiz, doing a presentation or participating in a discussion forum

  • Tell me about the assessment. What did you need to do?

  • As a learner with SpLD, which of the features of this assessment did you find most engaging or successful? Why?

  • Which areas did you find challenging?

  • What could make the assessment easier to complete/more beneficial/meaningful?