Advocating for blended pedagogy as a shift to more holistic inclusive geography

ABSTRACT

Applied geography represents the dialectic relationship between theory and application (Pacione 1999, 2004). A well-informed rigorous pedagogy must represent this dialectical relationship (Pacione 1999). How then can the relationship between the theoretical and the applied be challenged within the “spaces” of the university? I provide a critical discussion of the use of a blended learning pedagogy (Davis & Fill 2007) in challenging that there is a separation of theoretical and applied geography. A blended learning pedagogy allows for the inclusion of emerging media and learning technologies as tools in developing a new “space” for teaching and learning, a “space” which is focused on active learning. The walls of the university lecture room become porous, as students begin to make critical connections between theory and application. I unpack the pedagogical justification for a shift to a blended learning approach. I support this justification with evidence from curriculum design in a first-year geography course, and the student experience of implementation of this blended learning approach. I assess student engagement with theory through the integration of real-world case studies into a blended delivery approach. I evaluate their critical engagement by applying a mixed-method approach to a survey and follow-up focus group.

KEYWORDS:

• Blended pedagogy
• ecosystem of learning
• educational technology
• relational space
• active learning
• experiential learning

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).