Students’ perceptions of an extensive blended learning implementation: the effects of instructional design and interaction

ABSTRACT

In Blended Learning, students receive a combination of traditional face to face instruction in class and are also required to complete activities outside of the classroom. BL increases opportunities for faculty members to design more effective teaching and learning environments. In order to do so, Instructional Design might be used to support blended courses planning and management. This study has investigated the simultaneous implementation of 38 blended courses in a private Brazilian university, which involved more than 11,000 students and 250 teachers. The general objective of this study was to assess whether instructional design and course management practices as well as interaction affect students’ instruction. Through the use of Structural Equation Modeling, this study found out that instructional design positively influences instruction, especially when mediated by interaction. This study did not find a significant effect of course management over instruction. This study presents some implications to instructional designers and teachers of blended courses.

KEYWORDS:

• Blended learning
• instructional design
• interaction
• structural equation modeling

Acknowledgments

To those who work in the Teacher Training and Instructional Design sectors of the Distance Education unit of the university.

Disclosure statement

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

Informed consent

We would like to invite you to participate in this research, whose purpose is to assess the blended learning implementation our university has been carrying out and its effects on students’ learning. All respondents’ data will be treated confidentially, and the survey results will only present aggregated data from the sample of participating students.

This research does not represent any risk for you, since the information you provide will only be presented in a general and anonymous manner, without identification of the source, in specialized publications. The research does not imply personal benefit, since it is a voluntary and unpaid collaboration. Once you start filling in the questionnaire, if you do not want to continue, you can suspend your participation without implying any negative consequence for you. The researchers will keep a confidential file for three years, with the responses of the respondents, with the purpose of being able to contact you in the future to provide you with information about the results of this study. Your name will not appear in any publication or report about this research. Information and results will be stored in an electronic database on a computer reserved for the use of researchers. All legal provisions regarding confidentiality and access to your personal data will be respected in this study and in the data derived from it. There is no cost to you and no risk to your health. Additionally, those who carry out this research express their willingness to clarify any inquiries that may arise about their participation in it. To do this, you can contact Profesor <name and email address of the professor>, during the period covered by the investigation and up to 6 months after its conclusion.

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Additional information

Notes on contributors

Marcelo Werneck Barbosa

Marcelo Werneck Barbosa is a member of the Business and Management Departament at Universidad Autónoma de Chile, Chile. He received his BSc and MSc in Computer Science and his PhD Business Administration from Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brazil. He directed the Teacher Training for Online Education department at Pontificia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais. His main research interests include business education, distance education and the use of technology in education. He has published papers in several journals and conferences, such as International Journal of Management Education, Educational Review, International Journal of Human Capital and Information Technology Professionals, Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology and International Journal Mobile and Blended Learning.