Pressure on the system: increasing flexible learning through distance education

Abstract

The recent shift to remote instruction in response to the global pandemic has resulted in increasing demand for flexible learning options in higher education going forward. As institutions strategize the advancement of distance education as a means of addressing these demands, a parallel need has emerged for increased awareness of flexible learning options and their systemic implications. Such options range from within-course pedagogical strategies to comprehensive, program-level options that provide an extensive menu of student choices for when, where, and how learning takes place.

Keywords:

• flexible learning
• flexible distance education
• instructional design
• systemic implications of flexible learning

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was declared by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Barbara B. Lockee

Barbara Lockee is a professor of instructional design and technology in the School of Education at Virginia Tech. Her teaching and research have focused on advancing instructional design practices in distance education for 3 decades. She is past president of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology.

Rebecca Clark-Stallkamp

Rebecca Clark-Stallkamp is a PhD candidate in instructional design and technology in the School of Education at Virginia Tech. Her research focuses on collaborative argumentation as a pedagogical tool in ill-structured problem-solving.