Learning to Create Enquiry-based Blended Learning Designs: Resources to Develop Interdisciplinary Education

Abstract

Interdisciplinary teaching and learning in social work education can improve service user outcomes by promoting collaborative working between professionals. Educators must ensure that students are given opportunities to gain the skills, knowledge and experiences required for collaborative working. Blended learning can overcome barriers of time and place to create spaces for interdisciplinary students to engage in interactive and collaborative learning experiences. Little has been written in social work education outlining how educators can gain the competences required to develop blended learning designs. This paper provides access to a set of resources aimed at guiding educators through the complex processes of creating interdisciplinary enquiry-based blended learning (EBBL) designs. The context, ethos and rationale for the development of these resources are outlined along with an evaluation that suggests they were successful in guiding an interdisciplinary group of educators through the complex processes of creating interdisciplinary EBBL designs.

Keywords:

• Interdisciplinary
• Blended Learning
• E-Learning
• Enquiry-based Learning
• Community of Enquiry

Acknowledgements

DiBL would not have been possible without the assistance of my two Design Team colleagues, Danielle Hinton and Peter Rainger. Thanks are also due to the event coaches, my colleagues from the CEIMH Multimedia Team, Dee Partridge and Pam Newby. I would also like to thank Professor Ann Davis for her mentoring support.