Since culturally diverse people need to collaborate in the 21st century, Higher Education adopted global citizenship education (GCE) to promote a cosmopolitan mindset. Learners in the digital era can use various modes of communication, exerting individual agency so that learners can construct global minds through their communication experiences. Blended learning based on learner-centered knowledge construction may provide extended spaces where learners can shape a personally trusted and collectively consensual vision of the global mind. A qualitative evaluation case study explored learners' perception shifts regarding autonomous identity formations and confidence-trust-building in a blended course under GCE. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, semi-structured in-depth online interviews and document analyses on the archive data were adopted to triangulate learners' perceptions and instructors' observations. Findings showed that individuals could shape their global citizen identities through a performative loop of reflection and interaction provided via a blended format. The participants' comfort zone levels influenced different identity formation paths. However, their goals, in the end, were aligned under the idea of engaging in local community activities through lifelong commitment. Intrapersonal and interactional forms of communication solidified self-confidence and collective trust through synergically linked blended learning activities. Overall, global citizen identities have gradually evolved while self-confidence and trust in others have gradually increased through different communication steps. The significance of the study lies in reinforcing the results of prior research about performativity-oriented GCE through a community of people practicing in blended learning environments. Members' hands-on activities while building self-confidence and collective trust through communication helped them shape their collective identity. In these processes, individuals' intrapersonal communication seemed to play an insightful role in effectively connecting reflective and interactive activities. Enhanced credibility by replicating this GCE model in future studies will ensure various organizations and institutions adopt it to shape their members' global visions and build group cohesion.

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of problem-based learning, blended problem-based learning, and traditional lecture teaching methods on students’ academic achievement and self-regulation. Specifically, student’s motivation orientation, use of learning strategies, and critical thinking dispositions were assessed. The research design for this study was a quasi-experimental pretest/posttest design. There were 90 undergraduate education majors who participated in the study. There were 29 students who participated in the problem-based learning group, 30 students participated in the blended problem based learning group, 31 students participated in the traditional group. Convenience sampling was used for this study. The findings in this study indicated that the students who were taught via the blended problem based learning teaching methodology scored significantly higher on the comprehensive exam for academic achievement and subcategories of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire than the problem based learning and the traditional lecture group. There were no significant differences between groups for critical thinking dispositions on the California Critical Thinking Dispositions Inventory. Overall, the blended problem based learning teaching methodology did have a significantly positive impact on students’ academic achievement and self-regulation skills.

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With the growing prevalence of blended learning in classrooms across the country, the need for teacher training for effective blended learning implementation is critical. This research study focuses on the skills and training required to implement blended learning effectively. Observations of classroom instruction and professional development, surveys, and interviews with teachers and administrators added to an extensive literature review to inform training recommendations for school sites and teacher education programs. The results show that professional development is effective when it includes peer observations and collaboration, modeling of best practices, and the integration of blended learning programs with instructional practice. Individualized differentiation, constructivist learning opportunities, and strategic grouping are also key elements of effective blended learning implementation. With carefully planned professional development, teachers can use blended learning in the classroom to engage students and offer rigorous learning experiences that prepare students to be critical thinkers in school and beyond.

STEM educators have shown a particular interest in active blended learning. Construction management education, a discipline within STEM education, has naturally considered blended instruction to engage students in the learning process. Documented efforts of construction management educators implementing blended instruction have mostly been recorded in conference proceedings. These recorded efforts often take the form of anecdotal case studies—a current review of how construction management faculty are implementing blended instruction and active learning in their blended courses was not found. In this study, we reviewed the literature for active blended instruction in construction management education. We surveyed construction management faculty about their perceptions and experiences with blended instruction. Finally, using interpretative phenomenological analysis, a qualitative research approach, we sought to understand the perceptions and experiences of construction management faculty who believed to have implemented active blended instruction. In the literature review, we found the following: many, if not most, construction faculty had heard of the term blended instruction; some understood the academic definition of blended instruction; fewer have tried to implement blended instruction; and, generally, faculty felt that there were obstacles that prevented the continued or expanded use of blended instruction. In the second paper, we used an ecological model to frame factors influencing faculty. We found that many faculty had negative perceptions of blended instruction, many misinterpreted what blended instruction is, and most felt that the time required to implement blended instruction outweighed the benefits. However, there were many positive perceptions, including increased student engagement and content retention. Finally, the third paper found that many faculty who had successfully implemented blended instruction were formally educated and trained in education. The faculty members implemented active blended instruction to improve the learning experience for the students and create opportunities for the faculty. Blended instruction, and more particularly active blended instruction, is receiving attention in construction management education. However, though faculty believe active blended instruction can transform a classroom, a lack of resources, support, and time has resulted in many faculty ceasing to use the modality. We recommend that institutions and departments enable faculty by providing the necessary resources and time to implement active blended instruction.

The relatively new utilization of learning management system (LMS) facilitated blended learning in secondary public schools has grown in popularity, but there is a void in research at this level. Teachers learned how to use the LMS features and honed their blended learning design skills through their own experiences, and in observation of their students' experiences. In this study, the knowledge teachers built and the decisions they made while designing blended learning were explored. In this mixed-methods study, the quantitative and qualitative results aligned, indicating that teachers design courses using a variety of components, often in different ways. Six themes emerged. The relationships between themes were used to create a theoretical visual of the factors impacting secondary teachers' decisions in the design of LMS-facilitated blended learning. Teacher design decisions were focused on the impact their choices would have on students. Variation in course design was purposely used by teachers to differentiate for students individually; however, variation was also the result of design challenges blocking teachers from a specific design choice. The implications for practice primarily focus on removing the design challenges. The results of this study add to other foundational studies to begin to fill the research gap in the area of LMS-facilitated blended learning design in secondary schools.

This study investigated the effect of a blended-learning approach in the learning of problem-solving skills in a first-level distance education physics module. A problem-solving type of instruction with explicit teaching of a problem-solving strategy was implemented in the module, which was presented through correspondence, online using an in-house learning management system as well as two face-to- face discussion classes. The study used the ex post facto research design with stratified sampling to investigate the possible cause-effect relationship between the blended-learning approach and the problem-solving performance. The number of problems attempted, the mean frequency of using strategy in problem solving and the achievement marks of the three strata were compared using inferential statistics. The finding of the study indicated that the blended-learning approach had no statistically significant effect in the learning of problem-solving skills in a distance education module. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Open and Distance Learning)

The contemporary classroom currently faces an evolving world of computer based training, online courses, instructor-led learning and several blended approaches in-between. With the increased presence of computers and communication in every facet of students' lives, students have changed to adapt to the continuous presence of technology in their daily lives. These recent rapid developments have changed the relationship between technology and communication. Indeed, communication and technology have become linked to such a degree that it is difficult to differentiate one from the other, thereby altering our rhetorical situation as instructors. Instructors can no longer deny the presence of technology in the contemporary classroom, much less in the contemporary composition classroom. This case study serves as a post-modern analysis of the technology based blended classroom. A gap exists between what online learning is (being) today and what it is (becoming) tomorrow. This dissertation explores the gap by examining two rich data sources: online visitor navigational patterns and instructor interviews. The fundamental ideas that this text explores are the following: - Web server logs and PHP logs can be analyzed to yield relevant information that assists in the design, architecture, and administration of online and blended learning courses. - Technology in the writing classroom does not necessarily solve traditional problems associated with the composition classroom. Technology is a tool, not a solution. - Technology has changed the rhetorical situation of the composition classroom. As a result, instructors must adapt to the changed rhetorical environment. Via this study, readers will hopefully gain a better understanding of the relatively unexplored margins between instruction, composition and technology paradigms. Instructors, trainers, technical writers, pedagogues, industry and academia alike must step forward to research technology-assisted pedagogy so that they can de-privilege the paradigms that position technology itself as a solution, and move forward toward realistic and real-world expectations for instructors in technology mediated learning environments.