This inquiry explored the effect of policy on faculty practice and pedagogy in e-learning in higher education. This study was framed by descriptive policy analysis which would lead to a better understanding of the way policies work - or do not work. It sought to identify the effect of educational/administrative policy by triangulating policy directives and their effect on faculty practice. The descriptive case study method was used to tell the story of the faculty who teach using e-learning. Qualitative data were gathered through on-site interviews, document analysis and a survey questionnaire. There was a blend of forced-choice and open-ended questions which were later thematically analyzed. The findings indicated that policy is viewed by teaching faculty as being important to move e-learning/blended learning toward an institutional strategic plan or vision and those policies affect e-learning teaching practice. As well, the findings in this study suggested overall low diffusion of policy for e-learning/blended learning within this case study. The findings also suggested that policy, or lack thereof, had an affect on teaching practice in e-learning/blended learning. The study concludes with recommendations for future research.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / This research is about university teachers’ experiences of teaching in blended learning environments. In recent years, this type of environments has become increasingly common. Universities have realised the value of the incorporation of eLearning, making teaching more professional and offering higher quality learning experiences. At the same time, pressures from students, who use online resources for many of their everyday activities, and employers, who want future professionals to be skilled information technology users, have also promoted the up-take of eLearning. In this context, the present research took a relational approach to investigate what university teachers think eLearning is good for in their teaching, how they approach teaching when eLearning is involved, and how their perception of the teaching situation affects the use of eLearning. Associations between these elements were also explored. The research had a qualitative and a quantitative stage. In the qualitative stage, 18 university teachers, coming from two research-intensive Australian universities were interviewed. This stage focused on conceptions, approaches and perceptions of the teaching situation; both considering teaching in face-to-face settings and using eLearning. In the quantitative stage, 86 university teachers answered a web-based survey. Three questionnaires were used to explore associations between approaches and perceptions: the ‘approaches to teaching’ inventory, the ‘perception of the teaching situation’ questionnaire, and the ‘approaches to teaching using eLearning’ questionnaire. The last one was developed from the results of the qualitative stage of this research. Results showed that conceptions of teaching ranged from being focused on content and information to being focused on learning and the student. Conceptions of teaching using eLearning showed variation from being focused on information to being focused on communication and collaboration. Conceptions of blended teaching were proposed to emerge from associations between conceptions of teaching and conceptions of teaching using eLearning. In relation to approaches, results showed that approaches to teaching ranged from being focused on content and the teacher to being focused on learning and the student. Approaches to teaching using eLearning varied from being focused on transmission of information to being focused on communication and collaboration. As in the case of conceptions, approaches to blended teaching were also claimed to emerge from associations between approaches to teaching and approaches to teaching using eLearning. Regarding elements influencing teaching, seven factors emerged in relation to approaches to teaching using eLearning: ‘control of teaching’, ‘institutional strategy’, ‘technical support’, ‘pedagogical support’, ‘amount of time needed’, ‘teacher’s skills for eLearning’ and ‘students’ ability and willingness to using eLearning’. Factors influencing teachers’ general perception of their teaching situation were ‘control of teaching’, ‘institutional support’ and ‘students’ characteristics’. Associations between conceptions, approaches and perceptions were explored through ‘teaching profiles’ and ‘orchestrations’ Teaching profiles referred to systematic associations between conceptions and approaches to teaching in face-to-face and online teaching. Three blended teaching profiles emerged: ‘systematically information focused’, ‘dissonant’ (with 5 variations) and ‘systematically learning focused’. Blended teaching profiles associated with perceptions of the teaching situation and teachers’ characteristics led to ‘teaching orchestrations’. Three orchestrations emerged: ‘consonant (information focused) and coherent’, ‘dissonant and coherent’ and ‘consonant (learning focused) and coherent’. Results of the quantitative stage tended to support prior qualitative findings, and also identified ‘incoherent’ associations between approaches to teaching and perceptions of the teaching situation, which had not emerged in the qualitative study. Results of this research were claimed to have practical implications in terms of academic development, the management of teaching and eLearning, and the practice of teaching. In relation to academic development, it was proposed that programs focused on expanding university teachers’ awareness about ways of incorporating eLearning into on-campus education rather than only providing ‘technical’ skills are generated. In relation to management of teaching and eLearning, it was proposed that favourable conditions should be set up for the teachers to perceive they are supported for the incorporation of eLearning into their teaching. Finally, in relation to the practice of teaching, it was proposed that teachers incorporate learning tasks aligned with the communication-collaboration focused approaches to teaching using eLearning, such as blended discussions or knowledge building tasks.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of North Texas, May, 2008. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ed. Spec.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2006. / Field study. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Georgia State University, 2006. / Title from title screen. Christine D. Thomas, committee charir; Nikita D. Patterson, Clara Nosegbe Okoka, Janice S. Scott, Pier A. Junor-Clarke, committee members. Electronic text (176 p. : forms, graphs (some col.)) : digital, PDF file. Description based on contents viewed May 1, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 134-143).

The purpose of this thesis is to give account of experimental teaching of a CLIL, namely in combination with blended learning at the second level of elementary school. The starting point was a reflection on how to relieve the overloaded of schedule of lessons devoted to non-linguistic subjects, in which many teachers now struggle with time to manage to teach all that is needed. To answer the question as to how pupils of an eighth grade of primary school, would respond to a new type of lessons in an unusual form, I tried to perform a teaching experiment in which the pupils went through a hard CLIL programme driven by blended learning. The available resources on this issue have been elaborated in the form of the theoretical part, which forms the first part of this work. It deals with CLIL, e- lerarning and blended learning. The second part consists of the preparation of the research and the third part is devoted to its implementation. The research consisted of three hours of full-time teaching enriched by blocks of e-learning support. During the preparation and implementation of the project, I tried to find sources of motivation that would encourage pupils to spend their extra-maths learning time. I collected the data for the subsequent analysis by participating and mediated observation, using...

Blended learning constitutes a key element of the NMMU’s Vision 2020; therefore, creating the expectation that academics from the NMMU will implement and utilise blended learning as part of their teaching pedagogy. Implementation reports drawn from Moodle (the learning management system utilised by NMMU) indicates that there are still numerous departments that are not fully utilising blended learning. The aim of this study was thus to determine the factors that impact on the acceptance and implementation of blended learning by academics at the NMMU. A modified version of the Technology Acceptance Questionnaire was electronically distributed to academics from the various NMMU campuses in order to collect the empirical data, with purposeful non-probability sampling being employed. The results indicated that factors, such as perceived usefulness, the student-centered nature of blended learning, the appeal of such environments to students, accessibility, as well as administrative- and communication benefits, had a positive influence on blended learning adoption. Lack of time and lack of knowledge with regard to blended learning use and implementation, concerns regarding accessibility, and lack of capacity and technical support were cited as issues that hampered blended learning implementation.

Although a categorical definition of the concept of blended learning is yet to be established, in broad terms, Blended Learning refers to a system that combines traditional face-to-face teaching environments with an online component. This therefore makes the learning process far more engaging for the student and also enables the lecturer to extend teaching and learning outside the classroom. The private higher education institution that was the focus of this study (referred to as Campus A) had attempted to introduce blended learning as a teaching and learning approach at the institution. The site had been operating in Port Elizabeth for 15 years and offered a range of degrees, diplomas and certificates on a full time basis and a range of short learning programmes as part of their business school. Despite concerted effort made by the managers to drive the adoption of blended learning on the campus, the acceptance of this teaching practice had been slower than expected and, given the transformative potential of blended learning, the management of the campus wished to improve the adoption rate significantly. Therefore the primary purpose of this study was to identify adoption strategies that could be used to increase the acceptance of blended learning as a teaching strategy at Campus A of this educational institution. The study followed a two pronged approach; the first part entailed a review of literature on the successful implementation of blended learning. The review concluded with an adapted model that integrated relevant blended learning adoption factors. The model was thereafter used for the second part of the study, as a basis for questionnaires and interviews that were conducted with relevant staff with the aim of determining how the integrated model for the adoption of blended learning should be implemented on the campus.

This action research study explores the role of blended learning as a tool for the professional empowerment of teachers of English as a foreign language in provincial and rural areas of Uruguay. Specifically, a three-year blended teacher development programme designed to facilitate professional empowerment by integrating face-to-face and online learning opportunities is examined through Garrison, Anderson and Archer’s (2000) Community of Inquiry framework as well as through Kumaravadivelu’s (2001, 2006b) Postmethod parameters of particularity, practicality and possibility. Findings suggest that blended learning can facilitate the professional empowerment of teachers in geographically-removed areas by fostering their movement towards higher levels of cognitive thinking. The teaching, social and cognitive activity in a blended setting is distributed over the face-to-face and online learning arenas, with the teaching and cognitive ‘presences’ being embedded in the social. While the highest levels of cognitive activity are rarely visible in participants’ virtual discourse, this discourse refers to other environments where cognitive activity is more clearly evidenced, such as participants’ assessed work and classroom practices. In short, the Community of Inquiry parameters offer a lens through which to visualise effective course design and pedagogy for teacher education in this context, by providing a language to articulate what is particular about the setting, what participants perceive as practical and ultimately what is possible for them to achieve in terms of empowerment and emancipation. These parameters are explored through the examination of the whole-group processes as well as the in-depth analysis of two participants’ individual journeys. This study also foregrounds the complexity and richness of action research, especially in terms of the multiplicity of roles determined by the researcher’s immersion in the field, and highlights the need for extensive reflexivity. The academic, professional and situated contributions indicated above are identified, as is the potential for further research in this and other similar settings.

The purpose of this study was to analyze teacher perceptions on the relationship of technology and student academic behaviors and performance in the blended learning environment across 9th through 12th grade within east Tennessee and to identify the components of blended learning and pedagogical practices that enhance students’ academic behaviors. Specifically, this study is an analysis of how student motivation and student autonomy relate to technology implementation and face-to-face instruction within blended learning environments. The participants of this study were teachers within 2 school districts in East Tennessee. All high school teachers within the participating school districts received an online survey that was distributed from their corresponding principals via email. The online survey used a Likert-type scale that consisted of 40 items focused on teachers’ perceptions of student motivation and student autonomy with the blended learning environment. The analysis of the data was based on the responses of 75 teachers from the 2 participating school districts. Statistical analyses of the data revealed that the amount of teacher technology use, student technology use, learning management system use, and type of professional development did not have a significant relationship with participants’ perspective of student motivation or student autonomy. The research also did not reveal a significant relationship between participants’ age and perception of student motivation. However, this research revealed a significant relationship between participant age and participants’ perception of student autonomy. The study revealed that, as participant age increased, participants’ mean student autonomy scores decreased.