Dr B K Mukhopadhyay
(The author is a Professor of Management and Economics, formerly at IIBM (RBI) Guwahati. He can be contacted at m.bibhas@gmail.com)
Dr. Boidurjo Rick Mukhopadhyay
(The author, international award-winning development and management economist, formerly a Gold Medalist in Economics at Gauhati University)
Blended learning allows a combination of traditional, instructor-led learning with independent IT-based learning, and Humalogy simply studies and measures the blend of technology and human interaction for improving efficiency and optimising performance. From providing an optimised hybrid training programme for corporates, educating the next generation learners in the education industry to staying updated with continuous professional development skills – the use of blended learning is nothing new but certainly have been used a lot more not only as an 'add-on' option but 'The' option since March 2020 in most industries where new learning, skills update, information sharing, and organisational communication are all essential. Blended learning is different to e-learning, the latter is where the human (i.e., the instructor) component is missing. Since the pandemic started, there have been organisations that had to shift all operations online while having never applied this mode before. Consequently, there were laggards and some who couldn't survive at all. There are new training aspects, investment in IT infrastructure, and rethinking of business models that are all equally required for the shift. Although there have been debates around what works and what doesn't really while adopting blended learning, the hybrid model of learning must be here to stay, so the question is really about how to optimise its use and enhance the effectiveness of its application.
How do people learn and what methods work best? It is indeed a question that several disciplines have attempted to answer from their perspectives and practices, but some of the common tenets that help understand the sources or methods of learning – by observing others at work, by trying it out and through experiential learning, by collaborating with others, by practising skills in a safe and simplified environment, by reading, watching, or listening. Today, there is no dearth of resources that are offered, freely, online but then there is a question of 'choice' and being careful with the selection of content (and which ones are genuine and useful vs those that are bluff and superficial only). The application of blended learning differs from one industry to another. For example, incorporating training programmes, a blended approach saves valuable time from collecting training feedback physically while at the same time can record valuable data about your employees' performance improvement via online quizzes and tests. At the same time, the blended learning approach helps in measuring the effectiveness of an overall training program, since the recorded feedback from employees is not only for performance measurement, but also serves as a training strategy evaluation tool for future reference and development.
On the other hand, in higher education blended learning offers a large variety of options for learners, it could be offered in a traditional classroom setting, distance learning, and also on smart devices on the go. For executive programmes, learners benefit from this setting since they could spend dedicated hours of a course via audiobooks or guided video sessions at their own time and pace during commute, lunchtime breaks, etc. And the huge plus of blended learning is that it can be both synchronous (face to face) and asynchronous (online), thereby not discarding the human factor or the role of 'instructor' in learning. A planned pedagogy could entwine the best of face-to-face and online teaching methods and experience. For corporations, blending for a learning strategy that could integrate multiple delivery modalities and could create the best possible learning solution for the learners.
One of the essential and effective ways of workplace learning is the provision of safe and supported practice opportunities, case studies and simulations. While moving knowledge acquisition to E-learning tutorials while keeping workshops in the blend mode could be more clearly focused on practice. The use of online case studies and practice scenarios could further enrich the learning experience to ensure knowledge and skills transfer, at the same time when addressing the issue of enhancing soft skills or fast decision-making abilities, simulation enables people to hone skills in a way that's far more effective than in a physical environment. Some of the learning goals could be delivered in a storytelling format also. Blended learning offers a way to present information and practice opportunities in a far more structured way, albeit a lot of advance work w.r.t. resource assignment and preparation is called for. The three aspects of embedding the information, engaging with the content, and then having prac-tising focus when it comes to applying the learning - all go hand in hand.
When it comes to higher or further education learning, flipped learning approach has improved the level of engagement and awareness in the class session. While there is an opportunity for students to learn theoretical components of a programme remotely and then practice what they learned at home during in-person class sessions with instructors present to support and guide them. The in-person component of blended learning is spent actively practising skills and getting hands-on training from instructors. At the same time, for adult learners especially, a sense of autonomy and self-discipline over their learning experience is essential for success and equally ensuring how efficiently the instructors' time could be used. Blended learning indeed can be quite self-paced, since the learners have the option to skim through the online resource content at their own pace and have that reinforced with follow up questions in person during live meetings. Once again, the human component remains essential. The platforms used in blended learning also allow an option to collect and organise learner/ user data for better insights and to identify learning gaps. For example, a good learning management system (LMS) can always track learner engagement levels and check-ins. The option of running a discussion board or forum keeps the learners in the loop and also engaged with one another and provide peer support when fitting.
Regardless of which industry the blended learning is used in, from corporates to education, four aspects need careful revisiting and addressing to enhance the learning impact. First and foremost, content designers must ensure to get the blend right, for example, a webinar followed by a group conversation or self-paced web-based activities where the learning objectives could be followed up with live interaction with the instructor. Certainly, it depends on what goals a particular programme wants to achieve. Second, ensuring there are follow-up review sessions to improve knowledge retention which is one of the biggest issues to deal with. Retaining knowledge happens faster and more effectively when learners are dynamically engaged in their learning. So, providing formative feedback after lessons, being able to access review quizzes, online or offline Q &A sessions go a long way. At the same time, it is important to remember not to over-communicate, via social media, video calls, emails, and text. Things do get buried with new information continually flowing in, and it is important to see the connection between existing and new learning to optimise the learning outcomes and wider objectives. Thirdly, training sessions could be personalised which is again something that blended learning gives us the option to do. It is not only about the content of training offered, but also how, how much and when it is delivered. Finally, ensuring a standard process that should be able to track and measure progress. This must go beyond surveys and long questionnaire responses, and recognise the importance of creating a space for formative feedback (both ways - learners/ instructors) and tests that form part of learning which could also be assessed with measurable parameters.