To Blend or Not to Blend, That is the Question

         MacKenzie Crist, PGY1 Resident, University of Maryland Medical Center

         Blended learning has become a new “hot topic” in the academia world. Essentially, blended learning or flipped classroom includes mixing activities for students to individually complete at home with normal didactic lectures.¹ This teaching style has become increasingly prevalent with data supporting the role for blending learning in the classroom. Blended learning is taking center stage due to the ability of incorporating self-learning with typical didactic criteria in teaching students. This type of learning also allows students to review material outside of class multiple times to enforce mastery of the subject.

On the other hand, blended classrooms can be a burden on students with extra out-of-classroom material being included in an already overwhelming pharmacy curriculum. As more professors utilize flipped classrooms, students will have to complete more work at home. Sometimes, teachers from different courses don’t realize how much they are burdening the students with work because they fail to coordinate how much out of classroom work the students are overall receiving. Some students will go as far as skipping class if they have not reviewed the material required prior to class time due to spending time on other academic activities.

Guidelines and Best Practices

Kahanova and colleagues recognized a deficiency in guidelines for professors wishing to utilize flipped classrooms and attempted to create a resource for teachers.¹ This study looked at mid-point and final evaluations of 10 flipped courses over the span of two years.¹ Using a coding system, the researchers determined which factors were recurring throughout these evaluations.¹ The recurring themes that were brought up in student evaluations included: advantages of blended learning along with concerns about implementation, benefits of pre-class learning and factors that can negate the benefits, the role of the instructor for ensuring the flipped classroom activities are successful, and the need for assessments that coincide with what was taught during the blended lesson.¹ Overall, this study gives a good guideline of what professors should consider when including flipped classrooms in their curriculum and how to ensure this flipped classroom will be beneficial for everyone, teachers and learners, involved.

          Another study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Pharmacy, looked at blended learning in depth and recorded answers of student’s perception of flipped classrooms.² This study took a group of P1, P2, and P3 students who were to give feedback on blended learning.² The major findings of this study were the answers to what that professors should have in place if one desires to utilize a blended classroom. The study listed factors as best practices for those who may want to include blended classrooms in their curriculum. The best practices listed from this study were: setting the stage, consistency with team teaching, timeliness, time on task, structured active learning, faculty feedback on student preparation, incorporating student feedback, reviewing online material during the class, and utilizing technology.² These characteristics help a course coordinator set up a blended learning environment for success. As a recent pharmacy student, I agree with most these best practices. It is important to outline to students what is expected and how much time the activity will take. During pharmacy school, time management was difficult as many classes would pull you in opposite directions and rotations had many assignments in addition to didactic courses. Having these parameters in place will facilitate the best learning environment for student success in flipped classrooms.

          Overall, blended learning has revolutionized how material is delivered to learners. This type of classroom allows the learner to supplement didactic material with online modules. There are many advantages and disadvantages to blended classrooms. It is important for the professors to have these benefits and pitfalls in mind while designing a flipped classroom activity.

           

References:

1.    Khanova J, Roth MT, Rodgers JE, et al. Student experiences across multiple flipped courses in a single curriculum. Med Educ. 2015 Oct;49(10):1038-48. 

Available from: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.proxy-hs.researchport.umd.edu/doi/10.1111/medu.12807/abstract;jsessionid=B686165E3CF7BE8E19F9BBDD0267B880.f04t02

2.    Margolis AR, Porter AL, and Pitterle ME. Best Practices for Use of Blended Learning. Am J Pharm Educ. 2017;81(3):Article 49.

Available from: http://www.ajpe.org/doi/full/10.5688/ajpe81349