Blended Learning in Higher Education HT24

CLS901-1: 12, 19, 26 September; 3, 10, 17, 24 October, 9:00-12:00; (optional course intro 5 September, 9:00-10:00) [TimeEdit]

Use the following Promotion Code on the next page to enroll in the course: DIPLOMA

Enrolment opens at noon May 2nd.

Course syllabus for CLS901 - Blended Learning in Higher Education 

Syllabus adopted 2022-08-22 by Jens Kabo, Diploma coordinator, EER, CLS 

2,5 Credits 

Grading: Satisfactory/not satisfactory 

Education cycle: second-cycle 

Department: 62 – Communication and learning in science 

Teaching language 
English 

Examiner 
Christian Stöhr 

Eligibility 
Bachelor´s degree, 180 higher education credits or equivalent + B2 CEFR in English (https://www.coe.int/en/web/portfolio/self-assessment-grid) 

Our main target group is lecturers at Chalmers. The course is not open to doctoral students. The course is free to Chalmers employees. Lecturers outside Chalmers are welcome to apply but their institution must meet the course fees. These are SEK 1,500 per higher education credit point. Enrolment for external participants and guest researchers opens six weeks after enrolment opens for Chalmers employees.

Course specific prerequisites 
There are no formal prerequisites. If you are working toward the Diploma in Teaching and Learning of Higher Education then it is recommended that you complete:

• University Teaching and Learning, 3hec, CLS926 (alternatively GFOK020/1 Teaching, Learning and Evaluation, 3hec) 

Aim

The course aims to help participants to: 

• gain knowledge and practical skills in designing, building and giving courses that include blended learning and active learning, and 
• identify opportunities to include blended learning and active learning in new or existing courses.

Intended Learning Outcomes 

After completion of the course the participant will be better able to:

1. Plan learning activity sequences
2. Write, record, edit and share presentations (videos) for asynchronous student-paced learning activities
3. Write and implement quiz questions for formative self-assessment 
4. Plan and implement active learning activities for in-class sessions 
5. Plan and deliver online assessments

Content 

The course has a strong focus on establishing practical skills but will also discuss research and theory. Among other things, the course addresses the following topics:

• Instructional design models, e.g. Bloom’s Taxonomy, First Principles of Instruction and Constructive Alignment in the context of online and blended learning

• Flipped Classrooms  
• Mayer’s principles for multimedia 
• Creating presentations for student-paced learning, i.e. instructional videos
• Recording, editing and sharing instructional videos
• Writing and implementing quiz questions in Canvas 
• Active learning
• Alternative forms of assessments
• Online tools for assessments

During the course, there will be plenty of opportunity for discussion and reflection about how to approach blended learning and active learning. Note that the course puts less focus on how to manage Chalmers learning platform Canvas, but rather points at other Chalmers resources which address those topics in more depth. 

Organisation 

The course is based on a shorter course introduction and seven workshops of 3 hours with individual or group assignments to be done during and between workshops. In addition, there are online resources for participants to prepare for the workshops: 

Course hours: 

Workshops: 21hrs 

Assignments: 32hrs 

Reading/preparations: 14hrs

Sum: 67hrs

The course is an elective course. The course may be included within the Diploma in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (15 credits).

Literature 

• Teaching and Learning STEM: A Practical Guide by Richard M. Felder and Rebecca Brent, Jossey-Bass 2016. Available as Ebook through Chalmers library.
• First Principles of Instruction by M. David Merrill, Pfeiffer Wiley 2012.
• Multimedia Learning by Richard E. Mayer, Cambridge University Press 2020.

Examination 

Participants are expected to complete and submit the following:

• Attendance and assignments for creating samples of blended learning and active learning
• Select a lecture sample to design and develop for blended learning
• Create a plan for a blended learning course segment
• Write, record, edit and share an instructional presentation
• Write and implement quiz questions
• Plan and implement an active learning session
• Create an assessment plan