Blended Learning – Effect on learners
The blended learning trial at SOI required soldiers to complete SLOs on ADELE. This online learning
content consisted of factual information delivered via text and videos, as well as activities in which
the soldiers were asked to analyse a scenario and apply the doctrine. This combination of
information delivery - via multiple means and consolidation through application – is a proven
instructional methodology. Some observations that I made were as follows:
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Soldiers enjoyed the flexibility of being able to learn at their own pace. This benefit is widely
recognised (ref).
Soldiers appreciated having multiple means of information delivered (video, text, graphics etc)
as well as the flexibility to access this whenever and wherever they wanted.
Some soldiers however, did not like the content being taught online – preferring to have an
instructor deliver the theory lesson. This is a common finding among civilian institutions, both
Vocational and Tertiary, as well. Importantly, like the civilian sector, Army must not assume all
soldiers will be self-directed or self-regulated. Like the civilian sector, many learners oppose the
online learning content preferring the passive, spoon-fed, traditional approach. This is due to the
fact that the online environment requires more effort from the soldiers than past learning
experiences.
Another important observation is that soldiers must come to see mistakes as opportunities to learn.
Within the learning environment, the ‘fear of mistake’ culture that the Army has developed must be
broken as it’s one of the biggest impediments learners face. Instead, seeing mistakes as
opportunities to learn, demonstrate a self-regulated and mature approach.
The change in learning mindset required of our soldiers will be evidenced by a shift from “I have to
be on course to gain this proficiency…” to “I get the opportunity to be on course to gain this
proficiency…”
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Change our learning mindset from “I have to be on cse….to I get the opportunity to be on cse to
…”
How to we change this mindset (self-motivation): Consequences (give a vision; have success
seekers not failure avoiders); Competent (make soldiers feel competent/they will want to do it);
Choice (when you perceive choice, you perceive motivation); and community (we all need each
other – we must be inter-dependant/we learn more from each other than on our own)
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Students require a very high level of self-motivation, organisational skills and independent
learning which is often unfamiliar to students used to traditional face-to-face teaching and
learning environments (Partridge et al., 2011, p. 5). This study supports this as students were
concerned about self-motivation, remembering to do course tasks and technical issues as well as
potential lack of direction and additional workload (From Wanner & Palmer)
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By familiarising students with the preparatory tools and resources to facilitate learning through
the prerecorded lectures, screencasts, videos, or reading material class is freed up for mastery
exercises (Bergman and Sams 2014). The DN students then engage in authentic and engaging
simulation-based practice sessions. Simulation scenarios create opportunities for students to
apply and practice the knowledge gained from preparatory learning materials in a collaborative
and supportive setting (Gaba 2007). Simulation sessions also have the capacity to enhance
learner’s psychomotor, communication, teamwork and critical thinking skills (Lapkin et al 2010).
These practice based learning simulations are designed to emphasise a problem solving, critical
thinking, evidence based and reflective approach to nursing practice (Allen 2013) by drawing
upon a theoretical frame of clinical reasoning
However, self-directed and self-regulated learners and ‘flexible students’ are not a given as not
every student is ready for, and open to, more personalised and self-regulated learning and the shift
from passive, spoon-fed to active, collaborative learning
students overall enjoy and want a more personalised learning approach through the flipped
classroom and flexible assessment. It also shows quite strongly that many students are undecided
about the merits of many facets of personalised, flexible learning and it remains to be seen where
their opinions settle.
students want their personalised learning not only in the form of online activities, but predominantly
through interactive, collaborative, well-structured learning activities in a face-to-face environment
It is clear from the findings that students liked the face-to-face interaction in the tutorials.
Students require a very high level of self-motivation, organisational skills and independent learning
which is often unfamiliar to students used to traditional face-to-face teaching and learning
environments (Partridge et al., 2011, p. 5). This study supports this as students were concerned
about self-motivation, remembering to do course tasks and technical issues as well as potential lack
of direction and additional workload
Wanner & Palmer 2015
The flipped classroom Flipping the nursing curriculum Dalton, Lee et al, Date…
The flipped-classroom approach is an effective way of radically transforming education to produce
ENs who are flexible and well-equipped to practice in dynamic health care environments (Missidline
et al 2013). The ‘flipped classroom’ exposes learners to new theoretical content prior to them
attending face-to-face classes (Bergman and Sams 2014). This new learning is then discussed,
applied and processed in guided group learning sessions (Benitez 2014). The notion of a flipped
classroom draws on constructivist learning theories and concepts such as active learning and student
engagement (Bergmann and Sams 2014; Hawk 2014). Educators who use a flipped classroom
approach devote much of the “face-to face” contact time to small group and class brainstorming,
peer review and other epistemological processes such as wondering, critiquing, collaboration,
visualisation and connection making (Ryan 2013). Students learn how to learn instead of relying on
content heavy didactic approaches that encourage passive transference of knowledge (Allen 2013).
There is emerging evidence that the flipped classroom pedagogical approach has the potential to
bring about a distinctive shift in priorities in nursing programs from merely covering material to
working towards mastery (Hawk 2014). It is suggested that flipped classrooms promote student
empowerment and create opportunities to develop the skills required for the 21st century such as
critical thinking, creativity, and communication (Ryan 2013)
Simulation based practice sessions
By familiarising students with the preparatory tools and resources to facilitate learning through the
prerecorded lectures, screencasts, videos, or reading material class is freed up for mastery exercises
(Bergman and Sams 2014). The DN students then engage in authentic and engaging simulationbased practice sessions. Simulation scenarios create opportunities for students to apply and practice
the knowledge gained from preparatory learning materials in a collaborative and supportive setting
(Gaba 2007). Simulation sessions also have the capacity to enhance learner’s psychomotor,
communication, teamwork and critical thinking skills (Lapkin et al 2010). These practice based
learning simulations are designed to emphasise a problem solving, critical thinking, evidence based
and reflective approach to nursing practice (Allen 2013) by drawing upon a theoretical frame of
clinical reasoning
because the learning environment required more effort from participants than had past learning
experiences, and necessarily included their having to wrestle with uncertainty in the absence of
authoritative instruction, some identified the additional effort required as a significant source of
resistance to active learning