The benefits of blended courses
Benefits for Professors
- Positive experience and attitude of their students towards technology-mediated teaching and learning;
- Affinity with different styles of learning;
- Improvement of learning outcomes and increase of the quality of interaction between students and professors;
- Schedule flexibility and more time to reflect in online discussions;
- More dynamic and interactive learning environment which results in a higher level of engagement;
- Highlight on the importance of instructional design for optimal learning outcomes;
- Redesign of teaching and learning approaches in ways that realize increased efficiency and convenience;
- Better ways to address the multiple needs of learners and learning styles;
- Strong pedagogical foundation for engaged and sustained learning.
Benefits for Students
- Collaborative learning: possibility to discuss online and face-to-face with classmates, TAs and Professors;
- Environments more stimulating and dynamic;
- Flexible access to course material (time and place);
- Learn at their own pace;
- Help to overcome the sense of isolation many students feel when doing fully online courses;
- Reduction of costs for students by decreasing travel expenses, etc.;
- Better results: statistics demonstrate that students score higher in blended courses than they do in lecture-based courses, and in fully online courses.