Before continuing, it would be useful to define the terms blended, flexible and distributed learning. See (Mason & Rennie, 2008, pg. 25)¹⁾

Blended learning makes use of multiple teaching and learning methodologies to learn in a more effective way. Everyone's learning style is different, and to expect everyone to learn adequately at the same level, with the same resources, in the same way, is unreasonable. The students mindset needs to shift from being passive recipients of the knowledge they need, to being active learners, identifying areas they are lacking and then asking the right questions to fill in those gaps.

While many teaching strategies can have the effect of knowledge transfer, some strategies are better to facilitate active learning, which is more effective than mere knowledge transfer. Knowledge transfer implies that the lecturer has the information that the student needs, and that through a passive process of attending lectures, knowledge will be created in the mind of the student. It doesn't take into account the collaborative nature of a social learning experience, which is increasingly being shown to be a more effective way to produce engaged practitioners. Teachers must accept that the strategies they choose to use in the classroom have a direct impact on the students' learning, and that some of their choices will have negative consequences.

This section is taken from a post on the Teaching Professor blog, which references Turner, P. M. (2009). Next generation course. Change (November/December), 10-16

Recommended for between 0 and 35% of the course

• to “create interest and motivation and provide assurance that students can be successful” (p. 23)
• not for the delivery of content, but for its clarification and expansion
• to model how content is acquired in the field; showing how a chemist, political scientist or philosopher approaches a research question
• for the presentation of concrete material that student can use to scaffold learning of the more difficult content

Recommended for between 30 and 60% of the course

• for acquiring the basics, so that class-time can be used for experiential learning
• for provision of low-stakes assessments like quizzes and other forms of confidence-building practice
• to chunk content so that short-term memory is less frequently overloaded
• to provide concrete learning experiences with guidance

Recommended for between 30 and 50% of the course

• get students interested in course content
• provide the opportunity to analyze, evaluate and synthesize material
• give students the chance to argue and defend new hypotheses
• “introduce academic controversies”—the kind that encourage critical thinking and let students see issues from multiple perspectives

This section of the workshop will explore how assessment practices have a direct impact on both teaching and learning strategies.

• HASTAC - Grading 2.0: Evaluation in the digital age
• Siemens' review of the HASTAC article