The Blended Course Design Workbook: A Practical Guide

by Kathryn E. Linder

Blended (also called hybrid) classrooms, in which face-to-face interaction is intentionally combined with online activities to aid student learning, are becoming more and more common. Most recently, “flipped” classrooms have become a popular method for teaching because more time for active learning in-class can be gained by moving content delivery such as lecture to outside-of-class homework using technology tools such as video or lecture capture. The blended model is proving to be an environment that provides more self-directed, technology-mediated learning experiences for students who will be incorporating technology more and more into their professional lives post-college.The Blended Course Design Workbook meets the need for a user-friendly resource that provides faculty members and administrators with instructions, activities, tools, templates, and deadlines to guide them through the process of revising their traditional face-to-face course into a blended format. Providing a step-by-step course design process that emphasizes active learning and student engagement, this book will help instructors adapt traditional face-to-face courses to a blended environment by guiding them through the development of course goals and learning objectives, assignments, assessments, and student support mechanisms with technology integration in mind. It will also help instructors choose the right technologies based on an instructor’s comfort level with technology and their specific pedagogical needs. The book will help each instructor who uses the text to develop a unique course by making choices about their course design based on student learning needs for their chosen topic and discipline. Every component of the workbook has been piloted with faculty designing and implementing blended courses and then revised to better meet the needs of faculty across a range of comfort levels with technology use.The Blended Course Design Workbook includes detailed instructions for each stage of course design alongside specific activities that the reader can complete. The book is unique because it facilitates a step-by-step process for blended course design with specific templates and tools that can be used across disciplines.

Genres: Teaching, Education, Nonfiction

224 pages, Paperback

Published November 8, 2016

About the author

Dr. Kathryn (Katie) Linder is the Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Innovation and Strategy at the University of Colorado Denver. She earned her BA in English Literature from Whitworth University in Spokane, WA, and her MA and PhD in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from The Ohio State University.

Reviews

[Hope Nordstrom · Rating 5 out of 5]

This workbook was exactly what I needed for a blended learning Faculty Learning Community. The templates provided throughout the book along with the resources provided online are added bonuses to walk you through designing a blended course. We plan on using this book to plan out a blended course design/redesign institute.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book as part of a faculty development group and picked up a lot of great ideas to consider when converting my in-class courses into blended courses. I highly recommend the book for faculty who are transitioning their face-to-face courses into blended courses. The book has ancillary files one can download to use as they make the move to blended courses. There are a number of files one can use to assist in course development along with checklists provide near the end of the book. Ideally, one should work through the chapters on a weekly basis as they prep future courses, which I am hoping to do. Thus, to really put this workbook to work, one should set aside time to work through each chapter on a weekly basis (and maybe more time per chapter). One idea suggested by the group I worked with is to sponsor a faculty development workshop for each chapter as some chapters may be more relevant for faculty compared to other chapters.

[Lisa Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a practical guide with questions, checklists, and well researched suggestions for setting up a blended course. It could also work for a fully online course, too. If one works through it like a workbook, the course would be ready to go by the end of the process. I think this is an excellent pedagogical resource.

[Kehaines · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well laid out, with concrete steps to take to align your course with your learning objectives. Also gives lots of practical advice for teaching online and supporting students both in person and online. I especially like all the tables and check-lists to fill out, they appeal to my OCD nature.