PhD Program's "blended" delivery model best for student learning
We knew it, now they confirmed it!!!!
A new report by the U.S. Department of Education endorses blended learning formats -those that combine elements of online learning and face-to-face instruction. With its quarterly residencies and vibrant online inter-residency learning community, this blended format is one of the hallmarks of Antioch University's PhD in Leadership and Change Program!
According to a new Department of Education meta-analysis released Friday, June 26, 2009, students in blended instructional formats performed the best of all learners. The positive results appeared consistent (and statistically significant) for all types of higher education, undergraduate and graduate, across a range of disciplines, the study said.
A meta-analysis is one that takes all of the existing studies and looks at them for patterns and conclusions that can be drawn from the accumulation of evidence. The Education Department report said that it had identified more than 1,000 empirical studies of online learning (published from 1996 through July 2008). For its conclusions, however, the Education Department considered only a small number (51) of studies that met strict criteria. They had to contrast an online teaching experience to a face-to-face situation, measure student learning outcomes, use a "rigorous research design," and provide adequate information to calculate the differences.
While the report provides a strong endorsement of online learning, it notably attributes much of the success not to technology but to time. "Studies in which learners in the online condition spent more time on task than students in the face-to-face condition found a greater benefit for online learning," the report says. It was the combination of time spent, curriculum and pedagogy (which was likely to have included additional learning time and materials as well as additional opportunities for collaboration) that produced the observed learning advantages.
The report concludes, using technology to give students "control of their interactions" has a positive effect on student learning. The report notes that efforts that trigger learner activity or learner reflection and self-monitoring of understanding are effective when students pursue online learning as individuals.
Antioch PhD in Leadership & Change combines online learning with face-to-face residencies. We encourage learning reflection and peer collaboration using technology to support studentsí active engagement. With our high retention and graduation rates (75% graduation rate in first several cohorts, compared to a national average of 50% or less), we must be doing something right!
For more information about the PhD in Leadership & Change Program, please contact us at admission@phd.antioch.edu or call 1-877-800-9466.
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