STUDENTS ATTITUDES TOWARD BLENDED TEACHING AMONG STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALCUTTA

The subject of my research is to investigate the students attitudes towards blended teaching among students of the University of Calcutta. The three purposes for which I have studied are –1.To study the attitude of Calcutta University students towards Blended Teaching. 2. To study the difference in attitude of Calcutta University students towards Blended Teaching with regard to gender. 3.To study the difference in attitude of Calcutta University students towards Blended Teaching with regard to locality. The quantitative research method has been used for the study. The results I obtained through the self- constructed attitude scale are –There is no significant difference in attitude towards Blended Teaching between male and female students of Calcutta University. And there is no significant difference in attitude towards Blended Teaching between rural and urban students of Calcutta University.Most of the students think that the Blended Teaching method can be acceptable to the students of College and University. Most of the students think that it will be benefited to the students if some syllabus is taught in Online Mode and some is taught in Offline Mode. Most of the students think that the students will be benefited by Blended Teaching method. Most of the

The subject of my research is to investigate the students attitudes towards blended teaching among students of the University of Calcutta. The three purposes for which I have studied are -1.To study the attitude of Calcutta University students towards Blended Teaching. 2. To study the difference in attitude of Calcutta University students towards Blended Teaching with regard to gender. 3.To study the difference in attitude of Calcutta University students towards Blended Teaching with regard to locality. The quantitative research method has been used for the study. The results I obtained through the self-constructed attitude scale are -There is no significant difference in attitude towards Blended Teaching between male and female students of Calcutta University. And there is no significant difference in attitude towards Blended Teaching between rural and urban students of Calcutta University.Most of the students think that the Blended Teaching method can be acceptable to the students of College and University. Most of the students think that it will be benefited to the students if some syllabus is taught in Online Mode and some is taught in Offline Mode. Most of the students think that the students will be benefited by Blended Teaching method. Most of the students think that Blended Teaching method will benefit the teachers in teaching. Most of the students think that Blended Teaching will improve the learning of the students. Most of the students think that the Blended Teaching method will make the learning environment and teaching more flexible. Some students think that many students will face with difficulties in Blended Teaching. Some students think that only the Offline Teaching is more effective than Blended Teaching in Higher Education.

Introduction:-
Blended Teaching means the combination of Online and Offline Mode in teaching. That is, if some part of a syllabus is taught in Online Mode and if some part is taught in Offline Mode, it is called Blended Teaching. Blended teaching is an educational approach that combines teaching with the participation of a teacher (face to face) and online teaching. Blended teaching involves the elements of self-control by the student of the educational route, time, place and pace of learning, as well as the integration of learning experience with ISSN: 2320-5407 Int. J. Adv. Res. 9(07), 267-274 268 the teacher and online. In the blended teaching process, online learning and teacher-related learning are equally important. The online teaching provides the students an opportunity to control the pace, time, place and path of learning. It helps to develop the planning skills, self-control and self-regulation, and also gives freedom.
This pedagogical approach means a mixture of face-to-face and online activities and the integration of synchronous and asynchronous learning tools, thus providing an optimal possibility for the arrangement of effective learning processes. Blended learning is the term given to the educational practice of combining digital learning tools with more traditional classroom face to face teaching (UGC, 2021). The flipped classroom model is a similar program that aims to utilise technology in order to rearrange the learning experience and maximise the effectiveness of valuable face to face time in the classroom. In a flipped classroom programme, students would be encouraged to access digital learning materials via a cloud-based learning platform during their own time ( UGC, 2021).

Research Objectives Of The Study:
1. To study the attitude of Calcutta University students towards Blended Teaching. 2. To study the difference in attitude of Calcutta University students towards BlendedTeaching with regard to gender. 3. To study the difference in attitude of Calcutta University students towards Blended Teaching with regard to locality.

Hypothesis:
Ho1: There is no significant difference in attitude towards Blended Teaching between male and female students of Calcutta University. Ho2: There is no significant difference in attitude towards Blended Teaching between rural and urban students of Calcutta University.

Operational Definitions: • Blended Teaching :
Blended Teaching means the combination of Online and Offline Mode in teaching. That is, if some part of a syllabus is taught in Online Mode and if some part is taught in Offline Mode, it is called Blended Teaching.

• Blended Learning :
Blended Learning is a combination of face to face teaching and digital learning. Oxford Dictionary Definition Of Blended Learning: A style of education in which students learn via electronic and online media as well as traditional face-to-face teaching.

• Flipped Classroom :
Flipped classroom is an instructional strategy and a type of blended learning that reverses the traditional educational arrangement by delivering instructional content, often online, outside of the classroom. It moves activities, including those that may have traditionally been considered homework, into the classroom. In a flipped classroom, students watch online lectures, collaborate in online discussions, or carry out research at home and engage in concepts in the classroom with the guidance of the instructor. (Abeysekera& Dawson, 2015).

• Online Learning :
Online learning is a kind of learning that is undertaken on a computer by means of the Internet ( Department of Education, US) . According to Benson & Conrad (2002) -" Online learning is described by most authors as access to learning experiences via the use of some technology."

• Traditional Classroom :
A traditional classroom isa kind of classroom where a teacher moderates and regulates the flow of information and knowledge. Students are expected to continue developing their knowledge of a subject outside of school through homework exercises. Here, students" main resource is their instructor who only teaches them face-to-face ( Tophat).

Methodology:-
A brief description of the methodology of the study has been presented below:

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Research Design : Quantitative research method has been used for the students attitudes toward blended teaching among students of the University of Calcutta.

Tools :
A self-constructed attitude scale was developed and applied for collecting the relevant data. Content validity is done during initial stages of tool development. The main method to assess content validity is through expert judgment. For content validity researcher requested three experts to review the questionnaire and assess each item based on 4 criteria including relevancy, clarity, simplicity and necessity. Students were supposed to rate the agree level by using the four level Likert Scale (1strongly disagree; 2disagree; 3agree, 4strongly agree).

Population :
The population of the study is noticed in all the students of Calcutta University.

Sample :
The total number of sample is 105 Calcutta University students.

Sampling Techniques :
The study can be followed by Probability sampling -Simple Random Sampling Technique.

Delimitation of the Study :
The major limitations of the study are: 1. This research will be conducted with 105 numbers of Calcutta university students.
2. This research is delimited with in the area in the University of Calcutta. 3. This research will be conducted with these variables Attitude, Gender and Area.

Significance of the Study :
1. This research can be applied to know the attitude of Calcutta University students regarding Blended Teaching.
2. This study can be applied to know the attitude of rural Calcutta University students regarding Blended Teaching. 3. This study can be applied to know the attitude of urban Calcutta University students regarding Blended Teaching. 4. This study can be applied to know the attitude of male Calcutta University students regarding Blended Teaching. 5. This study can be applied to know the attitude of female Calcutta University students regarding Blended Teaching.
270 Data Analysis: Figure 1:-Distribution of samples : Gender basis.  Whereas, the present t-value is 1.41 , which does not exceed the table value of "t' at both levels of the significance. The hypothesis " Ho1: There is no significant difference in attitude towards Blended Teaching between male and female students of Calcutta University." is accepted. Whereas, the present t-value is 0.33 , which does not exceed the table value of "t' at both levels of significance. The hypothesis " Ho2: There is no significant difference in attitude towards Blended Teaching between rural and urban students of Calcutta University." is accepted.

Figure 3:-Graphical representation of mean scores of Male & Female and Rural & Urban students.
Interpretation And Discussion:-1. 26.7% of students are Strongly Agree, 61.9% of students are Agree, 9.5% of students are Disagree and 1.9% of students are Strongly Disagree with the thought that the Blended Teaching can be acceptable for the college and university students. 2. 20% of students are Strongly Agree, 59% of students are Agree, 16.2% of students are Disagree and 4.8% of students are Strongly Disagree with the thought that the college and university students will be benefited if some syllabus is taught in online mode and some syllabus is taught in offline mode. 3. 23.8% of students are Strongly Agree, 61% of students are Agree, 12.4% of students are Disagree and 2.8% of students are Strongly Disagree with the thought that the students will be benefited in Blended Teaching method. 4. 18.1% of students are Strongly Agree, 68.6% of students are Agree, 10.5% of students are Disagree and 2.8% of students are Strongly Disagree with the thought that the teachers in teaching will be benefited byBlended Teaching method. 5. 10.5% of students are Strongly Agree, 21% of students are Agree, 62.9% of students are Disagree and 5.7% of students are Strongly Disagree with the thought that the Blended teaching method will reduce the interest of students in reading. 6. 22.9% of students are Strongly Agree, 70.5% of students are Agree, 3.8% of students are Disagree and 2.8% of students are Strongly Disagree with the thought that the Blended Teaching method will give students more time for self-study and continuous learning. 7. 12.4% of students are Strongly Agree, 59% of students are Agree, 27.6% of students are Disagree and 1% of students are Strongly Disagree with the thought that the Blended Teaching method will increase the engagement of the students. 8. 11.4% of students are Strongly Agree, 58.1% of students are Agree, 25.7% of students are Disagree and 4.8% of students are Strongly Disagree with the thought that the Blended Teaching method will increase the interaction between teacher and student. 9. 9.5% of students are Strongly Agree, 72.4% of students are Agree, 15.2% of students are Disagree and 2.9% of students are Strongly Disagree with the thought that the Blended Teaching method will provide students more flexibility in learning.
273 10. 17.1% of students are Strongly Agree, 52.4% of students are Agree, 25.7% of students are Disagree and 4.8% of students are Strongly Disagree with the thought that the most of the students will face with difficulties in Blended Teaching. 11. 21% of students are Strongly Agree, 58.1% of students are Agree, 16.2% of students are Disagree and 4.7% of students are Strongly Disagree with the thought that the Blended Teaching approach will improve students" learning. 12. 11.4% of students are Strongly Agree, 59% of students are Agree, 25.7% of students are Disagree and 3.9% of students are Strongly Disagree with the thought that the Blended Teaching method will increase the reputation of the institution. 13. 9.5% of students are Strongly Agree, 70.5% of students are Agree, 17.1% of students are Disagree and 3.9% of students are Strongly Disagree with the thought that the Blended Teaching method will make the learning environment and learning more flexible. 14. 9.5% of students are Strongly Agree, 67.6% of students are Agree, 18.1% of students are Disagree and 4.8% of students are Strongly Disagree with the thought that Blended teaching method brings a great opportunity for the experimental learning of the students. 15. 21.9% of students are Strongly Agree, 31.4% of students are Agree, 43.8% of students are Disagree and 2.8% of students are Strongly Disagree with the thought that only the Offline Teaching is more effective than Blended Teaching in higher education. 16. 15.2% of students are Strongly Agree, 64.8% of students are Agree, 18.1% of students are Disagree and 1.9% of students are Strongly Disagree with the thought that the Blended teaching method will help the students to increase their learning skills. 17. 19% of students are Strongly Agree, 59% of students are Agree, 21% of students are Disagree and 1% of students are Strongly Disagree with the thought that the Blended Teaching method will help the students to develop larger information. 18. 11.4% of students are Strongly Agree, 69.5% of students are Agree, 17.1% of students are Disagree and 2% of students are Strongly Disagree with the thought that the Blended Teaching method will help the students to become virtual citizens. 19. 29.5% of students are Strongly Agree, 65.5% of students are Agree, 3.8% of students are Disagree and 1% of students are Strongly Disagree with the thought that the Blended Teaching method will help the students to increase their computer literacy. 20. 4.8% of students are Strongly Agree, 29.5% of students are Agree, 59% of students are Disagree and 6.7% of students are Strongly Disagree with the thought that the Blended teaching method will make obstacle against the socialization of the students.

Conclusion:-
Judging from all aspects, there is no significant difference in attitude towards Blended Teaching between male and female students of Calcutta University. And there is no significant difference in attitude towards Blended Teaching between rural and urban students of Calcutta University. Most of the students think that the Blended Teaching method can be acceptable to the students of College and University. And most of the students think that it will be benefited to the students if some syllabus is taught in Online Mode and some is taught in Offline Mode. Most of the students think that the students will be benefited by Blended Teaching method. Most of students think that Blended Teaching method will benefit teachers in teaching. Most of students think that Blended Teaching method will provide more time to the students for self-study and continuous learning.Most of the students think that Blended Teaching will improve the learning of the students. Most of the students think that the Blended Teaching method will make the learning environment and teaching more flexible. Most of students think that the Blended Teaching method will help the students to increase their computer literacy.Some students think that many students will face with difficulties in Blended Teaching.Some students think that only the Offline Teaching is more effective than Blended Teaching in Higher Education.