Students as partners in blending learning

Authors

  • Paul Alan Brett University of Wolverhampton
  • Glynis Cousin University of Wolverhampton

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47408/jldhe.v0i3.81

Keywords:

Student control, Web 2.0, social networking, diversity and widening participation, blended learning, curriculum design, new generation learners, partnerships between academics and students.

Abstract

In this paper we argue for university pedagogies to be in tune with the ways in which the present generation of students are constituted as learners through their engagement with technologies. We propose that the technical expertise and the novel modes of being which are characteristic of this generation offer radical pedagogic possibilities for growing learner engagement. In making this proposal, we suggest a reconfiguration of curriculum design in order to foreground students' expertise with technology, particularly Web 2.0. We propose that these capabilities be deployed in partnership with academics. The paper maps out the conceptual terrain and reports on the first cycle of action research projects which have been designed to trial the reconfiguration we suggest. Early findings indicate seven particular and differential ways in which students have profited from this reconfiguration, most notably through the use of peer led Facebook groups as a hub and a means of peer support. 

Author Biographies

Paul Alan Brett, University of Wolverhampton

Dr Paul Brett is Head of Blended Learning at University of Wolverhampton and a NTF. He leads a team of 5 Blended Learning Advisors, based in the Institute for Learning Enhancement. He has published extensively on the use of technology to enhance learning and was the first Chair of the Heads of e-Learning Forum (HeLF).

Glynis Cousin, University of Wolverhampton

Professor Glynis Cousin is Director of Institute for Learning Enhancement. She was previously a Senior Advisor at the Higher Education Academy and has worked in adult, community and higher education. Her recent book Researching Learning in Higher Education has just been published by Routledge.

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Published

03-04-2011

How to Cite

Brett, P. A. and Cousin, G. (2011) “Students as partners in blending learning”, Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, (3). doi: 10.47408/jldhe.v0i3.81.

Issue

No. 3 (2011)

Section

Papers

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