Adapting to Online and Blended Learning in Higher Education

Higher education has undergone a massive transformation in teaching and learning in a very short period of time since the onset of Covid-19. Students, teachers and universities have had to adopt online and blended learning, often with little or no experience or models of good practice to draw upon. It is clear that blended and online learning are here to stay. This book draws on research from universities that have adopted online and blended learning to facilitate the expansion and diversification of their intake; which resulted in considerable experience and expertise in online and blended teaching. The book describes a model, tested with qualitative and quantitative data, which shows how teachers can support the retention and success of online and blended learners with four high-quality pedagogical elements: bite-sized videos of interest and relevance; learning materials that are well organised and provide a clear learning roadmap; discussion forums which are set up and moderated so as to result in lively student-student and student-teacher interaction; and, online teachers being approachable and responsive to communication with individual students through email, phone and online communication platforms. This model is explained and profusely illustrated with examples from the teaching of award-winning teachers.