{"id":29,"date":"2022-09-22T18:11:56","date_gmt":"2022-09-22T17:11:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/mah\/?p=29"},"modified":"2022-09-22T18:11:58","modified_gmt":"2022-09-22T17:11:58","slug":"post-pandemic-blended-learning-embodied-and-agentic-potential","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/mah\/2022\/09\/22\/post-pandemic-blended-learning-embodied-and-agentic-potential\/","title":{"rendered":"Post-Pandemic Blended Learning: Embodied and Agentic Potential"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Image from zapp2photo – stock.adobe.com<\/strong> \u2013 Free for non-commercial use.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By Victoria Grace Walden, Senior Lecturer, Director of Learning Enhancement<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Profile<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

So often online learning is discussed as a \u2018deficit\u2019 model<\/strong> (Darabi et al 2010, 216)<\/a>. It is compared to in-person, campus teaching, which it can never be identical too, therefore it is perceived as lesser. Critical digital pedagogues<\/strong>, Maha Bali and Bard Meier (2014)<\/a>, however, argue that presumptions that online learning should look like in-person learning are informed by three (incorrect) assumptions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. \u2018that text is less personal\u2019 [than audio-visual]<\/li>
  2. \u2018that immediacy is inherently more valuable\u2019 [than asynchronous]<\/li>
  3. \u2018and that approximating face-to-face is beneficial\u2019.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    They celebrate asynchronous learning<\/strong> for the ways it promotes \u2018deeper reflection\u2019<\/strong>, during which powerful learning is happening; it is just learning that the instructor cannot see or monitor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In August 2021, I had the pleasure of attending the Digital Pedagogy Lab<\/a> , <\/strong>founded by Sean Michael Morris with threads by a variety of contributors, including Bali. Morris, Bali and colleagues run the Hybrid Pedagogy<\/a> open journal, which focuses on Critical Digital Pedagogy \u2013 heavily influenced by bell hooks<\/a>, Paulo Freire<\/a>, and Henry Giroux<\/a>. Essentially, the work of the journal emphasises the humanness at the centre of (digital) learning<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Media Education Theorist, Julian McDougall<\/a>, argues \u2018that online learning spaces can be productive \u201cthird spaces\u201d<\/strong> if they are charged with creative, productive possibilities<\/strong>, combined with an ethnographic turn in curriculum design\u2019 (2021, 2). He argues against the idea of online learning spaces providing \u2018supplementary\u2019 materials to the physical classroom (2021, 3). Instead, following thinkers like Bali, he suggests a need to think about how students\u2019 personal learning journeys<\/strong> might take shape across, through, and combining different spaces<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Another influence on McDougall\u2019s work is that of Arndt et al. (2020)<\/a>, who argue that online higher education, just as with offline, needs to be understood as relational<\/strong>, <\/em>which emphasises the ethics embedded in learning design<\/strong>. In this sense, notions of student \u2018engagement\u2019 and \u2018presence\u2019 refer to how their \u2018relational energy\u2019<\/strong> is generated through their personal learning journey<\/strong> (McDougall 2021, 25).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    As we transitioned back to on-campus teaching as the dominant form of engagement with students, I wanted to think about what I could take form my experiences of remote, online teaching during the pandemic to inform an inclusive, blended approach<\/strong> going forward. I was conscious that not all of our students would be able to be on campus for the entire term \u2013 how could I created a learning experience that was as accessible as possible to all students?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What I did<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Design your own blended learning journey<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Acknowledging that each student will create their own personal journey <\/strong>through the module, I decided to design each week with a \u2018menu\u2019 of learning options<\/strong> (some online and collaborative; some online and solo; some offline and solo; some on campus together). Each week was divided into five sections:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Challenge Yourself to Learn Something New<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n