Maintaining Quality in Blended Learning: From Classroom Assessment to Impact Evaluation

ELI's online seminars offer an opportunity to hear from experts around the world on a specific teaching-and-learning-with-technology-related topic. The goal of this seminar was to examine one of the blended learning focus session topics in greater depth. With the help of the ELI community's input, we selected research and quality assurance of blended learning as the topic for our first online seminar.

With more faculty members teaching in the blended learning mode, effective course design is critical to maintaining quality while incorporating both face-to-face and online components. In this online seminar, participants learned how to develop assignments that fit the learning objectives and align with the blended format of the course. In addition, participants learned how course assignments could be used to provide evidence that students are meeting program goals. Finally, we discussed the benefits of classroom-based research to evaluate the impact of technology on teaching and on students' learning. Participants learned how they could successfully accomplish scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) research and use it to improve course and program outcomes.