When Is Blended Learning the Appropriate Method?

I've been taking a PERCIPIO course to improve my creative writing skills. The course consists of a series of brief video courses followed by activities that allow me to put what I've just learned into practice. It is self-directed, convenient, and simply enjoyable.

Why shouldn't every learning experience be like this? I've pondered this question after completing the course. Why would anybody bring themselves to a classroom with a monotonous lecturer when they could study at home at their own pace? This is proper education!

However, a visit to my dental hygienist caused me to reconsider my position. As she scraped my gums, she informed me about a course she was attending to get trained in the latest torture laser technology and procedures. She is doing multiple hours of eLearning and attending clinics to pass the course. Additionally, she must pass a written test and get certification from an instructor who will watch her technique as she uses the device. As a patient, I must say I feel a great deal better knowing that she has had much training and practice before probing my lips with a lightsaber.

Imagine if she had told me she was learning how to utilize this new laser technology by only viewing a few videos, with no practice and no professional input. Simply her improvising... with a laser... in my mouth.

Advantages of Blended Learning

The benefit of employing a basic, self-directed method to study creative writing is evident: it is liberating to learn subjects whenever and wherever I want. No one is monitoring or overseeing my job. Self-direction is appropriate for this subject since the repercussions of failing a creative writing project are minimal.

But if I had been attempting to learn a higher-risk skill, such as how to laser people's gums, I would have likely felt frustrated, intimidated, and unsupported if I had relied solely on a self-directed approach, without any guidance or feedback from an instructor or peers, despite having a solid foundation of prior knowledge.

My dental hygienist's integrated learning technique makes much more sense in this context. By using independent study activities (such as eLearning), she is able to study at her own speed. In addition, the hands-on clinics allow her to practise and get feedback on her real performance, which makes her feel encouraged. This combination of autonomy and assistance may make blended learning an effective technique for promoting learning and performance results.

So, how can you determine whether a hybrid approach is the best course of action? Here are a few considerations:

• Are you tackling a significant performance deficiency? Imagine that your factory recently received a citation for safety breaches after a worker was hurt in an avoidable forklift accident. Not only do you have a high-risk, high-visibility safety issue, but you also have a crucial performance gap you must solve immediately.
• Taking a blended approach to this difficulty might include a combination of films or e-learning to raise awareness, hands-on practice and focused feedback to assist in developing skills, and continuous coaching, refresher training, or other periodic interventions to promote a sustained emphasis on safety. Such a detailed answer could help and empower your learners and show regulators that you are more committed than ever to operational rigor.
• Are you attempting to improve your students in a variety of domains and assist them in growing their talents over time? In today's competitive job landscape, many firms place a strong focus on recruiting and training future leaders. But it takes time to acquire all the complex actions that make a skillful and successful leader.
• Using a mixed method is a logical match when attempting to help learners as they assume new, more complicated, and demanding positions in the organization. Blended learning involves looking at different training options that work well together and give learners the time and space to try things out and learn from their mistakes.
• A hybrid approach for future leaders might include mentorship and work shadowing with existing leaders, as well as more organized treatments such as online and instructor-led courses tailored to enhance essential abilities.
• Is it a subject on which you've previously instructed them? Occasionally, new training initiatives arise from an existing training need that was never completely acknowledged or appropriately handled. Perhaps you have provided your sales force with a strong e-learning curriculum on selling skills, but an examination of key performance indicators (KPIs) reveals that they are not particularly effective at completing the transaction. This evidence may indicate that a mixed strategy, such as e-learning as pre-work for a guided classroom experience and more regular spot-coaching from managers, may be a more effective method to reduce this performance gap and enhance sales.