Experts speaking:
Crucial teacher attributes for implementing blended learning in higher
education
Abstract
While blended learning in higher
education is valued for various reasons such as addressing students’ needs for
flexibility, blended learning implementation remains a challenging process. Because
the teacher lies at the heart of any educational change process, the current
qualitative study investigates crucial teacher attributes for blended learning implementation
from the perspective of experts. Experts can analyze deep structures of complex
organizational problems and hold process knowledge that can generate practical effect.
Twelve expert interviews are conducted and reveal two groups of blended learning
teacher attributes: seven adaptive attributes such as realizing a pedagogical
need for change or creatively connecting technologies to learning processes, and
four maladaptive attributes such as a need for a clear understanding of blended
learning or feeling anxious about (the implications of) technology. This study utilizes
a holistic approach to identify related teacher attributes that critically
influence the implementation of blended learning in higher education.
Keywords
Blended learning, Expert interviews, Higher
education, Teacher attributes, Teacher change
Highlights
- Two sets of related teacher attributes critically influence blended learning implementation in higher education.
- Implementation of blended learning starts with realizing a pedagogical need for change.
- Being able to creatively connect technologies to learning processes is essential.
- A clear understanding of the pedagogical concept blended learning is a prerequisite.
- Though challenging, expert interviews reveal rich process knowledge that has the power to produce practical effect.