Using a Blended Model to Improve Delivery of Teacher Education Curriculum in Global Settings

Abstract

This chapter describes how teacher educators have used a blended approach, online and traditional delivery, to structure course content for its international master’s program. The authors discuss challenges they had to overcome, lessons learned, and students’ reflections upon the blended approach.

Assessing the impacts of ICT deployment in teaching and learning in higher education

“…They use internet to search for resources and are often times ahead of the lecturer, they teach lecturers to use some software and contribute greatly in class. Confirming some of the students' responses, Wright et al (2007) describe ICTs as giving opportunities for students to explore, discover, create, communicate effectively and freely with instructors, complete and receive assignments and feedback online, initiate and participate in online discussions. These are what Wagner et al (2005) refer to as students' impact among which are higher literacy, better jobs, higher income, higher life satisfaction, connection to global economy and socio-economic change.…”

“…A confirmation on this could be made through the concluding words of Wright et al (2007) in a study assessing how blended model improves teacher's delivery of education curriculum. Concluding on the problems encountered by both teachers and students in the blended model, they resolved through Murphy's Law dictum thus; "[…] 'Anything that can go wrong will!'…”

“…Abolade and Yusuf also supported this by highlighting as part of the factors militating against effective ICT integration in Nigerian higher education to include lack of technically experienced lecturers, inadequate course content for ICT training, lack of clear direction in the Nigerian National Policy for Information Technology (NNPIT) on teacher education, lack of leadership by professional organizations, limited ICT facilities and infrastructure and problem of electricity. Similarly, Wright et al (2007) and Hanna (2002) identified access and connection speed as challenges confronting higher education with the increasing demand for ICTs in teaching and learning. Other challenges as given by Hatch et al (2005), and Guthrie and Carlin (2004) are lack of access to computers and software, insufficient time to plan instruction, inadequate technical and administrative support.…”