[O2] Reflection as a component of a blended learning approach: encouraging engagement and re-engagement

Human Physiology is a level one undergraduate core module that is taught using a blended learning approach. Students are encouraged to direct their own learning using ‘land-mark’ lectures hosted on-line, linked to references to key resource material in textbooks, on websites and in computer software programmes. These elements constitute the base of a learning triangle, whose apex is class contact in the guise of dedicated workshops that enable staff to work alongside individual students or student groups. Reflection is viewed as both an approach and method for enhancing the quality and depth of student learning. To encourage a cycle of engagement and re-engagement, students complete a reflective diary. This is a vehicle for encouraging individual learners to think about their learning and to understand better what, how and why they learn. Reflective narratives provide an experiential window that offers an understanding of how and why students choose and use materials and resources. To determine the level of reflection, reflective statements were coded using the framework proposed by Kember et al. (1999). Students’ diaries exhibited a progression from what is little more than a description to deep reflection. Engagement and re-engagement with learning as facilitated by reflective diaries has a positive influence on assessment performance, with a significant positive correlation noted. The outcomes from this project indicate the important role played by reflection in encouraging engagement and re-engagement in a blended learning model and the positive influence that reflection can have, in terms of, the process of good quality learning, the development of appropriate learning behaviour and student performance during assessment tasks.