ISSN: 2222-6990
Open access
Technology has grown by leaps and bounds, penetrating every stratum of society, industry and government. As much as technology has assisted mankind in her endeavours to progress, it is no doubt that technology has brought ‘new wine into an old wineskin”, bearing fruits of efficiency in every sector of life. Hinssen (2010) expresses well in that, technologies will no longer be termed as technology, but it will find its embrace in daily living with zero tolerance for failure. It is clear that technology is influencing education industry in an unprecedented way. With blended-learning, technology tools acting as catalyst are inspiring learning and correctly addressing the expectation of people, especially the younger generation.
This study examines the effectiveness of blended learning among five academic programs within Sunway College. This study was motivated by the lack of data on the effectiveness of blended learning at the College level, having implemented it over the last 3 years from the time of this study. An in-depth questionnaire was distributed to a sample size of 745 students (learners) across the 5 programs with the aim to discover the viability of our blended learning, which was implemented over the last three years in the College. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were applied in this study. Blended learning is a learning approach which draws insights from theories linking to behavior and constructivism. This study adopts the social constructivist theory, in which learning experiences and interactions are taken into consideration.
The findings reveal a rich source of information on blended learning in each program and the necessary opportunities for improvements in tandem with the cognitive responses of the current generation in our classrooms.
Akkoyunlu, B., & Soylu, M. Y. (2008). A study of student’s perceptions in a blended learning
environment based on different learning styles. Educational Technology & Society,
11(1), 183-193.
Akyüz, H. I., & Samsa, S. (2009). The effects of blended learning environment on the critical thinking skills of students. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 1(1), 1744-1748.
Alammary, A., Sheard, J., & Carbone, A. (2014). Blended learning in higher education:
Three different design approaches. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology,
30(4), 440-454.
Anderson, T. (2003a). Getting the mix right again: An updated and theoretical rationale for
interaction. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 4(2).
Anderson, T. (2003b). Modes of interaction in distance education: Recent developments and
research questions. In D. M. Moore (Ed.), Handbook of Distance Education (pp. 129-
144).
Anderson, T. (2008).The theory and practice of online learning . (2nd ed.). Athabasca University Press.
Arbaugh, J. (2008). ”Introduction: blended learning: research and practice”, Academy of
Management Learning & Education, Vol 7. No 1, pp 130-131.
Armstrong, T. (2009). Multiple Intelligence in Classroom. 3rd Edition. ASCD Publications, USA.
Blaschke, L. M. (2012). Heutagogy and Lifelong Learning: A Review of Heutagogical Practice
and Self-Determined Learning. The International Review of Research in Open
and Distributed Learning. Vol 13, No 1.
http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/1076/2087.
Bliuc, A., Goodyear, P., & Ellis, R. (2007). Research focus and methodological choices in studies
Into students’ experiences of blended learning. Internet and Higher Education, 10,
231-244.
Bonk, C. J., Olson, T. M., Wisher, R. A., & Orvis, K. L. (2002). Learning from focus groups: An
examination of blended learning. Journal of Distance Education, 17(3), 97-118.
Bransford, J. (2007). Preparing People for Rapidly Changing Environments. Journal of Engineering
Education, January 2007
Chandra, V., & Fisher, D. L. (2009). Students’ perceptions of a blended web-based learning
environment. Learning Environment Research, 12,31-44.
Chen, C. C., & Jones, K. T. (2007). Blended learning vs. traditional classroom settings: Assessing
effectiveness and student perceptions in an MBA accounting course. The Journal of
Educators Online, 4(1), 1-15.
Collins, K., and Blake, R. M. (2007), “Blended learning: embracing individualism”, Chief Learning
Officer, Vol. 6 No. 2, pp. 32-37.
Cooney, M. H., Gupton, P., &O’Laughlin, M. (2000). Blurring the lines of play and work to
create blended classroom learning experiences. Early Childhood Education Journal,
27(3), 165-171.
Darling Hammond, L., &Bransford, J. (Eds.). (2007). Preparing teachers for a changing world:
What teachers should learn and be able to do. San Francisco, CA. Wiley Publications.
Deliagaoglu, O., &Yildirim, Z. (2007). Students’ Perceptions on Effective Dimensions of
Interactive Learning in a Blended Learning Environment. Educational Technology &
Society, 10 (2), 133-146.
Deliagaoglu, O., &Yildirim, Z. (2008). Design and development of a technology enhanced
hybrid instruction based on MOLTA model: Its effectiveness in comparison to
traditional instruction. Computers & Education, 51(1), 474-483.
Derry, S. J. (1999). A Fish called peer learning: Searching for common themes. In A. M.
O'Donnell & A. King (Eds.).
Donnely, R. (2010). Harmonizing technology with interaction in blended problem-based
learning. Computers & Education, 54(2), 350-359.
Driscoll, M. (2002), “Blended learning: let’s get beyond the hype”, E-Learning, Vol 3 No. 3, p.
1-3.
Dziuban, C., Hartman, J., Juge, F., Moskal, P., and Sorg, S. (2006), “Blended learning enters the
mainstream”, in Bonk, C.J. and Graham, C.R. (Eds), The Handbook of Blended Learning:
Global Perspectives, Local Designs, Pfei
In-Text Citation: (Valentine, Devi, Prema, & Kishor, 2019)
To Cite this Article: Valentine, A. B., Devi, R. C., Prema, S., Kishor, S. S. (2019). Understanding the Effectiveness of Blended Learning as a Learning Tool in Tertiary Education in Malaysia. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 9(11), 942–962.
Copyright: © 2019 The Author(s)
Published by Human Resource Management Academic Research Society (www.hrmars.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode