Blended E-Learning and Critical Thinking - Literature review Example

Literature Analysis and Review Name: Tutor: Course: Date: Literature Review Blended e-learning Several authors have recognized that blended learning is poorly defined despite being broadly applied in the contemporary teaching and learning environment. One of the authors, Alotaibi (2013, p.178) defined blended e-learning as the combination of e-learning with face-to-face learning after it emerged that e-learning as not sufficient on its own. Similarly, Akyuz and Samsa (2009, p.1745) described blended learning as any combined learning delivery methods based on synchronous or asynchronous computer technologies and face-to-face instruction. Meanwhile, blended learning is a mix of pedagogies, learning theories, contexts, media mixing, face-to-face instruction, online learning e-learning and traditional learning (Borglum, 2016, p.7). Critical thinking The art of evaluating and analyzing thinking with intention of improving it is critical thinking (Paul and Elder, 2006). It is forming a judgment based on objective evaluation and analysis of issues. Exercised in online discussions, critical thinking offers an opportunity for students to analyze and reflect on their observations. Critical thinking results in constructive feedback and thoughtful responses to questions posed (Alebaikan, 2010). It can be enhanced through promoting activities that mirror on cognitive engagement. For instance, teachers should recognize their roles when switching to a student-centered strategy from a lecturer-centered strategy so as to foster dialogue in education and develop skills for critical thinking. Critical thinking increases performance, literacy, creativity, and numerical understanding of subjects. For both educators and students, some promising results are in the offing when students work to increase critical thinking. Blended learning and critical thinking Information Communication Technology (ICT) has rapidly advanced in the modern world to the extent that is has revolutionalized language teaching and learning. The progress and creation of the internet has shown that teachers can have more options to develop innovative instructional materials and create effective teaching methods. In the recent years, the blended learning mode as one of the teaching models has been developed to take advantage of technology use and face-to-face approach. Hubbard (2013) observes that blended learning can not only support the curricular objectives but also improve teaching and learning. While Peeraer and Van Petegem (2011) argues that blended E- learning compliment learning environments, Vaughan (2007) is of the contrary opinion that blended courses have unrealistic expectations. Students feel isolated when social interaction is reduced coupled with the failure to accept responsibility for personal learning and inadequate time management skills. Moreover, Valanides et al. (2003) opined that the quality of asynchronous discussion forums seem not to affect the uptake of critical thinking skills by students. This view is also in agreement with Smyth et al. (2012) who posited that slow internet connections and the perception that technology is invasive to personal lives of learners. Students become elusive while engaging in online discussion, become frustrated and view learning negatively (Welker & Berardino, 2006). Yet, Wang and Woo (2007) admit that all is not lost as research into the class discussion effectiveness in online and face-to-face settings is getting broader. A number of studies are attempting to fill in the gap between the need to develop critical thinking skills and the push to use technology in the classroom (Alebaikan, 2010; Alwehaibi, 2014; Mofeed & Al-Sous, 2010; Akyuz & Samsa, 2009). For many decades, the mainstay of classroom teaching has been group activities, paper-based assessments, visual material and face-to-face presentations. More recently, an assortment of Web 2.0 tools such as visual worlds, online gaming, blogs/wiki, the Ultranet and web conferencing are changing the way students learn and the way teachers teach (Garrison & Vaughan, 2007). Technology tools are further enriched by recent mobile devices such as voice recorders, digital cameras, mobile phones and iPads. More classrooms are blended, as teachers replace traditional activities and tools with blended-learning approaches (Singh, 2003). As the role of students and teachers change, teachers are facilitating more than instructing while students gain greater control over their learning. According to Ellis and Calvo (2007), teachers with access to Web 2.0 tools use multiple Learning Management Systems (LMS) as well as traditional classroom lessons. The aggregated tools, as one user interface, increases the possibility of blended learning for the classroom teacher using the internet and at the same time the student accesses to the devices. By implementing LMS, educational institutions tend to be less acquainted with educational pedagogy as they do technology (Ellis & Calvo, 2007). On the contrary, Korkmaz and Karakus (2009) maintain that critical thinking levels and dispositions of students are enhanced by blended learning model because they facilitate truth seeking and open-mindedness. Dubbed as the most adaptive learning method, Thorne (2003) praises blended learning as an advantage of technology and one of the most integrated innovative e-learning tools. Stacy and Gerbic (2009) agree that blended learning compliments the traditional classroom learning but observes that it is effective integration within a course and not the amount of online learning or face-to-face interactions that matters. While use of creative activity and new skills increases teacher enjoyment in teaching (Garrison & Vaughan, 2007), blended learning environment not only maintain traditions and cultural values but also the flexibility of high school students to navigate between subjects (Alebaikan, 2014). McMahon (2009), while examining relationships between development of higher order thinking skills and working in a technology-rich environment among high school students in Western Australia observed that students scored higher on critical thinking activities when their computing skills are developed. This shows that development of critical thinking skills among students is correlated to studying within a technology-rich learning environment. The development of critical thinking skills has non-linear effect on the length of time spent in the environment (McMahon, 2009). The efficiency of using a blended teaching as deduced by Al-Sawalmeh (2008) not only stimulates active learning but also develops scientific thinking. Compared to students using the traditional method, blended teaching / learning has greater benefits. Benefits of e-learning in the modern classroom Blended e-learning, as discussed earlier, draws on the merits of student-oriented e-learning and teacher-oriented education available in the traditional classroom. Some authors believe that this approach enhances learning effectiveness and quality while reducing the indifference associated with online courses. This helps to deal with the frustration and interpersonal apathy that inhibit learning (Cottrell and Robison, 2003; Singh, 2003). Research into students’ learning effectiveness derived from blended e-learning has become increasingly common in the recent years (Garrison & Vaughan, 2007; Usta and Ozdemir, 2007; Gulbahar and Madran, 2009). Yet, studies on how blended teaching can enhance effectiveness in learning mathematics compared to traditional instruction is least understood (Olson et al., 2011; Kulik, 2003). Mathematics instruction, from the perspective of information-technology, is influenced to a greater extent by attitudes of students and mathematics learning effectiveness. Traditional instruction can apply information technology as learning partner and learning tool that combines learning and instruction. Fortunately, significant improvement student performance in math and science has been observed when use tutorials (Olson et al., 2011). According to Kulik (2003), student’s writing skills improves tremendously when they use word processing software frequently. E-learning has positive impact on student outcomes. Use of computers in tutorials in social science, natural science and mathematics gave students significantly higher scores during tests in these subjects. Blended learning and Mathematics learning effectiveness Majority of the students in elementary, junior and senior high school dislike mathematics. From that observation, Tseng et al. (2014) suggests that use of the instructional method, abstraction skills and logic are keys to successful math learning. While it is not possible to change mathematics content, designing instructional activities and improving teacher’s instructional skills can change the narrative. Active learning for students results from peer interactions. Through e-learning, Burgess (2003) agrees that students can keep practicing until they master a skill as well as learn in different places at any time. Indeed, e-learning expands and enhances educational effectiveness and create flexible educational environment for learning mathematics (Garrison and Vaughan, 2007; Usta and Ozdemir, 2007). Learning effectiveness is derived from mathematics instruction that is information-technology-based. Being a cognitive process, learning mathematics is influenced by students’ choices and their attitudes toward mathematics and sciences. This will in turn influence their pursuit of careers in the mathematics industry or continued studies in mathematics. Higher learning achievement is observed among students with optimistic mathematics attitudes towards academic grades, especially the midterm and final grades (Piccoli et al., 2001). Increasing critical thinking skills in Mathematics is in the effectiveness of learning and their achievement in mathematics tests based on student’s scores at junior high school. Higher scores reflect higher critical thinking skills and greater effectiveness while lower scores show lower levels of skills. The degree of effectiveness in learning mathematics is based on towards the subject (Ma & Xu, 2004). This is because better mathematics learning effectiveness and skills acquisition are improved through positive attitudes. Positive attitudes engender greater learning effectiveness and critical thinking skills uptake (McCoy, 2005). Mathematics teachers need to fully and explicitly develop instructional plans to increase mathematics proficiency by limiting content and pedagogical knowledge but increasing technological use in learning (Muthukrishna, 2013). With technology use in the classroom, students demonstrate greater motivation, concentration and attention (Bester & Brand, 2013). Concentration and motivation are significant for learning Mathematics, English and Geography (Siyepu, 2013). In disadvantaged and rural schools, use of e-learning technologies in science and math education has great potential to succeed. Since schools in isolated rural locations do not attract or retain math or science teachers, using technology can help the students. With e-Learning, students improve their educational content as teachers access more ICT knowledge and skills. Empirical studies Author(s) Objective Methods/Sample Findings Country Alebaikan (2010) To examine how Saudi lecturers and students responses to critical thinking skills, the study concludes that Qualitative methods Successful learning experience in Saudi Arabia is possible through blended learning Saudi Arabia Alwehaibi (2014) To investigate thinking based blended learning’s effectiveness as a pedagogy in a TEFL teacher training program Quasi-experimental one-group pre-test/post-test of 21 female Saudi EFL teachers Blended learning has positive effect on both performance and knowledge Saudi Arabia Atyekin et al. (2012) To determine blended learning effectiveness in the development of teaching skills Four Quasi-experimental groups (Math-21; Science-15, Quran-15; Computer-20). Blended learning improves teaching skills of teachers Saudi Arabia Mofeed and Al-Sous (2010) To examine the effect of blended learning strategies on teacher’s ability to produce and design educational multimedia Descriptive statistics/120 teachers and technology specialists Teachers were capable of producing and designing educational multimedia giving them confidence to model blended learning and deal with e-learning Saudi Arabia Akyuz and Samsa (2009) To examine the effects of blended learning environment on students’ critical thinking skills One group pretest-posttest group design on 44 Pre-service teachers Online problem based learning improved critical thinking skills compared to content knowledge acquisition Turkey Maguire (2005) To investigate the effect of blended learning on achievement of students in mathematics 56 teachers Students using blended learning method score and perform better than others. Canada Implications of blended learning on critical thinking Using technology in learning, as seen in the arguments above, has the potential to integrate school lessons and learners into a charged learning environment. Students tend to get excited, interested and focused on subjects being taught. Streaming of educational videos, tutoring and engaging in virtual lessons helps students to understand and develop positive attitudes to subjects like math and science that they deem monotonous (Maguire, 2005). One of the most important skills is skills of teaching implementation which can make the teacher to excel. In high schools and especially in the Middle Eastern countries, blended learning can help develop skills among students before they proceed to educational colleges and universities. Different mentors need to practice critical thinking skills as well as implementation skills. The government should consider providing more computers and mobile phones in modern classrooms to assist students and teachers to achieve learning and teaching goals quickly and effectively. As one of the modern educational approaches, blended e-learning should be used to increase learner-centered strategies in new educational contexts by exploiting new information technologies (Almasaeid, 2014). Blended e-learning learning brings about distinguished learning skills, memorizing and face-to-face learning skills. Creating educational programs based on these new approaches is capable of resolving individual differences between teachers and learners. Blended e-learning, from the perspective of learners and teachers, matches the educational programs with learner requirements so as to improve learning effectiveness. Educational administrators and planners can adopt the blended e-learning to strike a balance in reducing the cost of these programs and costs related to preparing learning programs (Twigg, 2003). Moreover, there is need for split half in the design of virtual activities on the Internet and the ordinary educational materials in classroom contexts for face-to-face activities (Korkmaz & Karakus, 2009). Students built a range of skills from blended e-learning which should be encouraged. Apart from numerical skills, students can learn messaging, presentation, and online responses to queries. Changes can be made to present a traditional lesson with similar materials but different way online (Akyuz & Samsa, 2009). This can be through a symposium at a video conference with a practical model of the same information. By doing so, the educational objective of promoting critical thinking skills is achieved where learners transit from learning to thinking. The implication on learning is that they learn more by themselves and least on what others have thought about. As they read and understand, learners improve on their critical thinking skills when they express themselves better in discussions and quizzes. One of the basic pillars of success in academic and personal life is critical thinking (Burkhart, 2006). This implies that learners should be able to use these skills to achieve contemporary educational aims and in daily life. Armed with critical thinking skills, one is able to make informed decisions since they are mentally independent and responsible (Mackinght, 2000). Therefore, educators and educational planners should make it paramount to increase the use of virtual learning and face-to-face learning to develop critical thinking skills among learners in elementary and high schools. The educators should engage students in critical thinking and encourage a freer thought process by acting as facilitators during discussions. Students will learn and know that critical thinking is not about getting the right answer, but instead recognizing the differing evaluations of the topic or ending in more questions. Professional development of teachers is also developed through a well-structured blended learning–based program (Alwehaibi, 2014). Blended e-learning enables learners to recognize problems, gather and marshal pertinent information and find workable ways of solving problems. Learners will tend to comprehend and use language with accuracy and recognize unstated assumptions and values. Educational planners and tutors should apply blended e-learning more frequently as it clarifies, discriminates and interpret data as well as helps students to appraise evidence and evaluate arguments. Moreover, students with improved critical thinking skills tend to recognize the non-existence or existence of logical relationships between generalizations, warranted conclusions and propositions (Almasaeid, 2014; Alwehaibi, 2014). For elementary and high school students, they are able to reconstruct their patterns of beliefs based on the limited experience to improve their quality of everyday life and provide accurate judgments about specific things. References Alebaikan, R.A. (2010). Perceptions of blended learning in Saudi Universities. University of Exeter. Doctoral Thesis. Almasaeid, T.F. (2014). The effect of using blended learning strategy on achievement and attitudes in teaching science among 9th grade students. European Scientific Journal, 10(31): 133-154. Alotaibi, K. N. (2013). The Effect of Blended Learning on Developing Critical Thinking Skills. Education Journal, 2( 4): 176-185. Alwehaibi, H. U. (2012). 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