Blended Learning in Higher Education
Commonwealth of Learning (COL) has been a strong proponent of Blended Learning methods and approaches in higher education as the organisation believes that its adoption can usher in transformative experiences for both students and teachers. For a few decades now, COL has been advocating for the use of Online, and Blended Learning in Open and Distance Learning (ODL) as well as Technology-Enabled Learning (TEL) practices in education and skill development. The Indian National Education Policy 2020, among many other reformative steps, also recommends the application of blended learning models in educational practice. The University Grants Commission has brought out a concept paper on the topic.
Considering the importance accorded to OBL and the future of quality education, COL’s regional office, the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA) has been facilitating the formulation of national and institutional policies as well as capacity-building programmes in Blended Learning. COL-CEMCA’s policy guide entitled “Blended Learning Policy: Templates for Higher Education Institutions in Commonwealth Asia”, authored by Professor Marmar Mukhopadhyay, was released recently. COL-CEMCA has also organised a series of workshops to build the capacity of stakeholders in higher education in the states of Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, and West Bengal.
As a follow-up to the above efforts, and to explore more strategies, actions, and needs, at the institutional and national levels, in collaboration with National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), COL-CEMCA organised a brainstorming session to discuss various accepts of Blended Learning for enhancing the quality of education and skill development on 15 July 2022 from 9:30hrs to 13:15hrs at the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), New Delhi.
The session was attended by academics, policymakers, educational leaders, and experts from various reputed educational institutions, corporates, and government bodies. The session was chaired and facilitated by Director, CEMCA Dr B. Shadrach. The expert for this workshop was Prof. Marmar Mukhopadhyay, Former Professor and Director (i/c) of NIEPA. Chief Guest for this workshop was Professor N.V. Varghese, Vice Chancellor, NIEPA.
Dr Shadrach in his opening remarks stated that the induction of Blended Learning in all spheres of teaching and learning was the need of the hour and explained how CEMCA can support the formulation of national and institutional policies in Blended Learning in Commonwealth Asia. He noted that CEMCA will scale up from its current outreach of 23 Open universities to 10,000 institutions in the region. He added that as a catalyst, enabler and capacity-building organisation, CEMCA shall develop strategies to equip the above institutions to have their own policies and enhance their institutional capacity.
Professor N.V. Varghese continued the discussion by stating that the need for a Blended Learning policy should be institution-specific and can’t be generic and governed from a centralized location. He noted that the consultation was very timely and expressed his association with CEMCA in the above mission.
Taking the discussion further, Prof Marmar Mukhopadhyay divided the participants into 3 groups and asked them to address the following questions:
- What state mechanisms should be set up to formulate National Blended Learning Policy for Higher Education and Institutional Blended Learning Policy in Higher Education Institutions? How should such policy formulation be mentored and monitored?
- What would you recommend to the country government and apex agencies like the UGCs for implementing blended learning in higher education?
- How would the country governments engage with higher education institutions in implementing blended learning and capacity building of higher education teachers in blended learning?
- What role can agencies like CEMCA, COL and UNESCO play in facilitating the adoption of blended learning in higher education?
The members of each group conducted the roundtable-focused group discussion which was moderated by NIEPA subject matter experts. The groups came up with various solutions to address the above questions. An actionable report will be placed before the various players in the field for implementation and practice. COL-CEMCA will advocate helping the governments and institutions for achieving learning for sustainable development within its six-year strategic plan.
