Blended pedagogical practice: experience, leadership, and professional development

The term "blended learning" has been clarified among other related terms - "e-learning", "hybrid online model", "mixed-mode instruction", "hybrid or mixed learning", "personalized learning", "differentiated learning", "technology-mediated instruction", "web-enhanced instruction" - in the context of pedagogical teacher training practice. Specific pedagogical modelling strategies to conduct such blended teacher training practice at school have been elaborated on. The objectives of the blended teacher training practice have been pointed out, such as: 1) to encourage students to be active and creative during practice; 2) to set online standards for a group or class;

3) to create the structure of the course of educational pedagogical practice with recommendations and requirements;

4) to make clear instructions for tasks; 5) to choose strategies to ensure critical thinking and cooperation in the Internet format; 6) to rank technologies to provide instruction and assessment to facilitate the formation of an online classroom community; 7) to coordinate communication channels with students using Internet tools; 8) to provide quality feedback and reflection with digital tools. Ways to enhance students ' motivation have been highlighted. Creative type of pedagogical work has been focused on. New additional skills of an efficient teacher of the 21^st century have been commented on in relation to blended pedagogical practice, such as: problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, people management, coordination with others, emotional intelligence, judgment and decision making, negotiation skills, cognitive flexibility. Essential rules for giving clear instructions have been listed. The importance of self-assessment and self-reflection has been enlarged on. The scheme of such students ' self-assessment and self-reflection during their blended teacher training practice at school has been given. Pros of blended teacher training practice have been pointed out, the strongest one being an opportunity to give personalized instruction to every student. Technological literacy among teachers as one of the key problems has been pointed out among the cons of using blended teacher training practice. The list of recommendations has been drawn out as a result of the study.

Key words: blended learning, pedagogical teacher training practice, teaching digital resources, computer-mediated learning, online teaching technologies, learning motivation.

Алла ФРІДРІХ,

кандидат педагогічних наук, доцент кафедри практики англійської мови Рівненського державного гуманітарного університету (Рівне, Україна)

Світозара БІГУНОВА, кандидат психологічних наук, доцент кафедри практики англійської мови Рівненського державного гуманітарного університету (Рівне, Україна)

Юлія КУРЯТА, кандидат психологічних наук, доцент кафедри практики англійської мови Рівненського державного гуманітарного університету (Рівне, Україна)

Термін "змішане навчання" роз'яснений серед інших суміжних термінів - "електронне навчання", "гібридна онлайн-модель", "змішаний режим навчання", "гібридне або змішане навчання", "персоналізоване навчання", "диференційоване навчання", "технологічне навчання", "навчання через Інтернет" - й контексті навчальної педагогічної практики. Розроблено конкретні стратегії педагогічного моделювання для проведення такої змішаної навчальної педагогічної практики в школі. Указано цілі змішаної навчальної педагогічної практики: 1) спонукати студентів бути активними та творчими під час практики; 2) установити онлайн-норми для групи або класу; 3) створити структуру курсу навчальної педагогічної практики з рекомендаціями та вимогами; 4) створити чіткі інструкції до завдань; 5) вибрати стратегії забезпечення критичного мислення та співпраці в Інтернет-форматі; 6) ранжувати технології для забезпечення надання інструкцій та оцінювання для сприяння формування онлайн-спільноти в класі; 7) узгодити канали зв'язку зі студентами за допомогою Інтернет-інструментів; 8) забезпечити якісний зворотний зв'язок і рефлексію за допомогою цифрових інструментів. Визначено шляхи підвищення мотивації студентів. Проаналізовано творчий тип педагогічної роботи. Нові додаткові навички ефективного вчителя 21 століття прокоментовані в контексті змішаної навчальної педагогічної практики: вирішення проблем, критичне мислення, творчість, управління людьми, координація з іншими, емоційний інтелект, формування суджень і прийняття рішень, уміння вести перемовини, когнітивна гнучкість. Зазначено основні правила надання чітких інструкцій. Здійснено наголос на важливості самооцінки й саморефлексії. Наведено схему такої самооцінки й саморефлексії студентами під час їхньої змішаної навчальної педагогічної практики в школі. Указано на позитивні аспекти змішаної навчальної педагогічної практики під час підготовки майбутніх учителів, найвагоміший із яких - можливість дати індивідуальні інструкції кожному студенту. Технологічна грамотність серед учителів як одна з ключових проблем відзначена серед мінусів використання змішаної навчальної педагогічної практики. За результатами дослідження складено перелік рекомендацій. educational pedagogical practice

Ключові слова: змішане навчання, навчальна педагогічна практика, навчальні цифрові ресурси, комп'ютерне навчання, технології онлайн-викладання, навчальна мотивація.

Formulation of the problem. Blended pedagogical teacher training practice provides opportunities for engagement that grow into empowerment as students work hard to see their ideas come to fruition. These methodological recommendations help students learn specific pedagogical modelling strategies to conduct the teacher training practice at school. This guideline includes elements of the 21^st century which are needed to succeed at work and in life over the coming century. Thus, complex of problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity, people management, coordinating with others, emotional intelligence, judgment and decision making, negotiation, cognitive flexibility are valuable and needed in order to develop the best possible solutions for teachers-to-be.

The aim of the study is to define the rationale for blended pedagogical practice in order to enhance student engagement and benefit from collaborative learning.

The task of the paper is to study a guiding definition for blended learning, benefits, rationale for expansion, and professional development.

Presenting the main research material. In the present circumstances of lockdown blended pedagogical practice is the perfect way out. But before the explanation and description of this new kind of practice, some words should be said about the term "blended learning" as it is quite obvious that blended teacher training practice is based on blended learning.

It should be noted that in spite of the fact that the term "blended learning" has been used for more than twenty years and is especially popular nowadays, there is still no widespread agreement either on the term itself, or its definition. We have come across that this term can be exchanged by "b-learn- ing" (Banados, 2006), "e-learning" (Shepard, 2005), "hybrid online model" (Martyn, 2003), "mixed-mode instruction" (DeChambeau, 2011), "hybrid or mixed learning" (Stracke, 2007), "personalized learning" or "differentiated learning" (Basye, 2018), "technology-mediated instruction" (Lineberger, 2009; Nelson, 2000), "web-enhanced instruction" (Mullen, 2005) and others. There were attempts made to clarify somehow these terms. Scientists G. Smith and H. Kurthen (2007) proposed to differentiate some related terms according to percentage of usage face- to-face studying vs. online one, while C. R. Graham and C. Dziuban (2008), to avoid misunderstanding, offered to think that blended learning is simply face-to-face learning with usage of online technologies. For the purpose of this article we suggest using C. R. Graham and C. Dziuban's explanation.

Due to variety of terms and impossibility of scientists to come to consensus about the only one, there is also a problem in the definition. For example, J. Bersin (2004) gives the following explanation "Blended learning is the combination of different training "media" (technologies, activities, and types of events) to create an optimum training program for a specific audience" (Introduction, XV). C. J. Bonk and C. R. Graham (2006) propose the definition "the combination of face-to-face instruction with computer-mediated instruction" (p. 5), where these instructions differ in time, space, fidelity and humanness. M. Oliver and K. Trigwell (2005) give at least three definitions - "the integrated combination of traditional learning with web-based online approaches" (p. 17), where traditional learning means teaching in classrooms; "the combination of media and tools employed in an e-learning environment" (p. 17), where there is only the distance course - online teaching - is possible without any offline one; and "the combination of a number of pedagogical approaches, irrespective of learning technology use"(p. 17).

So, as you can see, there is a great diversity in the attempts of the definition whereas we have cited only a small amount of them. Nevertheless, we can try to combine them and get the following: blended learning is a deliberate combination of online and offline contact time between students and teachers.

1. Motivate students to be active and creative during the practice (guiding, extrinsic and intrinsic motivation).

2. Set online norms for the group or class (coordinating with others, emotional intelligence, judgment and decision making, negotiation, cognitive flexibility).

3. Establish a Course Structure of teacher training practice with recommendations and requirements.

4. Create clear task instructions.

5. Choose strategies for ensuring critical thinking and collaboration in an online format.

6. Range the technologies to support high-quality instruction and assessment (Zoom, Google Forms, Google Drawing, Google Classroom, Google Slides, Padlet, etc.) to nurture an online classroom community.

7. Discuss how to connect with students via online tools.

8. Provide quality feedback and reflection through digital tools.

To implement the first stage of our plan in order to enhance the effectiveness of our efforts we design tips how to kill students' curiosity. Or - in other words - what should be avoided during our work.

Dictate the learning domains. Whether offline or digital, individual or group, you're the coordinator/ teacher/mentor. You decide what is to be learned when and how, and on whose grounds. Make the schedule, the curriculum, the tests, the grading system, the feedback loops, everything, because you know everything better than students. Give them everything prepared, designed by you, a teacher.

Limit learner's choice. Voice and choice sound great in theory, but who knows better what a learner needs than the teacher. The teacher is the only specialist in this sphere in the group. A student can't set clear goals, give instructions etc.

Think in black and white. The teacher's choice is the only right variant; no other opinions can be acceptable. And if students are wrong there is no need to wait when they correct or improved their decision, and solve the problem. Give them the ready answer or solution.

Focus on answers, not questions. No matter how they perform in your open-ended questions and project-based learning tasks, the standards-based exams, university expectations aren't like that. The process of thinking and analysing of a question is time-consuming, better to be focused on an answer.

Force awkward collaboration and forget creativity. Whenever you can impose a partner or group- activity, do it. Collaboration is always productive even if the learning objective doesn't seem to suggest it. There is no time and possibilities for gaming, sound, and physical movement in the classroom, it's difficult to manage.

Reject inquiry-based, project-based as not "research-based". Research and data are the fundamentals of education. Measure data, calculate statistics, design a big amount of diagrams, establish better data collection tools to measure the effectiveness of progressive learning tools yourself. If there's no data showing it works, reject it.

Keep it academic. Keep the teachers training practice formal and academic. Never forget about the standards and the data. Learning standards are one way to ensure an even learning experience for all students.

Don't evoke curiosity. Always prepare everything yourself. Only you know what king of information, when and where will be sought. Do not tell or show any doubts or hesitations in your own knowledge as students must see you as the only source of information. Spend very little time creating problem-solving questions, modelling task for projects, upgrading information, or be without react when you realize your own knowledge is insufficient.

But, joking aside, as professionals, we have been paying attention to the changes happening in the workplace and how they are affecting us. We often ask ourselves if we are skilled for the profession in this rapid development, how to coordinate with others, to make decisions, negotiate via digital resources etc. There are four types of work: creative (unique, imaginative, non-routine, and autonomous), skilled (standardized, talent-driven, professional), rote (routinized, outsourceable, and managed), robotic (algorithmic and computerized). During planning of our practice we focused on creative work. Our students combined ideas that once seemed unrelated. Their newfound ideas helped us to reach the outcomes. Like inventors students created new forms and designed structures from scratch.

We have started to realize that we need more skills than earlier. We consider our students, future teachers of the 21^st century, will not be just those who are satisfied with one fact that they can read, write etc. in the foreign language, but those who can continually learn, unlearn, and relearn throughout their career.

In some instances, relearning could be the adaption of what you know to a new reality, for example, smartphones. We used them solely as communication devices, and now they are minicomputers, even replace PC. Future teachers have to relearn how to use a phone, have to adapt some of skills to the future profession and will also have to learn new additional skills to succeed in the 21^st century. Among them there are learning how to learn, note-taking (reflective journal), analysing information, spotting patterns and trends (we recommend to combine ideas from the different resources). With the help of technology we can copy and paste, move blocks of text around, and group information differently, that give us a new perspective.

Communicating (written and oral) and collaborating help our students to shape and implement their ideas into teacher training practice, it is difficult to overestimate these skills. Another vital skill is understanding and leveraging technology. Technology has been changing at an unprecedented pace, so we need to understand and keep on top of it. Sometimes it's better to read articles in respected technology journals, as books may become quickly outdated.

Our guidelines for blended pedagogical practice is to bring together ideas on how we can use technology and the online environment to prepare students for synchronous educational time - be that face-to-face or online - and maximize learning, communication and collaboration in the classroom. The combination of a face-to-face instruction environment with an online environment within the same course allows not only capitalizing on the advantages of each but also catering for diverse learning styles and the needs of different students.

- Instructions should be as simple as possible and instructions need to be logical.

- As a teacher, we need to ask ourselves questions such as: What is the core command I am trying to convey? What must students know to complete the activity? Which information needs to be given first? What materials are needed?

- At first you should attract students' attention. Then give all the instructions prior to the beginning of the activity.

- Make use of body language, written commands, etc, not only in spoken language. Try to demonstrate the task of the activity.

- Group the instructions and check their understanding. Be clear in order to reduce interruptions and misunderstandings. Creating well delivered instructions will help all types of students to understand them and reach the results.

The ability of self-assessment and self-reflection is crucial for students on practice, being in the role of teacher assistants, planning teaching, undertaking microteaching and generally supporting the English teachers. Let us demonstrate some tables developed from "An Interactive Guide to Understanding and Applying the InTASC Standards to Teacher Effectiveness and Student Success" for teachers-to-be to reflect on and instructions for filling in: (1) Complete the following sections rating whether you consider and do listed in the statement points rarely, occasionally, frequently, or always in your teaching practice by circling the number that corresponds to how often you engage in behaviour. (2) Add up the numbers in each column to create a total for the Learner and Learning; Content Knowledge and Skills; Instructional Practices; and Professional Responsibility (Table 1).

The results show that blended pedagogical practice is designed to meet personal learning needs of every student by allowing tutors to formulate individual educational strategies and instructions. It combines both - face to face and online communication between learners and educators. Due to this students can work with tutors when they are at university or school, as well as use additional online resources at home. Another benefit pointed out is the potential which blended learning offers for independent learning. The online components can not only provide each learner with the possibility of recycling at their own speed and in their own time what they have already experienced, but can also offer extra opportunities for further learning both from course-specific materials and from materials from other web sources. In addition, such experiences can help students become less dependent on teachers and more self-reliant both during the course and in subsequent language learning experiences. Such independent experience can be enhanced by face-to-face preparation and follow up in class guided by a teacher. They can ask teachers for some help or advice either at university (school) or online via digital resources, and work on their projects at home, using online materials. So, this approach leaves more space for students' creativity and allows to dive deeper into subjects, using both offline and online opportunities. However, this method also has some cons. The successful realization of blended pedagogical practice depends on a number of factors. It requires high level of students' motivation. Not all students engaged in blended teacher training practice have a sufficient level of motivation to study. For such students blended teacher training is a weak method since their motivation is poor. Inspiring students and creating a personal curriculum for every learner becomes a real problem.