Blended learning and multitaskning

Topic 4 had, yet again another interesting topic with many intersecting discussions. My PBL group focused on two things: Challenges of multitasking in blended learning and Models (or techniques/tools) for blended learning.

When we discussed the challenges of multitasking, I thought of myself that it there are no challenges in multitasking for programming students. When you are programming you are solving problems, which might not be obvious when you are writing the code. I usually go outside or do something else while I am thinking of a solution to a programming problem and most of the times that works. Instead of sitting hours and hours looking at a computer screen, I will do something more productive and still solve the problem (most of the time). This is great, multitasking should work fine for any programmer, no… I believe that I am only able to do this technique because I understand the programming language and the structure of the code. When I am solving the problem, I am only thinking about the problem and how to solve it, not how to write the code. This is not the same for students, especially new students to programming. New student does not know the syntax, how to structure the code or how to test the code to find a solution. This means that it is much harder for new students to multitask when they are programming. Harder might be the wrong word, but it would take a lot more time for them to complete simple tasks if they multitask. Similar to what Bowman et al. (2010) states in their study when they found out that multitasking does not affect the grade of the students, but they need more time to complete a task. This creates an issue with blended learning, without proper concentration form the students and that they follow every step, they will have a much harder time learning and understanding the code. This is very similar to multitasking is very similar both face-to-face and during online, if the students does something else during the time there are trying to solve problem, they will simply not solve that problem. Kraushaar and Novak (2010) states that students that uses computers during a face-to-face lecture does not fully understand the negative impact that it can create. This could relate to the programming students, the students does not understand that they need to focus on learning before they can multitask.

There are many different tools with blended learning and one that we use in our programming courses is Zoom. We have the course set up in a way that all lectures are on campus (face-to-face) and during the supervision sessions, we use Zoom (online). We are mixing online learning with face-to-face. We want our students to concentrate and focus on the information we provide during the lecture. During the supervision session, we allow the students to work in their group and discuss at any location. This means that they do not need to go to campus together. The students could sit at home and simply participate in the supervision session. During supervision, session students can ask questions to how they would solve a problem and then we teachers give them things they can think about. If the students have participated and gather most of the information during the lecture, with a little help from us teacher they should be able to solve the problem.  We are completely new to this hybrid method and we are focusing on the access and motivation similar to the five-stage model (Salmon, 2013). Similar to the five-stage model, we do not see a need for face-to-face supervision. The students can do it in their own pace and wherever they want. I believe this makes the student able to feel freedom and not restricted to a classroom setting with classroom “rules”.


References

Bowman, L. L., Levine, L. E., Waite, B. M., & Gendron, M. (2010). Can students really multitask? An experimental study of instant messaging while reading. Computers & Education54(4), 927-931.

Salmon, G (2013) The Five Stage Model. Available at: https://www.gillysalmon.com/five-stage-model.html [2022-05-18]

Kraushaar, J. M., & Novak, D. C. (2010). Examining the affects of student multitasking with laptops during the lecture. Journal of Information Systems Education21(2), 241-252.

1 Comment

  1. Dear Alexander,
    I have always been wondering how a programmer thinks! very interesting to hear your thoughts :-). The funny thing is that I approach my scientific questions in a similar way…getting the best ideas while going for a run.
    I think your approach of blended teaching makes total sense. Impressive!

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