Research findings from a study exploring student perspectives of Blended Learning at the University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia.

1. Applying student
voices in the evaluation of
current blended
learning initiatives at USC
UNIVERSITY OF THE SUNSHINE COAST
DR KAREN SUTHERLAND, DR GINNA BROCK
SHERELLE NORMAN, DR PRUDENCE MILLEAR, DR TERRI DOWNER,
DR TIM STROHFELDT, DR KERRY RUTTER, DR NICOLE MASTERS,
DR RETHA SCHEEPERS, & DR SHARON LOUTH

2. TODAY'S
PRESENTATION
Introduction
Method
Results
Future Direction

3. INTRODUCTION
At USC, Blended Learning (BL) refers to, “the fusion of educational technologies, virtual
environments and teaching in physical spaces to enhance the student learning
experience” (USC Blended Learning Strategy 2017 – 2020).
Blended Learning (BL) is now a widely recognised means of enhancing the student learning
experience within Higher Education (Chen & Yao, 2016, p. 1667; Graham, 2013).
There has been considerable focus on expanding academic staff awareness and increasing the
incorporation of BL techniques within pedagogy.
Limited data is available on students’ perceptions and attitudes towards BL initiatives.
This project includes the student voice and students as partners to evaluate current BL initiatives
and determine student preferences for specific BL pedagogies to enhance their learning journey.

4. INTRODUCTION: RESEARCH QUESTION
What do students consider to be the blended learning
pedagogies at USC that most/least support their
learning?
For the current project, ’support their learning’ was defined as:
(1) the breadth of their personal BL experiences in their courses, and
(2) the consequences of their experiences for their academic success
(as GPAs, self-rated academic progress, academic self-efficacy, and intention
to complete their degrees).

5. METHOD: RESEARCH DESIGN
Online Survey using Survey Monkey sent to all
undergraduate students at the University of the
Sunshine Coast to gather perceptions of educational
technologies that enhance student learning.
Two 'Design Thinking' workshops to develop
solutions for challenges highlighted in the survey
data (Chin, et al., 2019; Callahan, 2019; Doyle et al.,
2019).

6. METHOD: STUDENTS AS PARTNERS
10 student partners consulted at each stage of the project
including:
Survey design
Video promotion of the survey
Survey data analysis

7. METHOD: SURVEY PARTICIPANT DEMOGRAPHICS
n = 204 Undergraduate USC Students
Gender: 153 (75%) Female, 48 (23.5%) Male, 2 (1.0%) Other
First in Family to study at University: 81 (39.7%)
Campus: Sippy Downs: 165 (80.9%) |Caboolture: 14 (6.9%) |
Fraser Coast: 12 (5.9%) Gympie: 6 (2.9%) | South Bank: 3 (1.5%)
Melbourne: 2 (1%) | Noosa: 1 (0.5%) | Sydney: 1 (0.5%)
Faculty: FABL: 102 (50%) | FoSHEE: 88 (43.1%) | Both: 13 (6.4%)
Head Start: 1 (0.5%)
Year of Study: 1st: 66 (32.4%) | 2nd: 60 (29.4%) | 3rd: 51 (25.0%)
4th: 14 (6.9%) |Other: 13 (6.4%)

8. RESULTS:
EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES MOST PREFERRED
BY STUDENTS
Recorded lectures
Videos
Blackboard course sites with simple-to-find content and
Assessment information that is available at the beginning
of the semester.

9. RESULTS:
Participants suggested that
educators play an integral role in
their own adoption of
educational technologies and
requested academics to:

10. FUTURE DIRECTIONS
Refining infographics with student partners to guide academics’ use of BL.
Disseminating infographics to educators.
Connecting academics to tools and services to support the implementation
of these findings into teaching and learning activities.
Further data analysis to develop research papers and conference
presentations to communicate findings from this study.

11. THANK YOU AND
QUESTIONS
References
Callahan, K. C. (2019). Design Thinking in Curricula. The International Encyclopedia of Art and Design Education, 1-6.
Chen, W. S., & Yao, A.Y. T. (2016). An Empirical Evaluation of Critical Factors Influencing Learner Satisfaction in Blended Learning: A
Pilot Study. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 4(7), 1667-1671.
Chin, D. B., Blair, K. P., Wolf, R. C., Conlin, L. D., Cutumisu, M. Pfaffman, J., & Schwartz, D. L. (2019). Educating and measuring choice:
A test of the transfer of design thinking in problem solving and learning. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 1-44.
Doyle, A., Seery, N., Canty, D., & Buckley, J. (2019). Agendas, influences, and capability: Perspectives on practice in design and
technology education. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 29(1), 143-159
Graham, C.R. (2013). Emerging practice and research in blended learning In M.M. Moore (ed) Handbook of Distance Education 3rd
Edition (pp. 333-350). Routledge, New York.