Individual factors and successful learning in a hybrid course

Abstract

What personality factors make for a successful hybrid L2 learning experience? While previous studies have examined online learning in comparative terms (i.e. Which format is better: in class or hybrid?), this study examines certain personality and cognitive factors that might define the ideal hybrid language learner. All informants studied introductory Spanish with multimedia materials supported by synchronous chat (video, voice, text). Personality and cognitive traits were probed using the Big Five Inventory scale (BFI1) and the Shipley Institute of Living scale (SILS2), respectively. The results were correlated with course outcomes and learner preferences for online, chat, or in-class activities. Exit interviews were conducted with an eye to offering a richer understanding of how hybrid students viewed online learning. The quantitative data revealed that conscientiousness (per BFI) had a significant, positive correlation with final grades. Low-verbal learners (per SILS) registered a definite preference for working with online materials, as opposed to learning in class or chatting online. The results suggest that students who are conscientiousness learners perform well within the hybrid learning environment; lowverbal learners, in particular, value the online materials which create the possibility to work online at one's own pace.

Strategies for Hybrid Course Design in Second‐Year German

“…Being able to record a conversation multiple times or rehearse and stage a role-play and send the best version to the instructor allowed the shyer and weaker of my students to feel in charge of their oral abilities. This seems to confirm Arispe and Blake's (2012) findings that low-verbal learners profit from hybrid instruction because they need more time for individual language study and practice, enjoy control over the pace of their learning, and are simply too "overwhelmed by fast-talking native or near-native instructors who are trying to model real-life speech" (p. 459). Such students do well online where the pace of practice is under their control and where they can practice a task until it conforms to instructor expectations.…”

“…It has become accepted wisdom that hybrid instruction is not suitable for every student (Goertler et al, 2012;Arispe & Blake, 2012;Lin, 2009;Blake et al, 2008;Winke et al 2010). The format is best suited for independent and conscientious learners (Arispe & Blake 2012) and requires a level of technology that many of today's students do not yet possess despite their familiarity with Facebook and Twitter (Goertler et al, 2012). It has also been shown that students choose courses for convenience and flexibility, and might chose a hybrid course under the mistaken impression that it is less work (Blake et al, 2008).…”

“…2 In addition, students often select a hybrid course for reasons of convenience and flexibility rather than a good understanding of what hybrid courses involve in terms of time commitment and workload (El Mansour & Mupinga, 2007;Lin, 2009;Goertler et al, 2012). Indeed, in their evaluation of personal traits that would make students successful in hybrid courses, Arispe and Blake (2012) identified conscientiousness as the one and only trait that had statistical significance and concluded that the online learning environment is not suited for every student. Instructors, in turn, do not understand that their traditional F2F courses need to be pared down for hybrid instruction rather than expanded.…”

Virtual Learning Environment in Continuing Education for Nursing in Oncology: an Experimental Study

“…Nurses in the CG had higher performance according to the association of age and the training time, considereing <30 years of age statistically significant (p 0.03), and training time lower than three years (p 0.01), inferring that DL courses may not be the best option for recent college graduates, especially when knowledge in the area is incipient or there is a lack in autonomous learning, since this characteristic determines the outcome of the learning process [13].…”

The effectiveness of online teaching in an advanced Spanish language course

“…; Scida and Saury ; Blake and Delforge ; Blake, Wilson, Cetto, and Pardo‐Ballester ). Arispe and Blake () have noted that language learning online is often limited to beginner‐level learners, and thus a gap exists in the existing literature on this topic. Blake and Delforge () also discuss the need for further research examining language courses that are conducted fully online.…”