SUSTAINABLE UNINTERRUPTED LEARNING – AN APPROACH TO BLENDED LEARNING

Sachin, Susmita 

Research Scholar, Department of Education, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara

ABSTRACT

Education is an all-encompassing lifetime process that is fundamental to every nation’s development. The world witnessed a major shift toward education and the different ways and modes of delivery of instruction to learners during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many approaches to the teaching-learning process came into existence during this time. Different ways of remote teaching-learning processes were explored. Post-pandemic it has become essential to be ready by adding and exploring some ways of teaching-learning processes which is uninterruptable and sustainable in the long run. Blended Learning can ace the race most effectively. The recent advances in technology and its user-friendliness are an added advantage. A Blended Learning approach incorporates technology with a normal face-to-face teaching pedagogy. The Blended Learning approach helps in overcoming the idea of learning once and from one place and by one instructor. It replaces this idea and helps the process of learning to be continuous, repeated, sustainable, and joyful. Blended learning allows the learner to customize his learning experience as it facilitates the advantages of control over time and space. The students of the upper primary level are at the cusp of enjoying autonomous learning. They start taking the onus of their work and success. This makes it an appropriate time to introduce Blended Learning. A flipped learning approach was employed in the present study. The subject of science being both experimental and theoretical also caters to multiple intelligence theory. The present study focuses on checking the efficacy of the intervention (with the help of e-books) by analyzing the achievement test scores of the control group and the experimental group. Blended learning was found to be an effective and sustainable option that can ensure uninterrupted study with a well-balanced approach in the long run.

Keywords: Education, Science, Blended Learning, Upper Primary Level, Achievement Scores, COVID-19, Sustainability.

Impact Statement

The recent pandemic made most educators scramble for ways of continuing education, resulting in breaking out of their comfort zones and drawing from technology to make the best of the situation. Technology played a humongous role and became a game changer. Additionally, challenges like poor weather or pollution have many times forced students indoors. This research on Blended Learning primarily focuses on finding the effectiveness of a teaching-learning process that is sustainable, so that there is no discontinuity if ever any such challenging development occurs in the future.

About Autor

Mrs. Susmita Sachin is a graduate of the Regional Institute of Education (NCERT), Bhopal. With a postgraduation in Physics from The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara, she found her calling in making teaching-learning of science and mathematics interesting to her students using innovative ways. In a span of 25 years, she has worked at schools across the country in various positions from time to time. At present, she is encompassing her experiences in the form of research, especially in the subject of science at the school level as a research scholar at the Department of Education, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara.

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