Daria Valentini, PhD (Stonehill College) and Mark Lewis, PhD (Regis College and University of Massachusetts Boston)

Immersion and Continuity: A Blended Model for College Level Introductory Language Courses

Italian 101-102: 2007-2009

Introduction

The principal investigators for this research project are:

Daria Valentini, who has taught Introductory Italian for many years at Stonehill College, where blended learning environments have yet to be implemented on a broad scale

Mark Lewis, who participated in a grant to develop and implement blended learning across different sectors of the liberal arts and sciences curriculum at Regis College from 2003-2008

The project idea evolved from the opportunity to compare students in the blended course with those in the traditional face-to-face course, in order to ascertain the level of effectiveness of the blended learning model.

Results include survey data from students in the blended sections, as well as a comparison of student grades on multiple assignments. Also discussed will be the decision by Professor Valentini to adopt e-learning strategies and resources at Stonehill College. Specifically, she has created a web-enhanced Introductory Italian course that continues to take full advantage of the three weekly face-to-face meetings, while expanding students’ exposure to the language outside class.

Context: Blended Course Design and Instructional Objectives

Students in first and second semester Italian demonstrated their knowledge using a variety of methods. In class, they worked for a portion of each class period with a partner to a) act out a dialogue or b) transform sentences using newly introduced vocabulary and focusing on newly introduced grammar topics. Similarly, outside of class each student completed between eight and ten sets of computer-based online exercises and submitted them to the publisher’s course management system for review by the instructor. Spread out over the 15 weeks of the semester, these assignments counted for a total of 20% of their grade for the course. Each week students received a homework grade, which allowed them to monitor their own progress and performance. While opportunities for students to practice their

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Daria Valentini, PhD (Stonehill College) and Mark Lewis, PhD (Regis College and University of Massachusetts Boston)

spoken Italian were frequent within these sets of exercises, assessment and improvement of their spoken Italian occurred only in the face-to-face classroom. 1

Furthermore, four chapter tests were taken in class to assess comprehensive knowledge. Like the online exercises, these tests emphasized grammar, vocabulary, culture, and communication pertinent to everyday situations. Also like the online exercises, the tests assessed students’ skill development in listening, reading, and writing. In addition to the chapter tests, three timed quizzes were administered online using the learning management system’s quiz generator.

In addition to quizzes, the functions of the LMS most heavily relied upon for instruction were the online gradebook, announcements, links to Internet resources, and the uploading of instructor generated text and image resources as a supplement to instruction. Such resources helped to personalize the online learning environment, and they were often spontaneously added, accompanied by an announcement as well as an email message alerting students to the new content. Timed release of content in the LMS helped student stay focused on each week’s lesson, although content from previous weeks was continuously available.

Our primary objectives in this redesign of Introductory Italian were as follows:

Enable students to succeed with 33% reduction in seat time Make effective use of f2f class time to improve communicative competence,

and shift a larger portion of comprehension and review of structure to online environment

Increase the frequency of interactive assignment due dates, and provide rich and rapid feedback on each one

Create a preferred overall language learning experience

Comparison of Blended Model with F2F Model

Our research compares the blended format for Introductory Italian (50 mins. twice weekly f2f + unlimited asynchronous online) with traditional format (50 mins. thrice weekly with limited web-enhanced component)

Course design was streamlined by assigning dynamically released interactive exercises twice weekly. This content provided a concentrated amount of interactive learning and practice using “Quia”, the online lab manual to accompany a major textbook, Prego! 7th edition (McGraw Hill, 2007)

1 In an online course with a virtual classroom, students could record themselves using widely available tools for digital audio, and instructors could provide individualized feedback either in written or oral form at several points throughout the course.

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Daria Valentini, PhD (Stonehill College) and Mark Lewis, PhD (Regis College and University of Massachusetts Boston)

Variables that were consistent between the two delivery models include: same course duration and approximate number of students, same textbook, same material covered in the same amount of time, same quizzes and exams administered

Two different instructors taught these courses at two different private Boston area colleges (Regis College and Stonehill College), working to ensure consistency

Four semesters of teaching were studied

Methods & Results

A Student Evaluation of Blended Course Design survey was conducted using the TLTGroup’s Flashlight Online survey generator, version 1.0, and was administered for three populations of IT 101-102 students in three different semesters between 2008 and 2009. The survey contained 27 items.2

Student Evaluation of Blended Course Design results:

Percentage of students who agreed with the following:

86% - I learned the same as (43%) or more than (43%) in a traditional format.71% - I was better able to understand ideas and concepts in this course.71% - I gained confidence in my ability to learn difficult subject matter.78% - I learned at my own pace and was encouraged to spend more time on task.78% - I was better able to visualize ideas and concepts taught in this course.100% - The instructor gave clear explanations of what was expected in a blended

course.

In addition, the standard paper-based course evaluation was administered. Both instructors received positive feedback about their respective courses and teaching abilities, including accessibility outside of class.

Finally, grades for these sections of IT 101-102 were compared with grades earned by students in traditional IT 101-102 courses that did not use technology-assisted learning and were not taught as blended courses.

Blended student grades (ave. over two years)

o Homework – 90.2%o Tests – 91.0%

2 Some of the wording from the original items in Flashlight 1.0 has been either adapted or abbreviated.

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Daria Valentini, PhD (Stonehill College) and Mark Lewis, PhD (Regis College and University of Massachusetts Boston)

o Course – 90.7%

Face-to-face (ave. over two years)

o Homework – 89.9%o Tests – 89.9%o Course – 87.4%

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