Seminar on “Blended Learning”

The seminar on “Blended Learning: Design It, Teach It, Make It Work” was held on August 20, 2025, and organized by the Department of English and Humanities at ULAB. The speaker, Ms. Sadia Shaheed, was introduced by the Head of the Department, Ms. Arifa Ghani Rahman. With a background in Anthropology and Instructional Design, Ms. Shaheed highlighted her experiences in designing foreign language learning courses, scenario-based training, and strategic management courses. She emphasized motivation, challenges, and context as key drivers of effective learning design.

Central to her talk was the importance of instructional design in making blended learning impactful. She explained that investment in blended learning yields real results by building, fostering, and empowering both teachers and learners. The session introduced the concept of blended learning, relevant for both faculty and students, with interactive questions from the audience. Key benefits included cost-effectiveness, higher engagement, digital literacy, and future readiness. Sadia elaborated on models such as the flipped classroom, Hyflex learning, and frameworks like Bloom’s Taxonomy and the SMART model, aligning objectives with measurable outcomes.

She further discussed content chunking for clarity, backward design (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005), and the Pre-In-Post framework. Practical strategies included in-class active learning (discussions, problem-solving), post-class reflection, and low-tech but high-impact engagement. Another highlight was pair teaching, involving planning, design, implementation, review, and improvement. She also shared the KISS process (Keep, Improve, Stop, Start) as a reflective tool for teaching practices. The seminar concluded with strategies to integrate design thinking into blended learning, connecting both the successes and frustrations of students to foster meaningful engagement.

Report by Usama Zyma (231012028)