TODAY'S PAPER | DECEMBER 29, 2019

Blended learning
Neda Mulji | December 29, 2019

The writer works at Oxford University Press, Pakistan.

A 25-YEAR-OLD old takes her new car out on the broken roads of Karachi, on the way to
her first job. It has taken her nearly two years to land a job after she graduated with
an MBA degree from a local university. There are thousands like her still struggling to
find employment.

We often hear the word ‘entitled’ to describe young people demanding something bigger
and better — be it a new digital device, travels abroad, or simply chasing a desire to win an
arm-chair argument against their parents in the family living room. The fact is, there is not
much room for ‘entitlement’ in a society where, as Maya Angelou aptly put it, ‘joy is an act of
resistance’. The girl driving her very first car isn’t the only one looking for a bit of joy in the
urban madness — millions of others like her are finding ways to subvert deprivation. There
are millions of hard-earning parents investing in their children’s education only to
eventually realise it won’t deliver a professionally-driven future.
How effective is a higher education system if it cannot be a launching pad for graduates to
be able to afford their own housing, health and improve the quality of their lives? The
responsibility to enable the dreams and aspirations of our young generation rests with all
those higher education institutes that are preparing them for a career. In the absence of job-
embedded learning, there is little connect between a college education and real life needs.
Our young graduates are often deprived of the prospects that most universities provide the
world over.

Whilst many of our local universities claim to delve into evolving teaching methods and a
wider scope of learning, a closer look often shows a gaping divide between theory and
practice. For example, the concept of blended learning is currently touted as the next big
thing in our higher education institutes but have we got the framework in place to help
familiarise teachers with the evolving strategies to use it in classrooms?

Textbooks alone cannot match the benefits

of blended learning.

Universities worldwide are using blended learning as a powerful mechanism that combines
traditional face-to-face teaching with the digital tools required to prepare students for the
demands of a professional life. As higher education experiences in the Middle East show,
universities have to reshape methods and policies to transition to blended learning. There is
much research that goes into preparing students and the faculty for digital transformation;
the particular brand that suits a society’s needs might not be the same as that being used
elsewhere. Unfortunately, we like to import learning in a ‘one size fits all’ framework that
produces more challenges than rewards. There is much value in understanding the impact
of blended learning, and how it can be applied across different disciplines.

Blended learning is important particularly in higher education because we can no longer

prepare graduates for the demands of a professional world without digital experience.
Although still very significant for content analysis, textbooks alone cannot match the
benefits of blended learning, which imparts problem-solving skills in a unique context that
allows students the autonomy to adapt learning to their individual style and gain access to a
variety of personalised research tools.

With digital tools, students can easily revisit the content anytime, anywhere and have more
meaningful collaboration with peers — group work is now possible without physical
proximity as is immediate peer feedback and one-to-one interaction with course tutors.
Enhanced retention of content, self-correction and flexibility are just some of the
advantages. Blended learning also allows for greater efficiency and transparency in tracking
assessment records.

These blended learning tools help students take ownership of their education and engage
more deeply with course material as they get opportunities for self-advocacy through
individually defined goals and flexible assessment. Teachers functioning as the ‘guide on the
side’ can help students connect learning to real-life experiences that provide opportunities
for employment or further education.

Due to the sheer demographics of our population, we have potentially more inquirers,
thinkers and innovators in our society than many other nations. Whilst a large number of
nations have either ageing populations or those that are skewed towards a young,
dependent bracket, our median age is approximately 24, which makes the demand for
higher education high. We are fortunate to have a large pool of human resources with
almost 40 per cent of our population in the working-age bracket. Tapping into this talent
requires a growth mindset and workable policies. Without structural changes, there might
be yet more hard-earners weaving through the urban madness to get to jobs that fail their
expectations.

The writer works at Oxford University Press, Pakistan.

neda.mulji@gmail.com

Twitter: @nedamulji

Published in Dawn, December 29th, 2019

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