Northern Illinois University Analysis

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Table of Contents

Organization Demographics
Blended Learning Background
Blended learning Implementation as Perceived by Lecturers
The Perception of Blended Learning in the Institutions that Do Not Use It
Research Setting
Assumptions and Biases
References

Organization Demographics

The total number of students enrolled at the Northern Illinois University estimates over 20 thousand people (15027 undergraduates, 4850 graduates, 253 College of Law students), and the staff is represented by over 3000 people (Fast Facts, 2015). The undergraduate population of the University is rather diverse and includes 57% of students of white background, 15.9 and 15.4% of Black and Asian students accordingly, 5% Asian individuals, and 3.5% of people with two or more ethnicities (Fast Facts, 2015). The male to female ratio demonstrates close to equal numbers (50.8% men and 49.2% women among undergraduates, 53.6% women and 46.6% men among graduates) (Fast Facts, 2015). Moreover, the average age of the undergraduate students is 22, while that of the graduate population is 32.

Blended Learning Background

In the contemporary world, where time is one of the most valuable resources, many workplaces and educational organizations started to focus on making their working schedules more flexible in order to ensure access to their programs and projects for multiple students and workers. The blended education programs as NIU include online and video courses combined with the standard attendance programs. They are facilitated by the NIU Outreach Centers located in the Northern Illinois (Online and Blended Programs Explained, 2016). The outreach programs work through the organization of face-to-face gatherings for the learners where they have an opportunity to interact with their tutors and peers closely. The number of such face-to-face sessions may be one to three per term. The off-campus part of blended programs represented by the online courses is designed to provide the students with more free time and loser scheduling (Online and Blended Programs Explained, 2016). Blended programs should not be confused with the courses focused primarily on e-learning and online education.

Blended learning Implementation as Perceived by Lecturers

From the perspective of the tutors, blended learning is a reusable instrument for learning that combined the advantages of flexibility of distance education, and the benefits of social atmosphere (Shivam & Singh, 2015). In blended learning courses, the teacher is to possess excellent knowledge of the content in order to be able to modify the way it is delivered according to the needs of the students. At NIU, the teachers are expected to be motivators of the process and the organizers of the integrated learning that combines online and face-to-face sessions (Shivam & Singh, 2015). In other words, the lecturers are to apply situational leadership and stay responsive to the arising circumstances, fluctuations, and challenges. Overall, the lecturers

The Perception of Blended Learning in the Institutions that Do Not Use It

In order to evaluate this domain, it is necessary to collect data from the affiliations that fit the primary parameter – the absence of the courses and programs of blended type. Such data may be found online or accessed by means of questionnaires targeting this aspect. In the institutions that provide distance education and online courses, it may be valuable to assess the attitudes towards e-learning, and its advantages and disadvantages namely.

Research Setting

The interviews with the participants will be conducted in the academic settings using the University classrooms. Besides, some students, who are currently using the blended programs may be reached by means of email or instant messages. It is better if the conversations are held in an interactive manner. However, the research questions are flexible enough for the students to provide their answers in a form of letters.

Assumptions and Biases

It is important to avoid biased perception while processing the responses of the interviewees because the researcher’s interpretation of their answers is based on the assumptions and judgments they make. In order to ensure a high level of objectivity, it could be helpful to engage several individuals with various backgrounds and with different opinions in the process of the data interpretation and processing. Possibly, an individual with a supportive attitude towards the blended education, one with opposing attitude, and another individual who is impartial could review the responses one by one.

References

College of Education Facts and History. (2016). Web.

Fast Facts. (2015). Web.

Online and Blended Programs Explained. (2016). Web.

Shivam, R. & Singh, S. (2015). Implementation of Blended Learning in Classroom: A review paper. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 5(1), 369-372.

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