Transition to blended learning: Teachers’ pedagogical beliefs, practices and challenges

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the teachers’ transition towards blended learning in Pakistani higher education and to investigate the perceptions about the transition of pedagogical beliefs and challenges that teachers faced during the transition. Prior to the pandemic, higher education institutions began with traditional (physical) instruction. Due to a sudden outbreak, universities were forced to adopt an online mode. The system of dual-mode both from face-to-face and online mode during the situation of COVID 19. The gap was covered by exploring teachers' experiences, pedagogical beliefs, and challenges regarding pedagogical practice in the online mode of blended learning. The transition of instructors towards an online mode of blended learning was confronting. As the instructor transitioned to blended learning, the role of the teacher, work distribution, teacher identity, and pedagogical approaches changed. When a teacher moved, it redesigned their courses. This often results in teachers' facing challenges regarding pedagogical practices due to the changing role of the teacher in online mode. The research study adopted the quantitative approach survey method and was used for data collection from faculty members of public and private universities in Lahore. The sample for this study consisted of 200 faculty members from public and private universities in Lahore. Five public and three private universities were chosen by random sampling and, using stratified sampling, the departments of universities were selected from which 179 teachers (85 male and 95 male) returned the questionnaire, which had a response rate of 90%. The instrument that was adapted by the studies (Marek et al., 2020) and (Hang and Chou, 2015) got permission from both researchers. Through pilot testing to ensure the reliability of the instrument. This questionnaire was tested on fifty university teachers in this study. The overall Cronbach Alpha value of the survey questionnaire was 0.791. Descriptive statistics were used to calculate the frequencies, mean, median, IQR, and SD, while inferential statistics were used to find out the significant differences by using one-way ANOVA and an independent samples t-test. The findings of the study showed that higher workloads and stress were experienced by teachers when they transitioned toward an online mode of instruction. Teachers desired change and adaptability if they were given the opportunity to switch to online classes the next semester. Due to this sudden shift to online mode, teachers showed a higher level of readiness to switch their classes to online mode. Those teachers who had prior experience of teaching online courses or blended learning modes were very comfortable and eased the transition to online mode. The finding revealed that the transition of pedagogical beliefs was medium-level as perceived by teachers, but teachers were more confident about their transition of pedagogical beliefs by integrating the PowerPoint presentation, shared learning materials through the institutional management system (LMS), and face-to-face teaching was successfully carried out through synchronous video. This study also reported that faculty members faced the challenges of assessment designer, social supporter, and technology facilitator. Higher education institutions should facilitate mentoring and theory-based training for instructors that are concerned about instructional technology and online pedagogy. This training is not only necessary in any natural disaster or crisis, but there is a need more training about the use of technology integration in teaching as a standard part of teacher professional development.