Can blending face to face teaching with e-learning support the development of apprentices in mathematics

This paper outlines the results of a formative evaluation research study to establish if; blending face-to-face and e-learning delivery methods can support the development of; apprentices in mathematics. The study included the design, development and; evaluation of a mathematics web site which is grounded in established theoretical; criteria for effective blended delivery within third level education. This web site is; delivered through the WebCT e-learning platform .The research design used a mixed; method approach combining both quantitative and qualitative data derived from; questionnaires, interviews, non-participant observation and focus group sessions. The; research, which lasted three months, involved forty plumbing apprentices. The principal; findings of the research indicate that student apprentices who took part in the blended; learning module showed an improvement in examination results in questions with a; mathematical content. Feedback from students who took part in the study shows that; their experience of e-learning was extremely positive and that 84% would like to; participate in this type of delivery method in the future.; Keywords: e-learning, apprentices, mathematics.