EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF BLENDED LEARNING USING ‘MOODLE’ WITH FIRST YEAR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

This research uses a developmental evaluation to conduct an evaluation for knowledge on the effectiveness of blended learning using ‘Moodle’ within the learning context of whether a blended pedagogy could benefit a traditional classroom approach. The module used for the purposes of this research was a common module shared between two cohorts of undergraduate first years, with eighty-nine students by the end of the semester. Quizzes, group exercises and online lectures were rolled-out online every week after each class. Quiz questions contained content which examined the lecture that had just been taught, either in the classroom or asynchronously online. The first research question was to evaluate the depth of learning acquired through a social constructivist pedagogy applied with blended learning using ‘Moodle’. The second was to evaluate the effectiveness of using ‘Moodle’ in this way for retention purposes. The third was to evaluate if the continued availability of the blended assessed aspects of the module left the assessment process vulnerable to misadventure. A developmental evaluation approach was used to assess quantitatively and qualitatively the effects of blended learning after weeks four and ten of the module. Findings indicate that all research questions have been proved, although the slow uptake of quizzes towards the end of the module may warrant further investigation.The findings suggest that a shift towards online delivery and blended learning at module, programme and Institutional level would be highly desirable and can be readily incorporated as a method to enhance the depth of learning achieved, to regulate and improve attrition and to give rigour and credence to the assessment processes used in Higher Education.