Hasnain, Syed Ahmed
(2021)
To Blend or not to Blend from an Instructor’s Perspective: Introducing Blended Learning in Medical Education in a Gulf Cooperation Council Country.
Doctor of Education thesis, University of Liverpool.
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Abstract
Abstract This study looks at instructors perceptions of blended learning (BL) at a Medical School (MS) in one of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The study also looks at the effects of instructors perceptions on implementation of BL in the classroom. And the effect of student perspectives on instructors perceptions of BL. The study is important as it looks into the impact and effectiveness of technology in the classroom, from an instructor’s perspective in the GCC. The study also captures how an instructors’ experiences with technology effect their practice in the classroom. The target populations of the study are eight instructors and five students. Data analysis starts with narratives of each instructor to give the reader an idea of their background, and technology usage preferences. The main methods of data collection are instructors interviews, class observations, and one student focus group discussion (FGD), a thematic analysis was carried out on the notes collected. The analysis of the study is carried out in light of the technology acceptance model (TAM). Findings of this study confirms that perceived ease (PE) of use and perceived usefulness (PU) of technology does contribute to acceptance of technologies. Effect of TAM extension variables content quality (CQ), facilitating conditions (FC), anxiety (ANX), lack of experience (EXP) was evident among the instructors. Findings of this study showed that student perspectives have an effect on instructors perceptions of blended learning. A recommendation is to add student perspectives as an external variable to TAM extensions. It is concluded that the BL approach depends on the individual instructor and can alter from instructor to instructor, depending on personal preferences, past experiences, training, and support. The general perception of the BL approach expressed by the instructors at MS was positive. Based on the findings, it was also revealed that instructors can have negative perceptions of BL, if their expectations are not met. It is also concluded that MS lacked planned implementation of the BL approach institution wide. A recommendation for MS is to come up with a plan to implement BL institution wide, after studying the strengths and limitations of the BL approach. While the findings of this study revealed that instructors perceptions of BL may improve course instruction, and student engagement, more research is required to measure the direct relationship of BL, students, and instructor expectations.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctor of Education) |
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| Divisions: | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Histories, Languages and Cultures |
| Depositing User: | Symplectic Admin |
| Date Deposited: | 04 Jun 2021 10:19 |
| Last Modified: | 18 Jan 2023 22:49 |
| DOI: | 10.17638/03121345 |
| Supervisors: |
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| URI: | https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3121345 |
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