Sustainable blended teaching practices: lessons learned from instructor perspectives

The higher education (HE) sector has undergone drastic changes due to the preventive measures needed to cope with the Covid-19 pandemic since March 2020. As a result, most traditional classroom teaching had to move to synchronous or asynchronous online instruction. In the post-Covid-19 era, institutions will, at least partially, go back to teaching in person, and blended teaching (BT) practices will conceivably become the true norm. Although BT practices have been employed and researched extensively over the past two decades, a deeper or more extensive blending of courses will still be a major switch for many teachers and students. More than ever, it is vital for instructors not just to understand how to blend but also to understand the evolution of BT practices and the choices made to arrive at sustainable practices that positively impact the learning experience. In this article, the authors aim to elaborate on the contexts which stimulate or provide a catalyst for the use and subsequent growth of sustainable BT practices in HE. A mixed approach of inductive and deductive thematic analysis is used to analyze 26 interviews of instructors, considered either as pioneers or experienced BT adopters in six HE institutions across Europe (Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Netherlands, UK). This preliminary analysis revealed that the identified over-arching themes, the drivers and enablers that promote BT, are dynamic in nature and vary in diverse contexts. This study can give insights into BT adoption and help instructors and institutions improve planning or (re)design of courses into successful and sustainable BT practices. © 2021 Virtual Simulation Innovation Workshop, SIW 2021. All rights reserved.