Available online 20 September 2023, 151824

Author links open overlay panel, , ABSTRACT

Blended learning is a learner-centered educational method that combines online and traditional face-to-face educational strategies. Simulation is a commonly utilized platform for experiential learning and an ideal component of a blended learning curriculum. This section describes blended learning, including its strengths and limitations, educational frameworks, uses within health professions education, best practices, and challenges. Also included is a brief introduction to simulation-based education, along with theoretical and real-world examples of how simulation may be integrated into a blended learning curriculum. Examples of blended learning in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, specifically within the Neonatal Resuscitation Program, procedural skills training, and the National Neonatology Curriculum, are reviewed.

Section snippetsStrengths and Limitations of Blended Learning

Blended learning maximizes the strengths of each individual instructional strategy taken in isolation (face-to-face and online) while minimizing each strategy's limitations.4,5 Additionally, online preparatory work can optimize the time for critical thinking within the in-person curricular component.6,7 Like face-to-face instructional strategies, blended learning offers opportunities for direct learner observation and in person community building, which are limitations of online-only

Education Theories Substantiating Blended Learning

Blended learning achieves a more effective pedagogy not only through a blend of instructional strategies but also through a blend of educational theories which lay the foundation for its success. The ability to individualize learning through personalization of content and path is the basis of adaptive learning.9 Enhancing learner interaction, both online and face-to-face, is the basis of collaborative learning6,9,10 and connectivist learning theory.8 The variety of avenues for interaction

Blended Learning within Health Professions Education

Most of the literature on blended learning is situated outside of health professions education (HPE).9 However, the strengths and limitations of blended learning described previously have been substantiated within diverse HPE contexts.1,8,11,15,20, 21, 22 Many blended educational strategies have been studied within HPE, but the most commonly used strategies are multimedia platforms and case-based learning.8 There are myriad roles for technology-enhanced learning within undergraduate medical

Blended Learning Best Practices and Ideal Structure

There is a lack of consensus in how blended curricula should be constructed, including how much of each instructional strategy is optimal and the ideal balance between learner flexibility and autonomy and educator structure and guidance.2,3 This lack of consensus is further exacerbated by the difficulty of comparing different blended learning curricula due to inequivalent blends and structure.10,13,17 However, some guiding principles and best practices have recently been published.

Conceptual

Challenges to the Design and Implementation of Blended Learning

There are several challenges to the design and implementation of blended learning. As previously mentioned, the ideal balance between learner flexibility and autonomy, and educator instruction and guidance, is unknown. How to incorporate flexibility is a frequently cited challenge to the design of blended learning.2 Moreover, in most studies of blended learning, the instructor has control over what parts of the curriculum are face-to-face and which are online. In a fully learner-centered model,

Evaluation of Blended Learning and Future Areas of Research

Like other curricular strategies, blended learning should be evaluated. The majority of published blended learning curricula assess only short-term knowledge or skills outcomes through evaluations such as multiple-choice questions or objective structured assessment of technical skills, with very few studies addressing long-term outcomes or behavior change.1,11,13,32 Seven data collection activities needed to evaluate technology-enhanced learning strategies and blended learning curricula

Simulation-based learning experiences as a component of blended learning

Simulation is a powerful educational method that engages learners in immersive scenarios and fosters discussion and discovery during group debriefings. By bridging the gap between conceptual knowledge and application, simulation is an ideal component of a blended learning curriculum. The Society for Simulation in Healthcare defines a simulated-based learning experience as “an array of structured activities that represent actual or potential situations in education and practice.”34 There are a

Neonatal Resuscitation Program

For many years, educators in neonatal-perinatal medicine have enthusiastically embraced a blended learning approach. The most striking example is the structure of the Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) course, which since inception has incorporated content that addresses both cognitive and psychomotor skills, although the course structure has evolved significantly over time. Relevant background information, including physiology and pathophysiology, and review of the algorithm and procedures

Conclusion

Blended learning curricula are evidence-based and provide numerous benefits to both learners and educators, including asynchronous, on-demand access to learning resources; multiple methods for individuals with different learning preferences to engage with materials; ability to scale online materials, such as videos or computer modules, for large groups of learners; and preservation of peer-to-peer interactions to strengthen connectedness in a learning community. Simulation is an important

Funding

None of the authors have any sources of funding to report.

Declaration of Competing Interest

None of the authors have a conflict of interest to declare.

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