After more than two years of fully remote learning setup, the University of the Philippines (UP) announced that it will be shifting to blended learning starting the academic year 2022-2023.
In a memorandum issued by the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs dated June 20 and made public during the weekend, the country’s premier state university said it is now preparing to reopen its campuses after seeing an improved COVID-19 situation and vaccination numbers nationwide.
However, the university said it believed that blended learning was now the "ideal learning delivery mode in the post-pandemic era."
"The ‘thoughtful fusion’ of instructional modalities and methods improves learning outcomes and provides flexibility for teachers and learners," UP said.
The university said it would follow 3 “models” of blended learning.
Under the first model, classes will remain “fully online, combining asynchronous online learning using a learning management system and synchronous online learning using web conferencing applications.”
The second model, dubbed “blended block learning,” combines independent online study with “intensive” face-to-face sessions.
"For example, in a laboratory class with geographically dispersed students, in-person sessions in the laboratory can be blocked and scheduled at a particular point in the semester, and online learning takes place in the periods before and after the blocked [face-to-face] sessions," the university explained.
The third model or “classic blended learning” alternates in-person classes with asynchronous online learning, wherein “students study the learning content at home… then do guided practice and group work during the [face-to-face] sessions," according to UP.
The memorandum encourages teachers and staff to “think through which learning activities are best-done face-to-face or online.”
For example, classes that require laboratory or studio work, field activities, group tutorials, proctored exams, and consultations may do face-to-face sessions.
Seminars, tutorials, workshops, and online proctored exams may use synchronous online learning, while recorded lectures, assigned readings, automated quizzes, reflection papers, and other submissions may be under asynchronous learning.
