An investigation on effectiveness of blended learning supported by quantum learning design framework

The aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of blended learning supported by the quantum learning design framework on student achievement, motivation, social-cognitive-teaching presence and perceptions and to determine the effective components of blended learning. By presenting a specific blended learning model as a guide for teachers, by revealing the components of this model in the scope of a whole course, by paving the way for more qualified future blended learning environments to be composed, by using Edmodo in the on-line part of the course, and by applying Q method at a certain part, this current study will contribute to the existing literature with these standing points. The study was designed in a mixed way including both quantitative and qualitative research methods. The focus point of the study was primarily to determine the factors contributing students' academic achievement and to profoundly analyse their views about these factors by using an exploratory sequential mixed research design. The experimental part of the study has a pretest-posttest control group design, and the qualitative part has phenomenological method. The study was conducted with 63 third year students (31 in experimental group, 32 in control group) at the Department of Primary-school Mathematics Teaching, Faculty of Education, Gaziantep University. The findings revealed that there is a significant difference in terms of academic achievement, motivation, and research group scale scores between the students participated in blended learning supported by the quantum learning process and the students participated in only blended learning process. When the students' perceptions on this learning process were examined, it was found that there was a consensus on the positive sides of the process, they were content with the activities like displaying and repetition as they required active participation, and they attached importance to the role of the instructor. With these interviews, the effective components of blended learning were determined as follows: teacher roles, activities specific to design, the features of learning management system, face-to-face courses as complementary to on-line courses, the features of on-line course materials, student-student interaction, testing and assessment process, students roles, and extracurricular on-line participation. The implications include blended learning course designs with activities fostering active participation and the application of permanence tests in future studies.