Australian Journal of Teacher Education - Volume 47 - Issue 6 - Article 3 - A Review of Undergraduate Education Student Responses to the Online Component of Blended Learning

Oct 15, 2026

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Calls for enhancing the digital interface for teaching and learning within tertiary institutions have played out in one School of Education, with variable results. Online learning tasks were added in 2018 to regular classes to provide more flexibility for student engagement. A questionnaire after the first-semester pilot showed about one-third of students viewed online learning as an enhancement. A second survey in 2019 assessed changes and longer-term impacts, while COVID-19 lockdowns required fully online pedagogy.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages19

Reading Time48 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Blended learning and online learning context

The initiative and survey design

Abstract and study outcomes

Questionnaire findings and longer-term impact

COVID-19 lockdown effects

Australian Journal of Teacher Education | Volume 47 Issue 6 | Article 3 | | --- | --- | | 2022
A Review of Undergraduate Education Student Responses to the Online Component of Blended Learning: A Cautionary Tale
Ross S. Bernay AUT University
Chris Jenkin
Tafili Utumapu-McBride Adrian Schoone Andrew Gibbons
Follow this and additional works at: [https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte](https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte)
Part of the Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Online and Distance Education Commons, and the Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons | | Recommended Citation Bernay, R. S., Jenkin, C., Utumapu-McBride, T., Schoone, A., & Gibbons, A. (2022) . A Review of Undergraduate Education Student Responses to the Online Component of Blended Learning: A Cautionary Tale. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 47(6) . [http://dx.doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2022v47n6.3](http://dx.doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2022v47n6.3) [This Journal Article is posted at Research Online.](This Journal Article is posted at Research Online.)[ ](This Journal Article is posted at Research Online.)[https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol47/iss6/3](https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol47/iss6/3) A Review of Undergraduate Education Student Responses to the Online Component of Blended learning: A Cautionary Tale Ross Bernay Chris Jenkin Tafili Utumapu-McBride Adrian Schoone Andrew Gibbons Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand Abstract: Calls for enhancing the digital interface for teaching and learning within tertiary institutions have played out in one School of Education, with variable results. Online learning tasks were added in 2018 to regular classes to provide more flexibility for student engagement. A team of lecturers developed a questionnaire for students to be completed after the first semester pilot. Data and findings indicated that one-third of students identified online learning as an enhancement to their learning. A second survey was conducted one year later to assess changes made and analyse the longer-term impacts. During the COVID-19 lockdown, fully online pedagogy was required; anecdotal observation indicated an improvement in satisfaction and engagement, but perhaps only because online was the only way possible to complete assessments. The conclusion contains recommendations and a cautionary tale, when introducing online learning across existing courses. Introduction “Online learning, that’s not what I signed up for!” or “No one told me this was an online programme”, were common complaints to programme leaders following initial attempts to introduce a blended learning programme into the Bachelor of Arts (Education), Bachelor of Education (Primary Teaching) and Bachelor of Education (ECE Teaching, Early Childhood Education). These responses prompted the research team to initiate a survey to understand in more detail students’ issues with online learning and thus, responding to the call for,“better understanding of what influences students’ learning experiences in the online formats of professional bachelor programs”(Nortvig et al., 2018, p. 54) . Students completed two surveys: one in 2018 after one semester of online learning and one in 2019 after one-and-a-half years of online learning. Subsequently the COVID-19 pandemic struck. At the direction of the New Zealand Government all non-essential workers, including lecturing staff and students, went in and out of extended periods of lockdown from 25 March 2020 until late 2021. The lessons gained from the 2018 and 2019 surveys were brought forward into a situation where online learning was no longer peripheral, but central in teaching and learning. Online learning is evidenced in more and more educational institutions around the world, without a necessarily robust development process (Keengwe & Kidd, 2010) . Blended learning, online learning, and e-learning have been key organisational foci in tertiary institutions since the early 2000s (Garrison & K

FAQs

What prompted the study into students’ experiences with online components?

Initial attempts to introduce blended learning in education bachelor programs led to student complaints, prompting a survey to better understand issues with online learning.

How were data collected during the initiative?

Students completed two surveys: one in 2018 after one semester of online learning and a second in 2019 after one-and-a-half years, using a questionnaire developed by lecturers.

What happened to teaching delivery during COVID-19, and what did the observations suggest?

During New Zealand COVID-19 lockdowns, fully online pedagogy was required. Anecdotal observations indicated improved satisfaction and engagement, though possibly because online delivery was the only feasible way to complete assessments.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by Franzy