“It’s the Combination That Works”: Evaluating Student Experiences with a Multi-element Blended Design in First-year Law

Oct 15, 2026

Mixed method research evaluates twenty Australian first-year law students’ use of a pioneering multi-element blended design in an introductory Bachelor of Laws unit across three intakes. The unit combined summary videos, self-test online quizzes, and interactive discussion boards, selected from evidence-based findings on digital tools for blended and fully online learning. Focus group and online surveys assessed expectations, support, resources, and collaboration, showing extensive use of videos and quizzes for revision and clarification while discussion boards were viewed as less helpful.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages18

Reading Time45 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Blended learning drivers and key research questions

Design elements and seamless integration

Study purpose and research questions

Blended Learning and Teaching

Definitions

“It’s the Combination That Works”: Evaluating Student Experiences with a Multi-element Blended Design in First-year Law Ekaterina Pechenkina, Amanda Scardamaglia, Janet Gregory Swinburne University of Technology, Australia Submitted: 18.05.2018 Accepted: 02.10.2018 Published: 16.10.2018 Abstract This mixed method study involved twenty students enrolled in three consecutive intakes of an Australian Bachelor of Laws program’s introductory unit. Pioneering a multi-element blended design, the unit featured three key elements: summary videos, self-test online quizzes and interactive discussion boards. These elements were chosen based on evidence-based research into digital tools found effective in enhancing students’ face-toface learning experience in blended and fully online designs. The study’s main goal was to evaluate how students utilized these elements and in what ways their previous experiences with blended designs influenced their learning process in this unit. A focusgroup and online surveys were used to collect data. Based on literature review, four areas of student experience with this blended designs formed a particular focus of this study: student expectations, support, resources, and collaboration. It was found that students extensively used videos and quizzes for catch-up, revision, and clarification, while discussion boards were not perceived as useful, with students preferring to have discussions face-to-face, in and out of classroom. Findings also indicated that students’expectations of and previous experiences with blended learning can be leveraged to strengthen blended designs. Keywords: Blended learning; Videos; Quizzes; Discussion boards; Law program; Student experiences Introduction Responding to a demand from students for a more personalized and flexible education (Wanner & Palmer, 2015), universities invest funds and resources into various teaching and learning innovations in a bid to improve student experiences and increase retention. In particular, a move to develop from scratch or redesign previously fully face-to-face units of study in a mixeddelivery mode, combining various teaching approaches and/or utilizing technological tools, is on the rise (Fox, 2014) . Its conceptions and applications are diverse, this mode of education came to be known as ‘blended’. Main ongoing questions around blended learning today deal with its models, strategies, best practices, design processes, and implementation modes (Halverson et al., 2014) . Depending on intended learning outcomes, discipline-specific pedagogies, student cohort composition, resources available and many other factors, blending can be achieved by mixing or combining pedagogical strategies, educational technologies and tools, and/or delivery modes (Pombo & Moreira, 2012) . For example, blended delivery can be achieved by moving some activities from face-to-face into online environment in order to offload content-heavy teaching, or by taking advantage of available technological tools to help students effectively collaborate with peers or self-regulate their learning process. However, blending is not just about redistribution of teaching and learning activities—it is about pedagogical seamlessness and how all the elements of the blend work together to enhance learning. A blend’s design, especially its online components, is found particularly influential in shaping students’ overall satisfaction with blended learning (Chen & Yao, 2016) . As today’s blends tend to combine more than one digital element, discussions concerned with finding the perfect balance between face-to-face and online ingredients are central in the research into effective blends. However, there is still paucity in exploration of blended designs which combine multiple technological elements (Wang et al., 2015) . The study discussed in this article proposes to offer some new insights on the matter. Building on previous research into impactful elements of blended l

FAQs

What multi-element blended design did the study evaluate?

The introductory law unit used three elements: summary videos, self-test online quizzes, and interactive discussion boards.

How did students use the different learning elements?

Students extensively used videos and quizzes for catch-up, revision, and clarification, while discussion boards were not perceived as useful.

Which aspects of student experience were emphasized in the research?

The study focused on student expectations, support, resources, and collaboration as key areas shaping the blended learning experience.

Oct 15, 2026

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