Self-Regulation and “Time Off”: Evaluations and Reflections on the Development of a Blended Course

Oct 15, 2026

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Changes in education and digital technology are creating innovative teaching possibilities, with blended instruction emerging as a promising approach. This study evaluates reflections from the development and implementation of a university course taught in a blended format, describing how students experienced delivery and what challenges they faced. Undergraduate students (n=109) in a fourth-year capstone participated, reporting difficulties keeping up during online lecture weeks and maintaining organization and peer and assignment connection. Findings indicate self-regulation is a major determinant of success, with recommendations to improve students' social and academic experiences in a digital learning environment.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages14

Reading Time35 min

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The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning | Volume 9 | Issue 1 | Article 6 | | --- | --- | April 2018 Self-Regulation and “Time Off”: Evaluations and Reflections on the Development of a Blended Course Natalie Spadafora Brock University, [ns08ta@brocku.ca](ns08ta@brocku.ca)[ ](ns08ta@brocku.ca)ZopitoMarini Brock University Follow this and additional works at: [https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/cjsotl_rcacea](https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/cjsotl_rcacea) Part of the Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons, and the Higher Education Commons Recommended Citation Spadafora, N., & Marini, Z. (2018). Self-Regulation and “Time Off”: Evaluations and Reflections on the Development of a Blended Course. The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 9 (1). Retrieved from https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/cjsotl_rcacea/ vol9/iss1/6 Self-Regulation and “Time Off”: Evaluations and Reflections on the Development of a Blended Course Abstract Changes in both the landscape of education and digital technology are giving rise to interesting, innovative, and potentially effective pedagogical possibilities. As educators ofthe 21st century, we are witnessing continuous changes in the way we teach as well as the way students learn. This study is a part of an ongoing research program aimed at evaluating the pedagogical effectiveness of blended teaching. More specifically, this paper aims to describe some of our reflections as we developed, delivered, and carried out an evaluation ofa university course taught using a blended format. Undergraduate students (n=109) in a fourth-year capstone course participated in this study. We report on the students’ perceptions ofthe effectiveness of the delivery method of the course, while focusing on the struggles they encountered, including difficulties keeping up with the course content, particularly on the weeks where the lecture was online, as well as a struggle to stay organized and connected with their peers and their assignments. Self-regulation turned out to be a major determinant of success in this type of course. We conclude with suggestions to improve students’ social and academic experiences as they navigate learning in a digital world. Les changements survenus à la fois dans le paysage de l’éducation et dans la technologie numérique donnentnaissance à des possibilités pédagogiques intéressantes, innovatrices et potentiellement efficaces. En tant qu’éducateurs du XXIe siècle, nous assistons à des changements continus dans la manière dont nousenseignons ainsi que dans la manière dont les étudiants apprennent. Cette étude s’inscrit dans le cadre d’un programme de recherche en cours qui a pour objectif d’évaluer l’efficacité pédagogique de l’enseignementhybride. Plus spécifiquement, cet article vise à décrire certaines de nos réflexions au fur et à mesure que nous élaborons, livrons et exécutons l’évaluation d’un cours universitaire enseigné selon un format hybride. Des étudiants de premier cycle (n=109) inscrits dans un tout dernier cours de quatrième année ont participé à cette étude. Nous présentons un rapport sur la manière dont les étudiants ont perçu l’efficacité de la méthode employée pour enseigner ce cours, tout en mettant l’accent sur les problèmes qu’ils ont rencontrés, y comprisles difficultés à faire face au contenu du cours, en particulier durant les semaines où les cours magistraux étaient présentés en ligne, ainsi que sur leurs difficultés à rester organisés et connectés avec leurs camarades declasse et avec leurs devoirs. Il s’avère que l’autorégulation est un élément important pour la réussite de ce type de cours. Pour conclure, nous présentons des suggestions pour améliorer l’expérience sociale et académique des étudiants dans leur parcours de l’apprentissage au sein d’un monde numérique. Keywords blended learning, self-regulation, evaluation, reflection, higher education This research paper/rapport de recherche is available in T

FAQs

What is the study’s main purpose?

The paper reflects on and reports evaluations tied to developing and delivering a university course using a blended format, describing reflections from that process.

Who participated in the study and what course context was used?

Undergraduate students (n=109) in a fourth-year capstone course participated, with the course delivered through blended instruction.

What challenges did students report during the blended course?

Students described struggles keeping up with course content, especially during weeks when lectures were online, along with difficulties staying organized and connected with peers and assignments.

Why is self-regulation important according to the paper?

The study concludes that self-regulation turned out to be a major determinant of success in this type of blended course.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Fans