Course Design Blueprint: Design for Block and Blend

What is Block and Blend?

Block and blend is an approach to learning and teaching which puts students at the heart of an empowering and compassionate academic experience.

Students studying on a Block and Blend designed programme will typically study one module at a time over a period of five weeks, rather than three modules consecutively over a period of twelve weeks. The learning experience brings together a range of activities and resources which may be delivered on campus or in the Online Learning Environment (OLE), may be completed independently and / or in groups. Learning and understanding is tested through these activities, before an assessment of the learning is completed, typically at the end of the module. 

Is Blend just online?

At Suffolk, Blend is more than the use of the Online Learning Environment to deliver additional content. Blended learning is about the right blend of learning experiences and activities for the module and its learning outcomes - but also for the student cohort. As part of the intentional design of blend, it is necessary to consider who our student are, the level of learning, the timing of the module, the learning outcomes and the best ways to support our students to succeed. 

We do provide course teams with guidance in the effective and intentional use of Brightspace as part of their application of blended learning. This includes the Baseline Standards and the Exemplar Module Design Rubric. 

University of Suffolk - Block and Blend from University of Suffolk on Vimeo.