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Inclusive Blended Learning Design – Scaffolding critical engagement with texts  

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In this guide:

Summary

This design aims to build students’ confidence in reading, analysing and interpreting texts. The scaffolded approach supports students in developing personal and collaborative interpretations of texts in a reading group setting. Through engaging with a range of texts from introductory to more complex, students can build confidence in reading and understanding academic/ subject related text.

Duration:

8 to 10 hours over a defined period of days or sessions 

Learning outcomes:

  • Read and comment on set texts identifying key themes.
  • Take part in small group discussions.
  • Develop connections between readings, theories and themes.
  • Use digital tools and spaces to connect to, and work with, collaborators.

Activity 1: Introduction to text

  • Time: 1.5 to 2 hours
  • Student interacts with: content
  • Mode: Asynchronous

Activity steps: 

  1. Students are assigned a reading group and an associated text to read (5-7 minute read) related to the unit topic.
  2. In preparation for the following synchronous activity, reading group members are required to post a single response to a series of short prompt questions in a forum activity related to their reading, including any concepts they’d like to discuss further in the synchronous session.

Suggested tools and spaces:

  • Share the link to the text source from the library to support building students’ library systems knowledge or provide texts in an accessible (Word or PDF) format.
  • Moodle blog style forum
  • Office 365 collaboration doc.

Facilitation notes:

  • Tutor sets up a blog style forum and generates 1 thread for each reading.
  • Provide links to active reading & collaboration tools.
  • Consider the texts you are using: do they represent a range of voices and perspectives, from underrepresented groups and scholars? Consider that speakers of English as an additional language may need longer reading time (up to 30-50% dependent on level/proficiency).
  • Collaborate with your course librarian, Academic Support and Language Development teams. 

Tutor support materials:

Activity 2: Application and discussion

  • Time: 2 hours
  • Student interacts with: peers, tutor, content
  • Mode: Synchronous

Activity steps: 

5 min warm up activity/icebreaker  

  1. The tutor summarises the texts and references student forum answers from the previous activity.
  2. Building on the previous question set, the tutor shars new questions and organises students into breakout rooms according to reading groups.
  3. In breakout groups, students discuss the questions and add their replies to a Padlet board shared by the tutor.
  4. The tutor reconvenes the class to discuss their answers and review the Padlet board .
  5. As a follow up, students individually compose a journal entry addressing a theme from this week’s subject. 

Suggested tools and spaces:

  • Collaborate Ultra
  • Padlet.

Facilitation notes:

  • For the journal entry, require students to include references to the texts, the Padlet board discussion and other groups responses from the pre-session forum (Activity 1).

Tutor support materials:

Activity 3: Reflection and development 

  • Time: 2 hours
  • Student interacts with: peers, content
  • Mode: Asynchronous

Activity steps: 

  1. The tutor assigns a new, more complex text (10-15 min read) to each reading group in advance of the next synchronous activity, along with a new question set and forum space.
  2. Reading groups draft their response to the new questions in their collaborative document and then share in the appropriate forum.
  3. The tutor reviews the forum threads, collates themes and responds in a single forum post ahead of the next synchronous activity. 

Suggested tools and spaces:

  • Office 365 collaborative doc
  • Moodle blog style forum.

Facilitation notes:

  • Tutors response should highlight/reference answers from each thread, trying to draw on an idea/comment from each student to support engagement and feedback cycle. 

Activity 4: Consolidation and development

  • Time: 2 hours
  • Student interacts with: peers, tutor, content
  • Mode: Synchronous

Activity steps: 

5 min warm up activity/icebreaker  

  1. Tutor begins by reviewing the texts and addressing responses from the group forums.
  2. Tutor then introduces new question set and puts students into breakout rooms to discuss and post replies on a new Padlet board.
  3. Tutor reconvenes the class to review the answers shared on Padlet. Key concepts/themes identified.
  4. Tutor introduces the Wiki tool and shows examples in preparation for students to compose own wiki page on one of the concepts/themes in next asynchronous activity.

Suggested tools and spaces:

  • Collaborate Ultra
  • Padlet
  • Wiki tool.

Facilitation notes:

  • Framework/template for wiki
  • Provide links to wiki examples and ‘setting up a wiki’ guide tools.

Activity 5: Collaboration and consolidation

  • Time: 1.5 to 2 hours
  • Student interacts with: peers, content
  • Mode: Asynchronous

Activity steps: 

  1. Students complete their own wiki page on one of the concepts/themes then contributes critically to a peer’s page by adding to their work/page.  

Suggested tools and spaces:

  • Wiki tool. 

Facilitation notes:

  • Encourage students to maintain reading groups to share reading and analysis of texts together.

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