What is blended learning? Blended learning is a planned mix of face-to-face teaching in school and online learning, where the two parts are connected and the pupil has some control over the time, place, path or pace of the online work. It is not just "using a laptop in class". For GCSE students, parents and teachers, the difference decides whether the technology actually helps.
What is blended learning? The definition in plain English
The most widely used definition comes from the Christensen Institute, a US education think tank. It describes blended learning as a formal education programme in which a student learns "in part online, with some element of control over the time, place, path, or pace" of their learning, in part in a supervised location away from home, and where the two are connected "to provide an integrated learning experience".
That sentence contains three separate ideas, and you need all three for something to count as blended learning.
- Part of the learning is online. Videos, quizzes, simulations or online tasks that pupils work through themselves.
- The pupil has some control. They can choose or change at least one of the time, the place, the path or the pace.
- The online and in-person parts are connected. What happens on screen feeds into what happens in the classroom, and the other way round.
Time, place, path and pace: one GCSE example each
The four "control" words are easier to see with science examples.
- Pace: you pause and replay a video on calculating moles until the method makes sense, while a classmate skips ahead.
- Place: you do the online quiz on the bus, at the library or at the kitchen table.
- Time: you choose whether to do the task on Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning, as long as it is done before the next lesson.
- Path: you get most questions right, so you move on to harder ones; a friend gets them wrong and is sent to extra practice first.
If a task gives you no choice at all about any of these, it is probably just a normal lesson with a screen in it.
What blended learning is not
By this definition, a teacher using an interactive whiteboard or a class using laptops to type up a report is not blended learning. The screen is just a tool inside an ordinary lesson. There is no online stretch where the pupil steers, and nothing that links a separate online part to the classroom part.
Blended learning vs hybrid, flipped, remote and online learning
People use these terms loosely. The table below sets out the most common meanings. Treat it as a guide, because different schools and websites draw the lines in slightly different places.
| Term | What it usually means | Where pupils are | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blended learning | Planned, connected mix of in-person teaching and online learning that the pupil partly controls | Mostly in school, with online work in school or elsewhere | Watch a short video before the lesson, then practise questions with your teacher |
| Flipped classroom | A type of blended learning: new content is learned online first, and lesson time is used for practice and questions | Online at home, then in class | Video on the heart at home, model-making in the lesson |
| Hybrid or HyFlex | In everyday use, some pupils in the room and some joining remotely at the same time. HyFlex is a university course design, developed by Dr Brian Beatty at San Francisco State University and first taught in 2006, where students choose each session whether to attend in person or online | A mix, chosen session by session or split between room and screen | A university seminar streamed live to students who stay at home |
| Remote education | Teaching delivered away from school when pupils cannot attend. In England, Department for Education (DfE) guidance says it "should only ever be considered as a last resort" | At home | Live lessons during a school closure |
| Fully online learning | The whole course is taught online with no planned in-person teaching | Anywhere | An online-only course taken from home |
Our guide to the advantages and disadvantages of online education covers fully online study in detail, so this article concentrates on the mix.
Live or recorded: the online part comes in two flavours
The online part of a blended course can be live (a teacher on a video call) or recorded (a video you watch when you like). Both can work. Live sessions allow questions on the spot; recorded ones give you more control over pace and time. Our comparison of asynchronous and synchronous learning explains the trade-offs.
Why English schools use blended learning differently
DfE guidance on remote education is non-statutory (schools are not legally bound by it). It says remote education "should not be viewed as an equal alternative to attendance in school" and that, when it is used, it should be "equivalent in length to the core teaching time pupils would receive in school". That is a different situation from blended learning. In England, blended learning normally means adding planned online elements around normal attendance, not replacing school.
Your school closes for snow and lessons move to video calls. Is that blended learning? Explain. (2 marks)
No. That is remote education replacing attendance at school for a short time. Blended learning is a planned mix of in-person teaching and connected online work that the pupil partly controls, running alongside normal attendance.
The 7 blended learning models
The Christensen Institute's website, blendedlearning.org, lists seven named blended learning models: Station Rotation, Lab Rotation, Individual Rotation, Flipped Classroom, Flex, À La Carte and Enriched Virtual. The first three are the rotation models, because pupils move between online and face-to-face activities in a pattern.
You may see older pages list "Self-Blend" as an extra model. It is not a separate one. "Self-Blend" was the name used in the Institute's 2012 paper Classifying K–12 Blended Learning (by Heather Staker and Michael B. Horn) for what later material calls À La Carte.
| Model | How it works | Who controls the schedule | GCSE science example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Station Rotation | Pupils rotate through stations on a fixed schedule; at least one station is online | The teacher | Year 10 chemistry: teacher-led worked examples, an online quiz on a tablet, and paper exam questions |
| Lab Rotation | Like Station Rotation, but the online station is in a dedicated computer lab | The teacher | The whole class goes to the computer room each week for a circuits simulation |
| Individual Rotation | Pupils follow their own "playlist" of activities, so they do not visit every station | A teacher or software algorithm | Software sends one pupil to extra electrolysis questions and another straight to exam practice |
| Flipped Classroom | Online lectures and coursework at home; class time is used for teacher-guided practice or projects | The teacher sets the task; the pupil chooses when to do it | Watch a six-minute video on the heart at home, then use the lesson for questions and a model or dissection |
| Flex | Online learning is the backbone; pupils move on fluid schedules, with teachers on site for support | Mostly the pupil | An online-first centre where pupils work through science modules with teachers on hand |
| À La Carte | A pupil takes an online course with an online teacher alongside face-to-face courses | The pupil and the course provider | A pupil takes an online course in a subject the school cannot timetable |
| Enriched Virtual | Most coursework is online, away from school, plus required face-to-face sessions with a teacher | Shared: the provider sets the sessions | A mostly online school where pupils attend in person for set sessions, perhaps twice a week |
The examples are illustrations of how each model could look in science, not descriptions of particular schools.
Rotation models: station, lab and individual
In a Station Rotation, the class is split into groups and moves round the room on a fixed timetable. At least one station is online. A typical set-up has three: a teacher station for small-group teaching, an online station, and an independent paper-based task. blendedlearning.org says it is most common in primary schools (US “elementary” schools), where teachers already use centre-based rotations.
A Lab Rotation works the same way, except that the online station is a separate computer lab. The whole class might move there for one session a week, then return to the classroom. In an Individual Rotation, each pupil has their own schedule set by a teacher or by software, and only visits the activities on their own playlist.
The teacher station is where the model pays off. With only a third of the class in front of them, a teacher can spot mistakes quickly and adapt the explanation. Stations can also carry tasks at different levels, which links neatly to tiered instruction. You will meet the timings later in this article, where a calculator shows how long each group gets.
The flipped classroom
In a flipped classroom, pupils meet new content online first (usually a short video) and use lesson time for practice, problem-solving and questions. This "flips the traditional relationship between class time and homework", in the words of blendedlearning.org. The approach was popularised by two chemistry teachers, Jonathan Bergmann and Aaron Sams, at Woodland Park High School in Colorado, who began recording their chemistry lectures around 2007.
Flipped lessons tend to be more student-centred, because the teacher spends the lesson moving around and helping rather than lecturing. They only work if pupils actually do the home task, which is why many teachers add a short quiz at the start of the lesson.
Flex, À La Carte and Enriched Virtual
In the Flex model, online learning is the backbone, and teachers on site step in when needed. Pupils have a high degree of control. It is not the same as HyFlex (the course design where students choose each session whether to attend in person or online); Flex is about how a pupil moves between online activities, not about choosing a location.
À La Carte is useful when a school cannot offer a subject itself, such as an unusual elective. Enriched Virtual is an alternative to full-time online school: most work is done online away from the building, with required face-to-face sessions that are usually not daily.
Name the model: flip cards
Read each scenario and decide which model it describes before you tap the card.
How blended learning works: a GCSE science week
The infographic above shows the blended learning loop: learn in class, explore online, practise and apply, then receive feedback. The loop matters more than any single tool. Here is how it could look across one week of Year 10 chemistry on rates of reaction. It is an example, not a timetable from a real school.
- Monday, in class. The teacher explains collision theory and runs a short demonstration. Pupils leave knowing the key idea.
- Monday evening, online. For homework, pupils run a free simulation of particles colliding at different temperatures, then take a 10-question self-marking quiz. They choose when to do it (time and place) and can replay the simulation as often as they like (pace).
- Wednesday, in class. The lesson opens with the quiz results. The teacher sees which idea was missed most often and re-teaches that one, instead of going over what everyone already knows.
- Wednesday, in the lab. Pupils carry out the required practical for real, measuring how the rate of a reaction changes.
- Friday, quick check. A short retrieval quiz brings back earlier topics as well as the new one, and the results feed into next week's plan.
Notice that the online work and the lessons depend on each other. The quiz decides what the teacher does on Wednesday; the lesson prepares pupils for the quiz. That connection is what makes it blended. Retrieval quizzes also fit what we know about memory, which our guide on how to practise and remember what you study explains.
What a rotation can look like
Planning a station rotation? In a station rotation the lesson time is split between groups, so the timings matter. Try the calculator below to see how long each group gets.
Changeovers are the hidden cost. Each move costs minutes when pupils pack up, walk and settle, so more stations means less time at each. With the defaults, three stations leave about 15 minutes each, but six stations in the same hour would leave under 7. That is why many plans use only a few stations.
Does blended learning work? What the research says
The honest answer is: it can, but the gains come from good teaching, not from the screen. The best-known evidence comes with a big caveat.
The US Department of Education meta-analysis
In 2010 researchers at SRI International reviewed research for the US Department of Education. They screened more than 1,000 studies published between 1996 and July 2008 and combined the results from about 50 of them in a meta-analysis. They reported:
- Blended learning vs purely face-to-face: a mean effect size of +0.35, which was statistically significant.
- Purely online learning vs face-to-face: +0.05, which the report calls "statistically equivalent".
An effect size of 0.35 means that the average pupil in the blended group scored about a third of a standard deviation higher than the average pupil in the comparison group. That is a modest, useful gain, but it is not a guarantee for any individual.
The report also found that online work helped more when it was collaborative (+0.25) or directed by an instructor (+0.39) than when learners worked on their own (+0.05, which was not statistically significant). Learning alone on a screen did the least.
Flipped classrooms
A 2020 meta-analysis of flipped classrooms by Strelan, Osborn and Palmer, published in Educational Research Review, covered 198 studies and more than 33,000 students. Flipped classrooms were generally positive, but the size of the effect varied a lot by subject.
What the Education Endowment Foundation says
The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) publishes evidence reviews and guidance for schools. Its 2019 guidance report Using Digital Technology to Improve Learning makes four recommendations:
- Consider how technology is going to improve teaching and learning before introducing it.
- Technology can be used to improve the quality of explanations and modelling.
- Technology offers ways to improve the impact of pupil practice.
- Technology can play a role in improving assessment and feedback.
Its overall message is that "technology itself is unlikely to improve young people's learning, but the pedagogy behind it can". The EEF's 2020 rapid evidence assessment of remote learning, which drew on 60 systematic reviews and meta-analyses, found similar things: teaching quality is more important than how lessons are delivered; access to technology is key, especially for disadvantaged pupils; peer interactions can provide motivation and improve learning; supporting pupils to work independently (for example with checklists or daily plans) can help; and different approaches suit different content and pupils.
Blended learning in GCSE science: what simulations can and can't do
Science is where blended learning is most tempting and most risky. Online simulations can show things no school lab can: particles in motion, electric fields, waves. PhET Interactive Simulations from the University of Colorado Boulder, for example, offers "free, interactive, research-based science and mathematics simulations", each tested with student interviews and classroom observation.
But a simulation cannot replace a practical. In 2015, Ofqual decided that exam boards must set a minimum number of practical activities, "no lower than 8 in each individual science and 16 for combined science". Each student must keep a record of their practical work, and practical skills are assessed through written exam questions. AQA's GCSE Combined Science: Trilogy specification has 21 required practicals, and questions that draw on practical work make up at least 15% of the marks.
So the best use of simulations is before and after the real thing. Before, they help you predict what will happen and why. After, they let you change variables that were impractical in the lab and check your conclusions. You still need to handle the apparatus, take readings and see how messy real data can be. If you cannot get to a lab at home, safe simple experiments for students are a good way to add hands-on learning.
Give one way a simulation can support a required practical without replacing it. (2 marks)
Used before the practical, a simulation lets pupils predict how changing the variable will affect the result, so they understand what to look for. Used afterwards, it lets them test other values and check their conclusion. Pupils still need to carry out the real practical and record their own results.
Advantages and disadvantages of blended learning
Like any teaching approach, blended learning has real strengths and real costs. The table below sets the main advantages of blended learning against the main disadvantages, with GCSE science in mind.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| You can replay explanations at your own pace, which helps with difficult ideas such as moles | Pupils need a device and a reliable internet connection, and not every home has both |
| Online quizzes give instant feedback, so mistakes are spotted early | Distraction and self-discipline: it is easy to drift to other tabs or a phone |
| Teachers can use class time for practice, questions and practicals instead of lecturing | Teachers need planning time and training to build online work that fits their lessons |
| Simulations show ideas you cannot see, such as particles and fields | Online tasks that are not connected to lessons become "busy work" |
| Flexible access: you can study at times and places that suit you | More time on screens, and practical skills cannot be replaced by simulations |
Many of these drawbacks can be reduced. A school can lend devices; a teacher can make sure every online task links to the next lesson; and students can take regular breaks. Our guide to eye safety from digital devices has practical tips on screen breaks.
Parents sometimes confuse blended learning with homeschooling. They are different: in blended learning, pupils still attend school or another supervised setting, while homeschooling takes place at home under a parent's direction.
How to make blended learning work for you
The EEF's review of remote learning found that supporting pupils to work independently, for example with checklists or daily plans, can improve learning, and that peer interactions can provide motivation. So a plan and a bit of company both help. Use the checklist below for any week with online tasks. Your ticks are saved in your browser.
- Set a fixed time for online tasks and put it in your planner
- Leave your phone in another room
- Pause the video and write notes; do not just watch
- Do the quiz without notes first, then check your answers
- Write down one question to ask your teacher
- Revisit the questions you got wrong two days later
- Tell your teacher early if you do not have a device or internet access
The last item matters most. Access to technology is key, especially for disadvantaged pupils, and teachers can only help if they know.
If you are using blended learning to prepare for exams, our guide on how to start revising for GCSE science subjects shows how to turn it into a revision plan.
Explain one reason why the blended learning results in the 2010 meta-analysis may overstate the effect of technology. (2 marks)
Blended learning groups often received extra learning time, extra materials or different teaching methods. The gain may come from those differences rather than from the online medium itself.
Frequently asked questions about blended learning
What is blended learning in simple words?
Blended learning is learning that mixes classroom teaching with online learning. The online part gives the pupil some control over when, where, how or how fast they learn, and it is connected to what happens in lessons. A laptop used in a normal lesson does not count by itself.
What are the 7 models of blended learning?
The Christensen Institute lists Station Rotation, Lab Rotation, Individual Rotation, Flipped Classroom, Flex, À La Carte and Enriched Virtual. They differ in who controls the schedule and how much of the course is online. "Self-Blend" is simply an older name for À La Carte, not an eighth model.
What is an example of blended learning in a school?
A Year 10 class might learn collision theory in a lesson, then use a simulation and a self-marking quiz online. The teacher uses the quiz results to decide what to re-teach next lesson. The class then does the required practical in the lab, so the online and in-person parts support each other.
What is the difference between blended learning and hybrid learning?
Blended learning is a planned mix of in-person and online learning that is connected and gives the pupil some control. "Hybrid" is used loosely, often to mean some people in the room and some joining remotely at the same time. HyFlex is a university course design where students choose each session.
Is a flipped classroom the same as blended learning?
A flipped classroom is one of the seven blended learning models, not a different thing. Pupils meet new content online first, usually as a video, and use lesson time for practice and questions. Blended learning is the wider idea, which also includes station, lab and individual rotation and the other models.
Is blended learning effective?
It can be. A 2010 US Department of Education meta-analysis found blended learning scored +0.35 higher than face-to-face teaching on average, but warned that extra time and different teaching methods may explain part of the gain. The EEF says the teaching behind the technology matters more than the technology.
What are the disadvantages of blended learning?
The main disadvantages are unequal access to devices and the internet, distraction and the self-discipline needed for online work, and the time teachers need to plan it well. Online tasks that are not linked to lessons waste time. Extra screen time can also be a concern, and practicals cannot be replaced.
Can online simulations replace GCSE science practicals?
No. Exam boards must set a minimum number of practical activities, at least 8 per separate science and 16 for combined science, and students keep a record of their practical work. Simulations are useful for predicting and reviewing, but they do not give you the hands-on skills the exams assess.
How can students get the most out of blended learning?
Set a fixed time for online tasks, keep your phone out of reach and pause videos to write notes. Try quizzes without notes first, then revisit wrong answers two days later. Write down questions for your teacher, and tell them early if you do not have a device or internet access at home.
