Figure 21: Blended learning as a process of before, during and after the live/shared learning event81

Figure 19: Percentage of individuals with “basic or above basic” digital skills among young people (16 to 19 years of age), 2019, as compared with the general population 76

EXAMPLE H: Online learning to support learning in a native language or where there are staff shortages

There is a need, a desire and an opportunity to build on this knowledge and experiences, draw lessons from the experiences made during the pandemic, and explore the full potential of blending learning environments and tools that, if sustained, can provide young people with an education that prepares them for a rapidly-changing and complex world.. The challenges for the design of school education remains the same as before the pandemic: how to build meaningful learning experiences in different environments and for pupils of different ages, abilities and circumstances; how to support broad competence development appropriate to learners’ needs for today’s and the future global society; how to support well-being; and how to support teachers and schools to be innovative in terms of their own organisational and pedagogical approaches, for the benefit of all learners. In order to meet these challenges and improve capacity, a blended learning approach requires a coherent approach by the school education system as a whole within a culture of continous improvement.

However, there were shortfalls from a lack of readiness of school education, including Vocational Education and Training, systems and stakeholders to take advantage of different learning environments and tools. These include low levels of digital competence and a lack of sufficient resources (adequate tools, infrastructure, and time) to prepare and offer alternative ways of learning. Science and arts, physical education, and VET were heavily disrupted, given their focus on practical tasks. Existing inequalities in learner opportunities and progression have been exposed further, and new inequalities have appeared. The European Commission is committed to investing in recovery from the pandemic in the knowledge that education systems have a desire and a need to improve their resilience, to cope and adapt with changing circumstances in the future.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to widespread school site closure and a necessary embracing of certain forms of distance and online learning, labelled “Emergency Remote Teaching”. It demonstrated the capacity of systems to be flexible and inclusive with embedding different learning environments and tools. Stakeholders, who were consulted for the preparation of the Recommendation, pointed to the opportunity to build on these experiences and not lose any positive effect of the current momentum of change. The actions taken by European education systems in 2020-21 demonstrated that rapid adaptation and innovation in education is possible, with the emergency response triggering new legislation for some systems, as well as more autonomy and guidance to authorities and school leaders at the local level. Some schools and systems have also developed new stakeholder partnerships, with parents, local and regional communities, business, NGOs, and cultural organisations.

It is the vision and the commitment of the European Union to improve the quality of school education: its inclusiveness, the capacity of teachers and school leaders, and the governance of school education systems. All learners should have the opportunity, supported by school education, to achieve their full potential and develop a broad range of competences for their current and future life in society.

Finally, based on the evidence and examples provided in the other chapters, the document presents a framework for blended learning outlining a set of challenges and examples of good practice on 10 specific areas (see Chapter 5).

The document also outlines considerations for legislation and a number of existing EU frameworks and tools that can inspire and support change at school, regional, national and EU level, together with suggestions for monitoring and evaluating future developments (See Chapter 4).

In order to support the statements of the Recommendation and to support action stemming from its adoption, this document accompanying the proposal for a recommendation discusses recent evidence from research together with European stakeholder opinions and experiences (see Chapter 3). Examples of existing policies and projects supporting blended learning are provided. However, given that this is an evolving field in school education – particularly in the context of school site closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic – it should be acknowledged that new evidence and perspectives are constantly emerging.

The document describes a vision for blended learning in school education from the perspective of the Digital Education Action Plan 2021-27 and European Education Area: its key ideas on inclusion and on Key Competence development as part of high quality school education. It describes how these ideas are connected to the concepts of a blended learning and innovation and change in education. It also provides a glossary and further explanation of relevant terms (see Chapter 2).

It provides research evidence and other information as a basis for both the legal text of the Recommendation and its subsequent supportive actions. It is also, as far as possible at the time of writing, a practical guide/handbook to help stakeholders understand the full potential of this topic and to support real and positive change across systems and across Europe.

This Staff Working Document is designed to accompany and support the Recommendation on blended learning for high quality and inclusive primary and secondary education.

This involves collaboration between all parts of the school. It needs a positive attitude towards working together between school leaders, teachers and all school staff, as well as parents, carers and the wider community.

Quality assurance involves the systematic review of educational provision to maintain and improve its quality, equity and efficiency. It encompasses school self-evaluation, external evaluation (including inspection), the evaluation of teachers and school leaders, and student assessments.

The role of the teacher combines pedagogical practice of the classroom with other tasks supporting the functioning and development of the school. They are responsible for their own professional development and that of their peers. They may also take on minor or temporary leadership roles – as project managers, peer mentors, or specialists in a particular competence.

Stakeholders are individuals, groups, or formal organisations that have an interest in and/or responsibility towards improving school education. They include students, parents, teachers, school heads, local authorities, social partners, employer organisations, researchers, non-governmental organisations, and others.

Learning problems or disabilities that make it harder for children to learn than most children of the same age.

This is the concept of a school community that encourages and enables teachers and school leaders to improve both their pedagogical and their organisational practices concurrently through local collaborative research, networking and continued professional development. Such schools do not exist in isolation; they are linked and embedded within a learning system where decision-makers can learn from the developments that are taking place in and around schools.

One who holds a formal position of responsibility for the management of the school. School leaders are also “teachers”, as they are also still involved in learner development, both in and out of the classroom.

The most senior school leadership position - the person with overall responsibility for the pedagogical and administrative management of the school or cluster of schools. This role might also be referred to as ‘head teacher’, ‘school principal’ or ‘school director’. They can also be included in the broad definition of ‘school leader’.

The learning that professionals engage in at any stage of their career to enhance their practice.

The method and practice of teaching. A teacher will develop their own pedagogical approach over the course of their career. It will be rooted in the teacher’s own cultural understanding of the learning process, particularly in regard to their own specialist competence area.

Online learning is defined as education that takes place with the use of digital technology to connect different devices and to facilitate interaction of the learner with: other learners; learning programmes; and other sources of information. Online learning may take place in any physical environment where a learner can use a device to connect to the Internet. It can to support learning in different contexts, including school site and distance learning, separately or in combination, in which case can be understood as a form of blended learning.

The artefact that is used in order to undertake an activity for a particular learning outcome.

The approach to the learning process, made up of one or more tasks. The strategy or plan may span a number of hours, weeks or whole semesters.

The theory and practice of designing, developing, using, managing and evaluating processes and resources for learning. The instructional design process goes beyond simply creating teaching and learning materials and it is based on carefully analysing how students learn and what content, methods and tools will most effectively help them achieve a specific set of learning outcomes. It consists of determining the needs of the learners, defining the learning outcomes and objectives of instruction, organising and planning assessment tasks, and designing teaching and learning tasks to ensure the quality of instruction

A period of formal study in order to gain a recognised qualification and be employed as a teacher. This is typically offered by education departments in universities or independent teacher education institutions.

When learning is independent or individual, it can happen at any time and the learner is acting independently of the teacher or other learners. They are not necessarily lacking interaction as there may be some form of communication, for example to clarify or respond to part of the task verbally or via text.

Informal education results from daily activities related to work, family or leisure which is not organised or structured in terms of objectives, time or learning support.

Non-formal education takes place through planned activities (in terms of learning objectives and learning time) where some form of learning support is present, but which is not part of the formal education and training system.

Formal education is intentional, organised and structured. It is usually provided in schools, colleges, universities and other formal education and training institutions, and leads to recognised diplomas and qualifications.

Learning that is facilitated electronically. This term is typically interchangeable with online learning (see below).

Those whose family, personal, social, or economic circumstances hinder their ability to learn in formal and non-formal settings.

The application of this knowledge for practical ends, as in digital communications and social media.

The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. The World Health Organization declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in January 2020 and a pandemic in March 2020.

(also Continuing or Continuous) This is the learning that education professionals (teachers, school leaders and other education staff) engage in at any stage of their career to enhance their pedagogical and organisational practice.

-skills are defined as the ability and capacity to carry out processes and use the existing knowledge to achieve results;

-knowledge is composed of the facts and figures, concepts, ideas and theories which are already established and support the understanding of a certain area or subject;

When learning is collaborative it involves interaction between learners – either facilitate or not by a teacher - where the members of the group are helping each other to progress in the task as well as themselves.

This is the design and facilitating of learning both on the school site and in other physical environments away from the school site (distance learning) and the use of different learning tools (digital, which can be online, and non-digital). It can be an approach at the micro level - in a single learning process with a group of learners - , the meso level - a strategic approach by a school to facilitate blending learning -, and the macro level – embedded as a system-wide approach.

Early career teacher who carries out wholly or partially the tasks incumbent on experienced teachers, and are remunerated for their activity. Normally this period includes training and evaluation, and a mentor providing personal, social and professional support is appointed to help new teachers within a structured system. Depending on whether the teacher has already achieved their formal qualification, the phase can last at least several months up to two years.

The terminology and descriptions hereunder are given for the purposes of the Council Recommendation and this document. Many of the terms have been discussed and agreed by national representatives and are used in European Commission publications. It is accepted that they may vary across other publications and in other contexts.

Nevertheless, there are certain groups of learners from mobile communities, such as Roma, Gypsy and other Traveller communities, whose attendance on the school site and access to structured learning can be interrupted. Carefully designed distance or blended learning programmes could improve these young people’s educational experience and attainment and increase future educational opportunities for them and their other family members. Blended learning has also been found to be an effective approach to address the learning challenges in students with special needs and a promising intervention to enhance learning of students with disabilities.

The potential for inclusiveness via blended learning and the reality during the COVID-19 pandemic left systems with a paradox. Entire groups of learners, including those from rural remote areas, including the outermost regions and island communities, migrant and refugee children and other learners from disadvantaged backgrounds, risked being excluded from “scaffolded” learning. An analysis of the open public consultation on the Digital Education Action Plan confirmed that the COVID-19 pandemic deepened already existing inequalities in terms of disadvantaged groups and minorities having access to tools (both devices and Internet connectivity), as well as learners with special educational needs lacking the individual support they might usually receive from the school.

Different learning environments might be needed in emergencies, such as public health crises or natural disasters, but a more structured and planned-for approach has the potential to be a viable alternative in other situations where learners cannot access education and training buildings (for example, to reach geographically isolated regions, to support students with long-term illness, to supplement teaching or fill curriculum gaps).

Different learning environments can give access to facilitators with different expertise, to tools that are not available on the school site, and to cultural spaces not normally encountered by learners in their daily lives. These environments and tools take on new meaning or interest to the learner simply because of being outside of the school and inside another societal space.

The pandemic increased a long-standing concern for the physical, mental and emotional well-being of young people, not merely their progression through the statutory school curriculum. All young people should be supported to enjoy a healthy and active lifestyle, encouraging positive lifelong habits, and have the opportunity to participate in a range of sports and other physical activities, which enhance motor skills and boost mental and emotional well-being. Young people also need support for their mental and emotional well-being during learning, including learning tasks under increased pressure, understanding safe and responsible online behaviour. Support is also needed for those learners who spend extended periods of time away from peer or school staff support.

Empowering learners to actively participate in their learning process has been defined as an understanding that digitally competent teachers develop – or need to develop. Ensuring access to digital resources and learning activities for all students, using digital technologies to address diverse learning needs and capabilities, using digital technologies to foster learners’ active and creative engagement in their learning and using digital resources and tools, online learning environments and platforms to ensure students' learning within and beyond the classroom, are essential elements that can facilitate the development of a blended learning approach.

·appropriate levels supervision or support in the distance environment, depending on the pupil and the task;

·gradually building an appropriate level of familiarity and competence with chosen environments and tools as part of the learning strategy;

Aside from the learner needs described above, there are those specifically related to environments and tools within a blended learning approach, including:

A core idea of the Whole School Approach (see 2.3.1 above) is that learners - like any stakeholder group in education - do not exist in isolation; they are shaped by social interactions with the people around them. Therefore, just as important to designing learning for the individual learner is reflecting upon the needs and influences of their peers, teachers and school leaders, parents, other learning facilitators inside and outside of the school, and any other supportive person.

-Carrying a sense of learning and development across a number of different occasions, recognising how one has developed and where to progress next.

-Trusting and collaborating with others in the wider school community, for example cultural sector professionals or work-place mentors;

-Communicating ideas and asking for assistance when needed, either in person or via communication tools;

-Working both with peers and independently when necessary with a sense of agency (confident that one has the competence and freedom to act);

There are specific needs relating to the learning task and overall learning process, including:

Designing learning requires serious consideration of the necessary support for learners who require additional assistance: those with special education needs and those whose personal circumstances may have a negative impact on learning outcomes if the learning is to take place in a different environment or with different tools.

One claim is that learning without constant close supervision (for instance with some online or distance learning) may be more suitable for older students and adults, where learners have more control over time, place, path, and/or pace, however, younger pupils and those needing additional learning support may struggle to learn independently. This may seem obvious: with experience and higher levels of competence, one assumes the learner can manage their own progress. However, there are many more factors that influence learning, some of which are described by pupils themselves in the student consultation conducted in 2021 (see Chapter 3). Indeed, the challenge of and antagonism between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in teenagers is well-known and researched. Therefore, assumptions about age and capacity to achieve defined learning outcomes should be treated with caution given that a 10-year-old boy may be more motivated to complete a learning task than a 15-year-old girl depending on their personal circumstances.

However, this is not to say that the teacher is completely absent from the learning process. This is a misinterpretation of the concept. Regardless of the age of the learner, and regardless of whether the teacher and pupils are in a shared physical space or not, the teacher is a constant and critical presence in the learning process. They design the approach and select the blend of environments and tools; they explain the tasks; they are active in the tasks when appropriate; and they review the learning progression after the tasks. Understanding what the learner can do with and without assistance from others is the essence of Vygotsky’s “Zone of Proximal Development” and the “scaffolding” described by Bruner whereby there is a “role played by the teacher, parent or more experienced peer in providing … support.”

Blended learning, by diversifying the environments and tools, can alter the relationship between teachers and pupils – and between pupils and the learning content – if the appropriate learning tasks require that the teacher is not always giving direct supervision. Such a deliberate shift can give learners more control over the time, place, path, and pace of the process. It can create new learning experiences that are flexible and personalized, customized to the needs and the circumstances of the individual learner or groups of learners.

The main focus of any learning process is the learner and therefore, when designing within a blended learning approach, their needs, their expectations, their backgrounds and special characteristics should be identified and considered carefully.

The role and work of teachers and school leaders is discussed in more detail in Chapter 3.

If a blended learning approach is seen as a useful approach in a state of emergency, teacher professional development – as well as school development plans – may also usefully include some element of preparing alternative approaches in times of need.

Initial Teacher Education is a crucial phase to consider as each yearly intake of teachers need to be prepared for adapting their practice in any number of ways. Like digital education, designing for a blended learning approach (blending different environments and tools with tasks) should not be a separate idea or module in teacher professional development. It should be embedded in any reflection on learning design – and therefore should be a part of both Initial and Continued Professional Development.

Naturally, teacher professional development opportunities (courses, network discussions, projects, mentored reflections, self-assessment tools) need to be adapted with both the design principles of a blended learning approach and individual teacher needs in mind.

Within a move for change must be a recognition of teachers as individuals and supporting them to adapt to various situations and to deal with the challenges that they encounter.

Teachers and school leaders as change agents must also possess a “sense of agency”. In other words, they must have the motivation and confidence (“efficacy”) in themselves, the competence, and know that they have the capacity (freedom bestowed by others) to act.

It also supposes some autonomy in learning design and curriculum content, if the kind of principles outlined above (see 2.2 About Key Competence Development) are to be realised in practice.

Encouraging teachers and schools leaders to be change agents requires a level of autonomy for schools to make some of their own decisions about their strategy for a blended learning approach. Not every situation or opportunity can be predicted or planned years in advance; hence schools and their staff need some liberty with guidance to act as they see appropriate for their learners in any given context.

Enabling school change requires strong leadership by school leaders and school heads who are informed about, willing, and able to co-construct an appropriate strategy, which may include the integration of technology.

The prior experience and current competence (knowledge, skills and attitudes) of the teacher will have a significant impact on the effectiveness of their own individual, their school’s, or their system’s approach to blended learning not least because of their empathy for the learners, colleagues and other members of the local community. This aligns with the understanding that teachers are not merely passive facilitators of learning, rigidly following a prescribed curriculum, but are designers, constantly adapting their own approach based on the needs of others – some with a strong capacity for more provocative change and innovation.

The Recommendation does not intend to instruct how schools must organise teaching and learning, nor how all teachers must facilitate the learning process. Given the diversity of circumstances surrounding school education, it is not possible to construct a “one size fits all” approach. However, there are principles that can be understood and generally applied within a blended learning approach.

The Recommendation – and the research evidence it is based on – recognises that combining effective school site teaching and facilitating flexible distance learning for all pupils in a way that functions as a coherent pedagogical approach requires a high level of competence of teachers and school leaders. This needs to be coupled with clear guidance, some degree of autonomy, and sufficient time and other resources to create an appropriate learning design in advance.

More information on the SELFIE tool for schools and teachers is given in Chapter 4

To support schools in gathering evidence and designing a blended education strategy, the free online SELFIE self-reflection tool could be of direct use. SELFIE (Self-reflection on Effective Learning by Fostering the use of Innovative Educational Technologies) was developed by the European Commission in cooperation with education authorities and other experts and was tested extensively with schools prior to launch in 2018. The tool – which has now been used by over one million students and staff in 74 countries - is designed to help schools embed digital technology into teaching, learning and student assessment, with a focus on learning and pedagogy rather than technology per se.

School self-evaluation has been shown to lead to greater sensitivity about areas in need of improvement. It is found to lead to more frequent and open consultation about the quality of education and more classroom visits by the school leader. The process of school self-evaluation allows teachers to develop a perspective beyond their own classroom, particularly when they are involved in decision-making. In addition, policy makers can also provide various tools, guidelines and approaches, adapted to local contexts and needs, which can support schools in their self-evaluation and organisational development. Human and financial resources and time also needed to be made to conduct effective school strategies for blended learning.

School self-evaluation has emerged as a key mechanism to support whole approaches to change and innovation. With a strongly-held belief in Europe that school autonomy leads to increased quality, schools may have greater responsibility for student outcomes, and more latitude to tailor responses appropriate for the school’s own context. School self-evaluation and the diagnosis of school needs, insight and understanding followed by action for improvement and review can be effective in implementing a blended learning approach.

School leaders have a key role to play in raising awareness, motivating and involving all staff as well as the school’s parents and students in developing a shared vision for blended learning. The role of parents, especially for supporting primary school pupils, cannot be underestimated. Broad stakeholder engagement can promote transparency, trust, shared responsibility and ongoing reflection on how to improve on a continuous basis. Policy makers can also play a key role in promoting collaboration within and between schools on blended learning. Schools may also build bridges with wider communities including researchers to support school-level blended learning and to develop their capacity to work systematically with quantitative and qualitative data.

A whole-school approach to blended learning also needs to be grounded in evidence. It is essential to gather, analyse, interpret and use a range of qualitative and quantitative data to create a holistic picture of school and student readiness for blended learning and proceed to develop clear strategies on this basis.

Strengthening and exploiting these connections helps to organise collective intelligence in order to understand and act upon what is - and what needs to be - happening in different parts of the system. Networks and feedback loops are particularly important mechanisms for this. A learning system promotes a long-term step-by-step approach to school education development, with piloting, reflection and feedback, in order to ensure the sustainability and legacy of education policies. In a similar way, a system approach to blended learning can be understood at three levels: the macro (national or regional), meso (school strategy or programmes of study) and micro (teacher learning design):

Understanding school education as a learning system directly responds to the challenges of complexity and improvement as it is based on collaboration and communication between horizontal and vertical connections. Horizontal connections may be between regions, between schools, or between a school and the wider community. They may be based on formal or more informal arrangements. Vertical connections are often hierarchical, such as between a school and the inspectorate. There are degrees of authority in these relationships, the level of which can influence how the work is initiated and carried out.

Systems will need to reflect on their current standards, procedures and regulations and amend these, where required, to better meet the needs of all stakeholders within the system. The Recommendation acknowledges that effective blended learning, even in individual institutions, requires a flexibility or significant fundamental change across the education system and its support mechanisms (legislation and frameworks, resources, professional development, quality assurance).

Improving the access to and experiences of learning, including well-being, and the broad competence development of all learners, should be the central pursuit of school education policies. Therefore, it is prudent to examine what is needed at school level and, at the same time, the conditions that can be created by national policies.

The concept of “schools as learning organisations” – developed by the ET2020 Working Group Schools on the basis of OECD research - is a useful frame of reference that can help schools and systems plan for and manage innovation and change. This is the concept of a school community that encourages and enables teachers and school leaders to improve both their pedagogical and their organisational practices concurrently through local collaborative research, networking and continued professional development. Developing the capacity and role of teachers and school leaders is essential for schools to provide a clear strategic vision and leadership that guides and fully supports teaching and learning, and which enables effective communication with other practitioners and stakeholders. Such schools do not exist in isolation; they are linked and embedded within a learning system where decision-makers can learn from the developments that are taking place in and around schools.

For the school, adopting a blended learning approach requires a strategic approach to teaching and learning integrating various factors: learning environments (home, online, school, workplace, other), competence development process (lifelong learning and professional); affective domain (motivation, satisfaction, discouragement, frustration), and people (learners, teachers, parents, and other staff). For this reason, it is important to consider blended learning within the ongoing development of the whole school and all of its associated stakeholders.

For each of these areas three levels of ‘maturity’ are detailed. For example, regarding professional development an ‘ad hoc’ level is where only a small number of workshops are offered to teaching staff, whereas at a ’strategic level‘ all staff are systematically provided training in blended learning design and facilitation. A wide portfolio of courses are made available and teachers are recognised for their professional development activities.

A more recent model from the Embed Erasmus+ project, developed for higher education but also applicable for the school sector, sets out eight areas which could be considered for an institution to develop a blended education strategy: institutional support; strategies; sharing and communities; professional development, quality assurance; governance; finances and facilities (see Figure below).

·Teaching and learning, reflecting on the roles of staff and pedagogical approaches, including revisiting where and when learning takes place;

As an example, the European Framework for Digitally Competent Educational Organisations takes a whole-institution approach to learning support by technology and could also be equally applicable to the design of a broader blended learning approach. The Framework considers that effective digital learning strategies requires action in the following areas:

Effective blended education requires a shared and well-communicated long-term vision of the objectives of the blended approach. Coherence with broader school strategies is also needed,for example, alignment with the overall mission statement of the school, its digital learning strategy, and its well-being actions).

A blended learning approach, combining school site and distance learning environments and a variety of tools, should involve a close collaboration between a wide range of cross-sectoral stakeholders and the community at large. This is aligned with the established concept of a ’Whole School Approach’ that enables schools to respond adequately to new and complex challenges and will help move from isolated examples of effective practice by individual teachers or teams of teachers to continuous, and sustained, change across the school as a whole.

“Consideration should be given to the role that blended learning – both at school and in distance settings – and the use of both digital and non-digital [tools] can play in delivering better education al outcomes … Curricula should meet the individual needs of learners … equipping them with the breadth of skills … such as creativity, collaboration and problem-solving, which are critical for children to succeed in the 21st century.” (A European education foundation)

Blended learning prompts a review of national and school curricula because the expectations set down for learner competences can have a direct impact on the design of the learning process, including assessment and vice versa.

The Key Competence “Personal, Social and Learning to Learn” is described further in Chapter 3 and the detailed competence framework is presented in Chapter 4.

Taking these points into consideration, the key competence of “Personal, Social and Learning to learn” itself is important to support the development of all other competences and even more so within a blended learning approach. The development of this key competence is required from an early age.

ØCollaboration inside the school settings, as well as outside with a variety of partners is essential for quality competence development. Collaborative and cross-discipline teaching and learning within learning settings, for example through projects, team teaching and learner-led activities, improves engagement and learning outcomes in a range of competences. This calls for a more distributed leadership and management where education and non-education staff, learners and others are more involved in the learning process and may propose, coordinate or lead activities and projects. This approach not only requires different education, training and learning settings to network and create partnerships with each other but also establish cross-sectoral cooperation with external actors such as business, arts, sport and youth community, higher education or research institutes. Such broad partnerships and networks can provide rich learning environments, but need to be built through a long-term strategy based on trust and common objectives.

ØInquiry-based and project-based learning can support competence development by setting up an open inquiry based on a problem. The learner is then required to draw on a broad range of knowledge, skills and attitudes, and follow a cyclical process of design, creation, reflection, and adaptation, complementing this with the input of other individuals. This approach is also well-suited to blended learning where learners embark on a longer process of discovery, drawing on a rich mix of experiences and environments.

ØLearning is a social event and often organised in groups where learners are dependent on each other and learn with or from each other. The nature of competences also means that attitudes – often socially-constructed – are being developed alongside knowledge and skills. In order to support competence development, learning environments need to be safe and respectful, with a concern for the well-being of all educators and learners. Online learning and the use of connected digital devices, in particular, may need close monitoring to ensure the safe engagement by young people. This social and often collaborative nature of learning also presents an added challenge or complexity to the assessment of individual learner progression, meaning that the ability of a learner to self-reflect as part of team work is even more crucial;

ØDiversity of learner needs should be matched by differentiated learning support systems, to provide targeted and individualised learning when necessary;

ØIn order to support the capacity of “learning to learn” which underpins the lifelong development of all competences, learners need to have an active and equal role in the creation of the learning process. This calls for more participatory methods in learning, where the learner is active in a task rather than passively receiving information, and may even be involved themselves in decision-making on the learning content, approaches and organisation;

ØIt requires a flexible approach to teaching and learning that moves away from the concept of the educator as the single 'knowledge authority' and allows the use of a variety of learning approaches to scaffold the progression and growing independence of each learner – of any age - according to their strengths, needs and interests;

There is a strong connection between the pedagogical and organisational principles associated with competence-based education and a blended learning approach:

Competence-oriented education focuses on the outcomes of learning processes, as well as on the fact that learning happens in a diverse range of contexts. Competence-oriented education is regarded as advantageous in a time when the knowledge base of our societies is developing at an immense speed, and the skills required need to be transferred to, and developed in many different societal contexts. A blended learning approach encourages a step further towards learning experiences in environments and with different tools that are believed to support broad competence development.

The framework integrates a view of education as a continual, lifelong-process with high-quality education and training on an on-going basis. Likewise it encourages a variety of learning approaches and contexts for continual learning through diverse experiences. This includes finding the most appropriate way to assess and validate competences.

The Key Competences are: literacy; multilingual; mathematical and science; digital; personal, social and learning to learn; citizenship; entrepreneurship; and cultural awareness and expression.

The Council Recommendation on the Key Competences for Lifelong Learning describes the eight competences (each comprising knowledge, skills and attitudes) needed by everyone for personal fulfilment and development, employability, social inclusion and active citizenship.

The opportunity to have this flexibility will depend on the capacity of the learner to work independently and with the appropriate support from another. It may be assumed that younger learners need more support but this is not always the case as many factors contribute to the capacity of learners to thrive in different environments and with different tools.

There may be more rare situations where the majority of learning takes place at distance, and pupils only attend school for occasional group or individual sessions with a subject teacher or learning mentor (across different curriculum areas). This does not require daily school attendance and may be useful for: students who, for instance, due to illness or professional contracts cannot attend school every day, or when their home is very remote from the school site; and when schools cannot have all students in their premises at the same time..

For learners that are able to learn more independently (depending on their age, confidence and competence), some time - hours, days, weeks - can be spent learning at distance. The role of teacher is then to provide support, feedback and instruction on a needs basis while students work through course curriculum and content. This gives students a high degree of control over their learning and supports their self-directed and goal-oriented learning. This may include taking elective courses provided by other schools, or internships in the workplace, that are of particular interest to the student and can be included in a flexible schedule “a la carte”. For the teacher and the school staff as a whole, it is important to consider how the monitoring and structuring of the learning process can be effectively provided whilst avoiding increased teacher workload or that certain learners miss out on vital additional support.

A blended approach may also be described along a spectrum of less-to-more time spent learning at distance compared to on the school site.

Blended learning invites a consideration of a learning process that extends both before and after a structured learning event, or “lesson”. It can allow time in the live event for discussion and working with learners who need extra help; time being a precious commodity in education. As described above, it can also encourage the learner to take ownership of the whole process, albeit collaborating with others (teacher, peer, parent, and support staff) at different stages. It potentially reduces the likelihood that teacher-pupil knowledge transfer will dominate the learning process and establishes the “before” and “after” stages as being equally balanced according to learner input. It may be assumed that the more the learner is required to take ownership of the process, the more “relevant” the learning can seem to the learner, and thus the more they are likely to be motivated in their learning.

In what is more commonly known as a “flipped classroom”, pupils may acquire preliminary knowledge at home or remotely – for example, via books or online research - and teachers use school lesson time to facilitate the application of that in practice. This approach may be taken whenever appropriate in a course of study and relies on all pupils having adequate opportunity to develop knowledge and skills in both environments. The particular feature of “flipped” is that learning happens before, and potentially after, the lesson (classroom) application.

The extent of time spent in distance learning and in on-site schooling, will vary depending on the extent of student autonomy and teacher- or other mentor-led activities. Whilst this can be strictly defined – as it has been during pandemic restrictions – schools may also be given free choice in terms of this variable.

When designing a blended learning approach for courses of study, the approach selected by a whole school, subject department, or individual class teacher may have a number of different characteristics. It will depend on factors such as: the age of students and their capacity to work in and with the selected environments and tools; the curriculum content and goals; the availability of appropriate infrastructure (for example, computers, connections, places to study) as well as competences of teachers; and the schools’ own culture in terms of their attitudes towards different learning tasks (how learning takes place, including assessment).

Whilst a “curriculum” – whether based on traditional subject domains or on competences developed across subjects – can be a singular reference point for all schools and teachers within a system, the learning tools and environments can be embedded and combined in different ways as best fits the needs of the learners.

Variations in learning design are potentially infinite. This should be seen as a positive for the ability to design for all learners, rather than a cause for concern. The concept of blended learning supports the adaptation of the learning design for different groups of learners with different needs.

There is no clear evidence on “how much” of any particular learning environment is beneficial, and the complexity of the learning process and contexts means that there can be no “one size fits all” ideal. However, more deficits may exist in either solely distance or school site education compared with blended learning, which combines both approaches.

Evidence specifically from school education is emerging and is likely to expand rapidly following the experiences during school restrictions, which will be invaluable to the field.

The existing research evidence on blended learning and its separate elements is explored further in Chapter 3.

There is a lack of research evidence of schools or systems which have an established and full-embedded approach to blended learning as it is described here, although what exists has explored instructional design, teacher and pupil interaction, learning outcomes, attitudes, and the use of technology. Nevertheless, plentiful evidence can be usefully found regarding the separate elements, such as on effective practice in:

The integration of different learning tools is also not new. The integration of books can be traced back to the invention of the printing press in 1436 and the more recent shift from blackboard, to whiteboard, to interactive smartboard is also well documented.

Distance learning where the pupil is physically remote from the school site but may still interact with a teacher or mentor. This can include swimming lessons or other sports instruction and field trips (one day, one week), and work-based learning, which are all well-established in school education. Online learning has a more recent history and, like full distance learning courses, has been more firmly established in higher education and adult learning before being introduced into school education.

Distance learning - learning away from the school building(s) - has a long history and cannot be classified as “new”, even though it still may not yet be considered mainstream or integrated in a coherent or strategic way into school education. Classic examples where the pupil is physically remote from the teacher or institution range from correspondence courses in the 19th century, to Australian School of the Air, and to an array of radio and television programmes for young learners, which were – and are - designed to be watched together at school as well as remotely. Here school education has clearly taken advantage of advancements in telecommunication and today, with the Internet, there is the possibility to go further with such learning approaches.

Over the centuries, those designated the role of “teacher” have included: philosophers; military leaders; sports and intellectual pursuits trainers (in “gymnasiums”); those in religious orders, using part of the religious buildings as a “school”; educated individuals teaching the children of wealthy families in their large homes; skilled workers taking on young apprentices; and, latterly, graduates with a teaching qualification working in a building specifically constructed for the purpose of educating all young children in the local area.

There is a long history of the blending of different environments and tools in education. This is linked partly to the development of tools for communication, but also cultural shifts in who is given responsibility for education and ideas about how learning should ideally happen.

Blended learning has been mostly used in tertiary education and business training, as well as some schools in remote areas. However, it can also be effectively implemented in mainstream school education if a number of factors are taken into consideration. It is important that the strategy of the school and the design by the teachers as professionals is based on what is best for the learner; that there is clear understanding of and rationale for the embedding of different learning environments and tools; and that the learning process is carefully planned, created and monitored with feedback to inform future learning design and school development.

The ability to support learners with specific needs through blended learning was already evident before the COVID-19 pandemic. However, lasting and widespread change or transformation will require a collaborative approach, where policy makers, curriculum designers, education researchers, teacher educators, teachers, and pupils themselves engage constructively in developing new understandings and designs for how teaching and learning can better serve the needs of all learners.

Ultimately blended learning has the potential to transform educational experiences for young people by allowing learners to take more responsibility for their own learning before and after a live classroom session. Blended learning is a way to move towards a competency-based approach where the learner is in the centre. For teachers, blended learning allows for valuing all learners, differentiating and personalising teaching.

Blended learning has the potential for teachers to redefine their practice using a range of tools, including digital technology, where learners can engage in self-directed learning around issues that are meaningful to them. This embraces the contemporary educational perspective that students are not merely passive receivers of information and the teacher is not the only facilitator. Tools that facilitate greater student autonomy in the learning process can stimulate and support student agency (sense of own competence), personalised learning, and intrinsic motivation. Where relevant tools are used, it can also support the development of digital competence.

The periods learning on the school site can both prepare and reinforce learning in other environments. However, these other environments do not mean that pupils are alone. Any time that pupils spend learning together, with or without a teacher or other learning facilitator, and on the school site or in other indoor and outdoor environments, are important for enhancing learners’ social skills, well-being and sense of community.

“Blended Learning can raise student motivation, enthusiasm, and overall engagement while at the same time it can improve skills that are critical for the students’ future.” (Ministry representative)

It can help to improve the inclusiveness of education, particularly due to its flexibility, if resources and school organisation allow. For example, there can be better provision for education in rural and remote areas, including the outermost regions and island communities, and for other learners who may not attend the school site full time: those part of traveller communities; young carers; those with health issues or residing in hospitals and care centres; those engaged in high-performance training (for example young athletes or performance artists); and those in vocational training or paid work.

Blended learning is a flexible approach that can support a project or course of study to progress whilst not requiring teachers and learners to be in the same physical space at all times. On a practical level, this is useful for times when attending a school site is not possible, or when other sites are more appropriate for the learning approach. It demands a careful consideration of the learning design. It requires decisions to be made about how and when to best use the different environments for independent study, collaborative enquiry, social interaction, and practical application of knowledge and skills. It encourages a review of what the school site is and can be for the learner and its community, and how school time is best utilised.

The vision of the European Education Area and of the Digital Education Action Plan 2021-27 is for school education that is fully inclusive – with flexibility, access, and engagement - and of high quality with meaningful learning experiences - that are personalised and relevant to the lives of learners. In order to achieve this, what are the advantages of blending learning?

·recognise the relevance of this learning to their lives and develop a sense of agency as active European citizens.

·recognise their own particular talents and make links with their learning in non-formal settings;

·have a more personalised approach to their formal education, with extra attention and support given to any areas that may be hindering progression;

·become strong, independent and also collaborative learners and also have more ownership of their lifelong learning, which will help support a culture of lifelong learning in the future;

Of paramount importance to the learning design is blending environments and tools needs as appropriate to learner age, capacity, and circumstances, and the intended learning outcomes. For example, the decision to complement teacher-led with pupil-led tasks, and collaborative (group or whole class) tasks with individual tasks, are important factors in the way blended learning environments and tools can be effective for both younger and older pupils.

These can be complemented by a full variety of other learning tools (books, craft tools, analogue scientific equipment, and sports equipment) to create a varied learning experience and access to a range of content that can help to develop a broad range of competences.

Digital learning tools do not always need to be connected to the Internet and can include: smart boards and projectors for collaboration in classrooms; mobile devices and laptops with applications for designing, exploring and sharing work; television and radio for following recorded programmes; and Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality tools and application for enhanced interactivity.

Online learning may take place in any physical environment where a learner can use a device to connect to the Internet. It can support learning in different contexts, including school site and distance learning, separately or in combination, and is therefore important in supporting blended learning.

For the purposes of the Recommendation, online learning is defined as that which takes place with the use of digital technology to connect different devices and to facilitate an interaction between the learner and: other learners; learning programmes and platforms; and other content as sources of information. When designed well and used effectively, this can improve inclusiveness and competence development, and can personalise learning.

All learning environments need to be safe and well-functioning, contributing to teachers’ and pupils’ well-being, as well as the learning outcomes. Physical spaces for learning, whether they are located on or off the school site, should be accessible to children with disabilities and from socio-economically disadvantaged areas and not lead to discrimination or segregation.

Aside from broadening the scope of learning environments, a school that engages with practitioners with different expertise, and that promotes collaboration with the community, can encourage a shared responsibility for the development of young people – it is inclusive. This in turn can help young people to understand and be motivated by the relevance of formal education to their lives in society. It can support their broad competence development and increase their understanding of and engagement with local and global challenges, for instance those related to the environment and climate change.

A blended learning approach recognises the value of school education as a collection of shared spaces for personal and social interaction, which itself is important for learning as a way of understanding and making meaning in the world. In a blended learning approach, shared-space learning – whether the same physical space or online - makes the most of the opportunity for interaction between pupils, between staff, and between pupils and staff.

Doing so can help to increase the inclusiveness of school education, particularly due to its flexibility, such as better provision for education in rural and remote areas, including the outermost regions and island communities, and other circumstances where young people may not attend the school site full-time (traveller communities, young carers, learner’s own health issues, high performance training, or vocational training and paid work) or where specialised teaching staff are is not available locally. It can enhance competence development, due to the variety of learning approaches and environments it can engage with, including the outdoors, cultural sites, and various places of employment (work-based learning).

Learning can be facilitated both on the school site and in other physical environments away from the school site (distance learning). This is not a new phenomenon in education but could be better and more systematically integrated so that all learners can benefit from its advantages, before continuing to learn and develop throughout their lives in a rapidly-changing world.

Supporting blended learning, whether designing and organised at system, school or classroom level, requires more than addressing teacher and learner competence and their own use of environments and tools. It requires a coherent approach by the whole of the school education system encompassing: school leadership; learning design; teacher professional development and working conditions; the collaboration between schools and the wider community; infrastructure and resources; and quality assurance.

Blended learning can be an approach at the micro level - in a single learning process with a group of learners - , the meso level - a strategic approach by a school to facilitate blending learning -, and the macro level – embedded as a system-wide approach. It may also be called a “hybrid” approach or a more specific term relating the environment or tool being used, such as “online learning”.

Regardless of the age of the learner, and regardless of whether the teacher and pupils are in a shared physical space or not, the teacher is a constant and critical presence in the learning process. They design the approach and select the blend of environments and tools; they explain the tasks; they are active in the tasks when appropriate; and they review the learning progression after the tasks.

Using their professional judgement, teachers and schools will select and facilitate the use of these as part of engaging and effective learning tasks that support broad competence development.

A blended learning approach can be applied in a variety of combinations, as appropriate to the age, capacity and circumstances of the learners and intended learning outcomes. Blended learning in formal education happens when a school, educator or learner takes more than one approach to the learning process:

This chapter defines blended learning in the context of the Recommendation and describes what it can look like in school education. It describes a vision for school education from the perspective of the Digital Education Action Plan 2021-27 and the European Education Area: its key ideas on inclusion and on Key Competence development as part of high quality school education. It describes how these ideas are connected to the concepts of blended learning and innovation and change in education. It also provides a glossary and a further explanation of relevant terms.

As with other learning environments, noise can be distracting, in particular when other siblings are present, or simply the feeling of wishing to do other activities or spend time with family. A number of students report said they could feel more isolated from immediate teacher support.

“They can decide time for studying, they can follow their own rhythm/pace in studying” (Teacher)

In the 2021 student consultation, some students said they enjoy the flexibility and comfort of learning from home. Some considered home to have a quieter more relaxing atmosphere than the classroom, such as being able to listen to music when learning, and with more freedom to manage their time.

The school may encounter pupil issues of well-being, stress and emotional difficulties related to the distance (home or other) environment including lack of appropriate space for learning. European data on the proportion of children living in low-quality housing and with poor diets may give some indication of where learning outside of school may be very difficult. Whilst such assumptions are not always fact, these circumstances are certainly of grave concern and may have worsened during the pandemic.

Less independent learners will need to co-manage the distance environment with a supportive person. However, for all learners there is a need to develop their “learning to learn” competence and their ability to manage their own learning experience. This may need to be systematically built up over time and in a shared space, in order to be able to apply their own strategies for learning in other contexts.

Self-regulation refers to an individual’s capacity to deliberately control thoughts, feelings, and actions and to orchestrate them in ways that support the pursuit of longer-term objectives, such as obtaining good grades or understanding the learning content, in the academic context. As such, self-regulation predicts the probability with which these objectives are attained. As learning predominantly in the home was entirely novel for most students in 2020 and, many of them experienced it as a major challenge and they struggled with structuring their learning and working on the tasks efficiently. Students’ self-regulation may be assumed to have played an important role while adapting to this novel schooling situation. Considering longer time frames and longitudinal data, students with better self-regulation abilities have been shown to achieve better grades and to obtain higher educational attainment overall.

Consideration should be given to helping learners manage their own distance learning environment, by themselves or with peers: the choice of physical space, the atmosphere (e.g. whether to have background music, the company of others, and so on), and time management.

It is important to provide learners with guidance and support to ensure they have a meaningful experience within different environments and with different tools.

The design of blended learning for different age groups may also be reflected in the timetable. For instance, younger pupils may have more teacher contact time or time on the school site compared to older pupils. At certain times in the academic year, for instance in the period before examinations, certain year groups may also be allocated increased teacher contact time.

A blended learning approach may encourage an emphasis on interactive (e.g. discussion) or practical learning tasks when on the school site by using a flipped classroom approach to focus the preparatory learning at distance. In this case, timetable changes may benefit teaching and learning by offering longer (or double) lesson periods for extended practical or collaborative work.

Reducing class size or dividing into groups – not only for health reasons but also to engage in particular activities - may mean that additional teachers are needed to support teacher substitution. Therefore there is a demand on the school staff and budget. A criticism of attempting a parallel timetable is that teachers are asked to direct their effort and attention in two places at once.

With health restrictions defining how many children could attend school at one time, some schools and systems used a rotation approach - for example, pupils being in school for two days a week - or a parallel approach – for example, having two timetables for online (off-site) and on-site learning. Some established fixed timetables for online classes conducted at the same times as the pre-lockdown timetable to provide continuity and structure for learners. For others, the emphasis was on flexibility and enabling learners to engage with learning on their own terms.

How the school day and working hours of staff are structured may benefit from review and increased flexibility. Changes to the timetable may be influenced by whether there is a need to synchronise learning i.e. having the teacher and full class in the same lesson (same physical space or online), meaning that they cannot be occupied elsewhere. Teaching and learning hours may also change when a significant number of pupils are not on the school campus (e.g. VET students on work placement or new crisis response that imposes confinement).

While this type of education is typically not supported by public funds, it is complementary to formal education and integral to the overall education system. Providers range from private individuals to transnational franchises (e.g. Japanese Kumon centres). Courses are provided in a variety of venues (commercial settings, public school buildings, community centres, youth organisations, in students’ or teachers’ homes, libraries), and increasingly, tutoring is available online, including through video conference other internet-based platforms. It is often focused on attaining high grades in summative high stakes examinations and, given that it requires a fee, raises questions about its contribution to an equitable education system.

Shadow education may include private tutoring, after-school studies, informal learning or leisure or culture (sports/arts), and other non‐academic extra‐curricular activities. Some programmes help students to develop more technical skills in students, i.e. for robotics, programming, Artificial Intelligence and Information and Communications Technologies (ICT). Shadow education may also be is seen as a way for gifted students to fulfil their academic abilities and interests.

“Shadow education” refers to private, fee-paying education with the aim of helping students succeed in formal education. It has reached mass levels internationally, and families at all income levels may invest in this type of supplementary learning to support their children’s learning and future opportunities.

“Shadow education” is a widespread phenomenon but has received relatively little attention in education research. Greater awareness of how students in all socio-demographic groups are engaging with this type of supplementary learning may be important for getting a better understanding of learning that occurs outside of classrooms but which is not “blended”.

Within the projects of the school, students are encouraged to recognise their personal interests, abilities and dormant talents, familiarise themselves with the digital world, but also have fun with their peers, for example by playing online board games.

The School for Circus Children offers education for professionally travelling, school-aged children. It was established in 2007 in Hilden, Germany, with online lessons taking place in real time, meaning that the learning group and the teacher log in to the virtual classroom at a certain time. Learning takes place daily with different students from different circuses, no matter where in the world they are located. The objectives of this school are:

On this topic the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF)’s rapid evidence assessment in 2020, albeit largely based on other (non-pandemic) situations, concluded that:

Such examples include “iScoil” in Ireland, where students who are not in mainstream education continue their education from home. All of these programmes were in place pre-COVID-19 and allowed young people to engage in formal schooling remotely over the Internet.

Perhaps less well known is that there has been a similar growth recently of full-time (or almost) distance learning school education. There are a number of schools that offer supplemental education to students who are unable to access learning on-site. Students log-in from home or from their school to participate in an online programme that typically consists of a mix of synchronous and asynchronous learning events. This blend varies depends on the course and the course providers.

Distance learning has been on the increase in higher education, particularly over the past 10 years, with an increase in the number of students learning remotely. The development of the Internet and other software programmes have made it easier for learners to enrol in courses from anywhere in the world.

While distance learning was originally associated with the world of business, such approaches were also adopted and adapted by the world of education and in particular by schools and universities. Some have described such approaches as “remote” learning, for example where students continued their education remotely via the radio during the polio epidemic of the 1930s and where the telephone supported remote learning from hospitals long before video-conferencing. There is a long history of technologies, such as television, supporting distance and remote learning in schools and other formal settings for well over a century.

Traditionally, most formal learning has taken place in a physical classroom but there are examples of learning programmes taking place at a distance since the 1800s. Such courses were often referred to as “correspondence courses” and they were rooted in a communication style – writing and sending by post - which students adopted to engage with members of staff responsible for delivering the programme by distance.

The project is supported by a network of proven experts in the areas of developing VR applications (University of Potsdam), digitally-oriented didactics (Learning Lab of the University of Duisburg-Essen) and professional qualification and further training in the craft (ZWH e . V.). The application partner in the project is Mercedes-Benz Ludwigsfelde GmbH with a focus on the training of vehicle painters.

The central aim of the German project handlevr is to use VR technologies to promote the action-oriented learning of various techniques for applying individual layers of paint on vehicle pieces by trainees. The central tool for this project is a three-dimensional VR learning environment: the VR paint shop. It consists of an authoring tool for teachers as well as a VR training application and a reflection application for trainees.

The teacher-led project VRhoogte is a prime example of using a VR application for learning. The project, funded by the Flemish government, has developed a high-quality VR training module for secondary VET students to learn how to work safely in high places, such as high-voltage pylons or wind turbines. Through the VR training module students can work and train a number of basic skills in a safe, interactive and challenging environment in preparation for the workplace. The module itself deals with scaffolding installations and construction. In addition to software and hardware, the project consortium is further developing a manual and training for schools and teachers so that they can transfer the module to their schools.

Evidence is growing of the benefits of incorporating elements of gaming and gamification into digital tools. The use of immersive simulations like virtual and augmented reality also allow students to rehearse risky processes in safe and controlled conditions. Digital tools may also provide new ways of teaching and assessing learners so that learning progression in the two environments can be seamless and more complementary. The Directors General responsible for Vocational Education and Training from all Member States, the European Commission, and other relevant stakeholders meet to discuss current topics and share effective practices in European education, and particularly the VET agenda. Digitalisation is one of the recurrent topics.

“It is absolutely to be welcomed that vocational training has been explicitly included ... In this context, it is important to strike a sensible balance between online communication and presence. However, high quality practical training must take place physically. It can be supported by digital tools, but cannot be replaced by them.” (Member State Chamber of Commerce)

Vocational education taking place in the dual contexts of workplace and school often lack the tools to fully exploit this potential. Nevertheless, digital tools are being developed to support coordination between the student, VET institution and companies and emphasise the importance of shared reflection. Both the Council Recommendation on vocational education and training and 2020 Osnabruck Declaration contain extensive references to digitalisation.

Recent research in Sweden indicates that VET teachers can create continuity between the on-site school environment and the work place that VET learners are preparing for, but in some cases this is a demanding task that requires creativity significant amount of effort and problem-solving. Some teachers leave it to the student to make the connection but other teachers go to some lengths to modify the school site environment so that the link is made for the student. This is evidently an area of VET that still requires development.

·Enabling students to contextualise and apply their learning in the real world by accessing learning opportunities outside the classroom;

The 2020 report by the ET2020 Working Group on Vocational Education and Training highlights the opportunity to change the way that learners learn. This includes by:

-There is a strong call for a European online platform (which is safe, quality assured, multilingual, etc.) that would offer opportunities for networking and exchanging good practices and would provide digital solutions, also for work-based learning.

-While it is a significant challenge for teachers and trainers as well as learners to adapt swiftly to this dramatic change, many stakeholders have mobilised themselves to help (VET providers, local governments, publishers, NGOs, companies, etc.);

-Little capacity for employers to focus on training either for youngsters or for their employees over concerns for ensuring business continuity. However, some employers and training providers made best use of the confinement period to support the training of their employees and to accelerate deployment of digital learning systems and content;

-There is substantial disruption to the apprenticeship ‘supply chain’. Apprentices have largely discontinued their company attendance in the sectors whose activities have been shut down (e.g. restauration, well-being, tourism, and manufacturing). In some cases, discontinuation and termination of financial compensation, where applicable, increases the rate of drop-outs;

-VET learners might be at a disadvantage compared to learners from other educational tracks, as more efforts are put into general school subjects, and less into typical vocational content;

-Several tools are available for supporting distance learning. However, in general, VET online material is less developed, as far as the practical parts of training and work-based learning are concerned;

A survey on the challenges and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on vocational education and training was undertaken by the Commission in March-May 2020 with the following findings:

Blended learning is a widely established practice in Initial Vocational Education and Training. VET’s unique feature of requiring learners to apply the abstract knowledge gained in formal educational settings in a work-based context, makes it particularly suited for blended learning. The most common blended approaches combine elements of digital-based distance learning for the theoretical part of the curriculum, with on-site time reserved for practical learning. However, the COVID-19 pandemic revealed that the work-based learning component of VET lacked sufficient tools and processes to support practical learning at a distance from tutors, employers and site-specific equipment. The reduction in access to practical experiences highlighted the known need for Vocational Education and Training to take further advantage of digital technology including digital devices and learning platforms, ePortfolios and Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality for simulations.

“Collaboration is vital... The Recommendation should foster the creation of partnerships between private sector, national and local authorities, training and education providers, as well as NGOs.” (European association)

The Council of Europe describes how the creation of learning opportunities in “overlapping communities” has important implications for educational institutions and the way they relate to other agents of education for democratic citizenship in society (see Figure 12, below). This is based on the premise that “strengthening democracy means far more than encouraging participation in formal processes such as voting: it means advancing a form of association or “way of life” which has its roots in community and neighbourhood life and relationships.”

In the 2021 student consultation, some students specifically referred to wanting more opportunities for school trips, engaging with professional speakers, and international projects.

Whilst some teaching and learning may shift away from the school site, the school site may positively change its role in the community as a site for more than just young pupils and their teachers. Schools that have invested in community libraries, sports centres, and other shared facilities may have the capacity to promote extended-hours access to their premises for members of the wider community. Opening up school facilities outside of school hours for outreach and extra-curricular activities can be highly advantageous. It encourages community empowerment and helps to bridge the gap between schools and parents, particularly those who are unfamiliar with the school system.

One such example is Base 1, is located within Forum Geesseknäppchena, a resource centre for work with youth in Luxembourg City, and situated very near to three secondary schools. During school hours it is visited by primary and secondary classes and outside of school hours it is open to the general public. The makerspace aim is “to provide a boundary free environment for students where they can evolve their own project ideas in a creative manner” provides students with opportunities to use equipment and materials that they may be unfamiliar with and also to learn new skills, such as coding and design.

In 2020, the Interactive Classroom Working Group (ICWG) of European Schoolnet (EUN) published practical guidelines for school leaders and teachers. The guidelines have been based on research and experiences observed and analysed in projects conducted by the Italian Government's National Institute for Documentation, Innovation and Educational Research (INDIRE) in recent years. They were further informed by desk research and the experiences of schools in nine countries (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Switzerland and Turkey) that have created their own makerspaces as documented in the case studies below, which are based on interviews with the schools' principals and teachers.

Makerspaces - also known as FabLabs or Hackerspaces - are collaborative workspaces for making, learning, exploring and sharing and much of the literature describes a pedagogy of “creativity”, “informal”, “without pressure”, and “try-and-fail-and-try-again”. They are open to children, young people and adults. The term refers to a variety of spaces that can be a gathering point for tools, people, projects and expertise. The concept involves participation, collaboration, information sharing and spontaneity. Makerspaces provide a welcoming space for learning new literacies, and developing new skills by exploring ideas, concepts and technologies. Three unique aspects of makerspaces can be outlined for education and training purposes in the future. Firstly, making activities naturally combine disciplines that are traditionally taught separately; secondly, while exploring real world problems individuals acquire new knowledge and create meaning from the experience; and thirdly, due to informal ways of social interaction in makerspaces, a diversity of flexible learning arrangements are created, e.g. peer learning and mentoring, peer coaching.

A makerspace is typically a room or studio inside a school, library or other community building for making objects using tools. Theses spaces are open to people of different ages and skill level and have a variety of equipment that is not typically available in every home or classroom, including full sets of drivers and drills, 3D printers, laser cutters, and soldering irons for circuit boards.

Visits to farms can also be an enriching experience for young people. As part of their school education, pupils can be introduced to different animals, including facts about their natural habitat and their role in food production. They can develop a more tangible understanding of the importance of healthy eating habits and can healthy eating habits. They can also be introduced to issues such as local food chains, organic farming, sustainable production or food waste. These are recognised benefits of the European Union School Fruit, Vegetables and Milk Scheme. There are numerous examples of farms and ecological centres opening up their sites for educational visits. However, equal access to these opportunities relies on sufficient funding, either regionally or nationally, and synergies between education and agricultural policies. Without these, the risk is that only those who can afford such visits, or who are situated near a facility that has received special education funding, will benefit.

“The organization doesn’t help them to discover by themselves. They think they are not being able to walk around and to see what interests them most.”(Teacher)

A number of students criticised, however, that the visits can also be boring, and they do not like the fact they needed to be quiet on these trips.

“[They] discover new things in a different place. New ways to learn … it is original.” (Teacher)

When asked in the consultation about school trips to other sites, such as museums, factories or sports centres, a number of students said that the trips were stimulating and allowed them to learn new things in a different environment:

Research and expert knowledge reveal that visits to museums can be powerful learning experiences. They are brought to life for children by specially trained museum educators and are highly engaging when collections are hands-on and are used by the children during the activities. Narrative is an important feature and where the activities fit into a storyline that is packed with details, it stimulates both engagement and memory.

• Workshop rooms and flipped classrooms (secondary school): teachers personalise their working space in terms of furniture and other tools. In a flipped classroom approach, students prepare to lead their own class discussion by watching a pre-recorded lecture.

• Bag-less learning (primary school): students only wear a light purse to hold their personal belongings and a notebook for homework tasks while school is furnished with various learning tools.

This school wanted to promote the active participation of students; foster inclusion; and nurture autonomy and a sense of responsibility. They adopted various approaches in re-designing learning environments and tasks:

Aside from the 2021 Student Consultation, there are pre-pandemic examples of school practice, such as from Italy where the approach to learning environments and tools was modified (see Example A, below).

Being closer to nature was a common theme in the survey picture task with some student pictures showing learning in an outdoors setting (gardens, trees, park, sun, flowers).

“Learning in outdoor places seems to have human and social effects on the students’ behaviour: they said they can escape, be in peace, relax, learn in silence and have a maximum of concentration.” (Teacher report on student consultation)

A number of students said they found learning outdoors to be relaxing and good for concentration, although the presence of insects or cold weather were mentioned by some as negative factors.

“They like large spaces, discovering many things/places. They don’t get bored and feel free to act.” (Teacher report on student consultation)

In the 2021 student consultation, a number of students (from multiple schools) said they were more interested and motivated when they were learning outdoors. Enjoying nature and fresh air were mention by a number of students to be a benefit.

Germany today has over 1500 nature and forest kindergartens where children are encouraged to play, explore and learn in a forest or other natural environment. The idea has been replicated in neighbouring countries, and today there are associations in the UK and Switzerland: Forest School Association, Chouette-Forêt, and Waldkindergarten . It is believed that not only do forest kindergartens allow children to reconnect with nature, they also teach them how to play together, how to be inquisitive, creative and innovative, and how to respect their environment.

The COVID-19 pandemic restrictions brought renewed attention to the possibility and benefits of learning outdoors, and many schools around the globe actively planned to move learning outside of the walls of the classroom, notably in Denmark.

As with classroom-based tasks, noise and distraction seem to be an issue for some students, whilst others feel these activities were too short and would need more time.

“…it is good because the lesson is fun, interesting, motivating, exciting, training mind and body, they blow off steam, they have more space to move, they have access to books (other than course books).” (Student responses reported by their teacher in consultation)

Reflecting on when they learn in other places around the school (gym, library, playground), many positive factors were reported by students, such as fresh air in outdoors spaces, more team activities, and less stress.

The constraints of the school timetable was a challenge highlighted by one teacher: “They have difficulties to do work at a specific time.”

“Good thing is that you can ask [the] teacher if you don’t understand something; you meet and interact with your peers … sometimes it is too loud because of some who are not interested in learning or you get bored.” (Student responses reported by their teacher in consultation)

In the 2021 student consultation (see 3.1 above for details), students were asked what was good and not so good about learning in the classroom. Many students (from multiple schools) said they enjoyed being in the same space as fellow students and working in groups. Some considered it easier to ask questions to their teachers and peers when they are in the same (physical) place. For a number of students, learning in the classroom made it easier to concentrate and stay focused, although others considered it a more chaotic and noisy environment.

“Education in which children have to sit still on a chair during a whole day is outdated and unhealthy.” (Teacher)

In a 2019 European survey on learning environments, two thirds of respondents thought that their school does not have an environment conducive to 21st-century education. Most classrooms are set up for 21-30 students and the most common seating layout is pairs of desks in rows. Respondents disagreed that changes to learning environments distract students or create stress for teachers but rather that innovation in teaching and learning is facilitated by the school’s learning environment. Most believed that it is possible to change the learning environment in their school and that there are simple, low-cost steps to do so. However, 8 out of 10 respondents agreed that ministries and regional/local authorities are not supporting schools enough in creating an optimal environment for modern teaching and learning.

“It’s hard to talk about silver linings in a pandemic … but … it gives us an opportunity to reflect on our practice and learn. And getting kids outside leads to more active, experiential learning. Most kids thrive on that.” (Perspective of an education consultant)

According to new research under development, valuing of out-of-classroom learning and ensuring equitable access to it is a common feature across all “high performing” systems. The challenge is an increasingly demanding curriculum but working in partnership with others (the work place, cultural and social organisations) is considered highly effective.

As blended learning takes place in a combination of -school site and distance environments, schools may be (newly) responsible for both. Regardless of how public authorities (and legislation) define legal responsibility, all stakeholders need to benefit from both types of environment, and all types need to be functioning and accessible enough to support the learning experience to its full potential.

This section takes an in-depth look at evidence supporting the following within a blended learning approach:

When designing such blends, schools need to consider, at a minimum, the following ingredients for their blended learning: learning environments – where learning will take place - ; and the tools that teachers and students will use – what types of devices and communication they use. These are embedded within the learning tasks that teachers and students will use – how learning will take place – in order to shape the learning design as a process towards intended learning outcomes.

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a sudden switch for a great many students from classroom learning to forms of online and blended learning necessitated by the crisis but the design of which was not always ideal (Emergency Remote Teaching).

There have been four decades of experience of designing online learning for schools, universities, vocational learning, individual and informal learning. At the school level, online programmes have been designed for a range of needs: as a replacement for mainstream schools, for elite athletes, to support school refusers, or those with difficulty in attending mainstream schools. Over the last 20 years there has been increasing use of blended learning as well as online learning in schools.

This section provides recent evidence both about well-established approaches to the design of a blended learning approach, as well as the lessons learned from Emergency Remote Teaching in 2020, which can inform the approaches to design of blended learning.

The following sub-sections discuss the evidence regarding challenges and possible solutions within each thematic area.

The discussions and findings fall into different thematic areas. All are interlinked and are b a core understanding of the school being a learning organisation within a wider community:

From the open public consultation on the Digital Education Action Plan 2021-27, the majority of respondents from education and training across all sectors/levels were happy with the measures taken to ensure the continuity of education during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the level of satisfaction appears to be greater in higher education compared to other educational levels, especially compared to early childhood education and care, and primary education. Therefore it was critical to explore all aspects of this topic in as much depth, and from as many perspectives, as possible in order to fully understand the challenges and opportunities going forward.

·How can blended learning as a concept be supported in a practical sense within and across national systems (i.e. how can it be not only better understood but implemented more in school education)?

Through the different modes of communication listed above (section 3.1) the European Commission has explored with stakeholders these key questions:

During 2020, many countries and international organisations, such as OECD, UNESCO, the European Distance and e-Learning Network, European Alliance for Apprenticeships, and the European Parents Association, held their own various events and research exercises, which the work on the Recommendation has benefitted from.

Additional research that has taken place by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission includes:

·inviting the public to comment on the broad description of the aims and key ideas of the Recommendation (“Roadmap”) with responses from international organisations as well as individual citizens.

·a consultation with over 100 school pupils via the eTwinning community of teachers and schools: A short questionnaire was designed with 5 questions: 4 as a mixture of multiple choice and open text responses, and 1 drawing task. eTwinning teachers were invited to volunteer to complete the questionnaire with their students. The teachers also provided an initial analysis of the student responses by completing a teacher summary. These summaries were the main source of the Commission analysis, complemented by analysing individual student responses.

·In August to October 2020, the Commission facilitated a series of online discussions with members of the ET2020 Working Group Schools (representatives of ministries and stakeholder organisations) specifically focused on blended learning in the current school education context.

·Additional communication with stakeholders on this topic was undertaken in April and September 2020 in the form of two European online surveys via the Commission’s School Education Gateway platform, which highlighted the growing confidence of teachers and their capacity to innovate, but also still highlighted their urgent need for professional development opportunities.

·A broad public consultation took place on the Digital Education Action Plan 2021-27 between June and September 2020. The Open Public Consultation results found that almost 60% of the respondents had not used distance and online learning before the crisis and yet 95% consider that the COVID-19 pandemic marks a point of no return for how technology is used in education and training. The new Digital Education Action Plan 2021-2027 outlines the European Commission’s vision for high quality, inclusive and accessible digital education in Europe. It is a call to action for stronger cooperation at European level to learn from the COVID-19 pandemic and make education and training systems fit for the digital age. One of the Action Plan’s two strategic priorities is fostering the development a high-performing digital education ecosystem, under which the Recommendation is proposed.

·Exchange of information and ideas on online and distance learning took place via the ministerial videoconferences organised by the Council presidency, and at the levels of Directors General for Schools, Higher Education, and Vocational Education and Training, the ET2020 Working Groups, and European stakeholder network events.

·The Commission hosted an online Distance Learning Network (April-June) with two subgroups - School Education and Higher Education - for Member States ministry representatives to exchange approaches on the continuity of education in their systems during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants discussed and shared approaches on key topics, including assessment and examinations, well-being, and quality assurance. Representatives also gave their input to “Blended learning in school education: guidelines for the start of the academic year 2020/21” which were published online in July.

In 2020, the Commission undertook a number of supportive and consultation activities, notably during the early months of the pandemic focusing on school site closure and reopening, for the Digital Education Action Plan, and at the start of the new academic year regarding ongoing school education development.

·research projects: primary research (generating new data) can help understand the impact of a current or new approach, which can be complemented by secondary research (reviewing previous research) can give light on recent developments in the light of new contexts.

·public consultation: allowing a broad set of opinions to be expressed can help decision-makers see an issue from a range of perspectives

·surveys to a targeted school education audience: asking a small number of focused questions to a specific stakeholder group gives voice to a large number of practitioners and generates useful data to understand needs and possible solutions

·online meetings and webinars: allow different representatives to share and discuss experiences in depth, reacting in real time to each other’s views

Various methods have been used to better understand the challenges and possibilities in this area:

The European Commission has consulted with ministry of education representatives, European network organisations (of teacher educators, parents, students, employers, and trade unions), educators, school pupils, and other members of the public.

An ongoing dialogue with different education stakeholder groups involved is important in any change or reform process, not least with a blended learning approach that involves all parts of the school education system. This is important to recognise and value not just in the context of this Recommendation but also taking the work further at a national, regional, and local level in the future.

Where possible, this Staff Working Document provides examples of existing policies and projects supporting blended learning specifically. However, it is not an exhaustive review of literature or project examples regarding teaching and learning in primary and secondary education. Given that blended learning is a constantly-evolving field – particularly in the context of school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic – it should be acknowledged that new evidence and perspectives are always emerging.

In or