Enhancing Students' Blended Learning Experience through Embedding Metaliteracy

Abstract

As the push for a diversified use of information technologies in higher education teaching continues, a growing number of colleges and universities have come to adopt blended learning which combines traditional face-to-face lectures with online instruction to create flexible approaches of delivering content that are consistent with the requirements of new digital economy. At the same time, university students are required to have continuous growth in literacy skills. Metaliteracy is a comprehensive model for information literacy that can enhance blended learning experience. Embedding metaliteracy learning in a blended course is considered as a feasible approach to empower students in blended learning. Combining an analysis of data gathered through a survey administered at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, a Sino-UK institution located in China, this paper reports the results of an investigation into the pedagogical issues including the metaliteracy learning experience of using an interactive communication environment and the benefits and challenges of integrating practices of metaliteracy with blended learning.