Transforming the Classroom into a Reflective Community: A Blended Learning Instructional Approach

Critical and reflective thinking is acknowledged as one of the key skills within education for sustainable development whereas sustainable development requires a shift in the mental models which frame our thinking and inform our decisions and actions. This paper describes the implementation of a blended learning lesson unit which aimed at activating pupils’ reflective thinking in order to negotiate the controversial topic of genetically modified food (GMF). It describes a small case study that was implemented in a semi-rural school in Chania, Crete, with the participation of 23 pupils from Form 6. Specific changes in the pedagogical practices were adopted, pertaining to content, time and space conventions and the use of online learning activities. The instructional design incorporated a five-stage instructional session, which started by the introduction of a problematic situation, continued with the infusion of cognitive dissonance procedures and ended with a reflective evaluation activity. The pupils’ stances towards the open learning procedure and the integration of online activities were positive, while certain changes in their beliefs about the issue of GMF were observed, due to the design of the learning approach.