Blended Learning for Training Providers: How to Design and Run Blended Courses
What blended learning is, which courses suit it, how to split theory and practice, set deadlines, check progress before the day and issue certificates.
On this page
- Key takeaways
- 1What blended learning is
- 2What the research says about blended learning
- 3Decide which courses suit a blend
- 4Design the online part
- 5Plan the learner’s timeline
- 6Get the online part finished
- 7Evidence and certificates
- 8What to look for in a system for blended courses
- 9Where Cademy fits
- 10Frequently asked questions
Blended learning is a course that combines online lessons, which learners work through in their own time, with sessions led by a trainer, in a room or live online. For a training provider it usually means moving the theory into short online lessons with a quiz, keeping the practical and the assessment face to face, and issuing the certificate only when both parts are done. It works when the online part has a deadline tied to each learner’s date, someone checks progress before the day, and the course rules allow the split.
Key takeaways
- Put knowledge online and keep skills in the room. On regulated first aid courses, the practical outcomes must be delivered and assessed face to face.
- Blending keeps the total learning time. The first aid standards say blended learning “should not reduce the overall time required to take the course”.
- Close each online section with a quiz. Retrieval practice improves long-term recall more than rereading the same material.
- Set the online deadline relative to each learner’s booked date, remind them before it, and contact anyone who hasn’t started.
- Issue the certificate on two conditions: the register says Attended and the online lessons are complete.
What blended learning is
A blended course has two parts that belong to one booking. The learner books a date, works through online lessons before it (and sometimes after it), and attends the session for the parts that need a trainer. The certificate covers both parts.
| Format | Online part | Live part | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Classroom | None | Everything, in a room | Practical skills, short courses |
| Blended | Self-paced lessons, quizzes and uploads | A practical, workshop or assessment | First aid, manual handling, care updates, assessor training |
| Live online (VILT) | None, or pre-reading | Everything, on a video call | Management, compliance, software |
| On-demand e-learning | Everything | None | Awareness courses, refreshers |
| Hybrid | Usually none | Some learners in the room and some on a call, at the same time | Workshops with remote attendees |
Blended and hybrid are often confused. A hybrid session puts learners in two places at the same moment, while a blended course splits the learning across time: online first, then together.
What the research says about blended learning
The best-known evidence comes from a meta-analysis by Barbara Means and colleagues, published in Teachers College Record in 2013. It pooled 50 effects from 45 studies, with learners split roughly evenly between school or college students and people in graduate programs or professional training. Purely online courses performed about the same as face-to-face ones (an effect size of +0.05, too small to be statistically significant). Blended courses did better than face to face (+0.35, significant).
The authors add a caveat that matters for course design. The blended courses in those studies “tended to involve additional learning time, instructional resources, and course elements that encourage interactions among learners”. The gain comes from what the blend adds, such as more practice and more chances to check understanding, so a course that only moves slides online should not expect it.
The quiz at the end of each online section is one of those additions. In a study by Henry Roediger and Jeffrey Karpicke, students who read a passage once and then tested themselves three times recalled 61% of it a week later, against 40% for students who read it four times. Rereading looked better at five minutes and worse at a week.
Decide which courses suit a blend
A course suits blended learning when part of it is knowledge a learner can take in alone and part of it needs a trainer watching, correcting or assessing.
| Course | Online, before the day | In the room |
|---|---|---|
| First aid | The primary survey, recovery position theory, conditions and treatments | CPR on a manikin, the AED trainer, bandaging, the practical assessment |
| Manual handling | Legislation, risk assessment and the principles of a safe lift | Lifting the loads people handle at work, with a trainer watching |
| Fire marshal | Fire classes, evacuation plans, the marshal’s duties | Using an extinguisher, walking the routes |
| Care and clinical updates | Annual mandatory topics as e-learning | A skills session or observed assessment to sign it off |
| Assessor and trainer courses | Written work, uploads and long-answer questions | Observed practice and feedback |
For regulated courses, the awarding body sets the split. The Blended Learning in First Aid Quality Assurance Standards (version 5, June 2026) define distance learning as “e-learning or virtual classroom learning” and face to face as “in the same room (not via the internet)”, and they set a minimum face-to-face time for each course:
| Course | Minimum total hours | Minimum face to face |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency First Aid at Work | 6 | 3 |
| First Aid at Work | 18 | 12 |
| First Aid at Work requalification | 12 | 6 |
The same standards require the distance learning to be assessed by a qualified first aid assessor, with “auditable evidence”, and make it “the training provider’s responsibility to confirm the identity of the learner and the authenticity of the evidence”. Check the current rules for every qualification before you blend it.
Design the online part
Short lessons, one topic each. An analysis of 6.9 million video viewing sessions on edX found that median watching time was at most six minutes, whatever the length of the video. A short welcome from the trainer, a few videos or reading pages per topic, and a downloadable summary work better than one long recording.
A quiz at the end of each section. Set a pass mark, and make the quiz required if the next section depends on it. Multiple-choice and number questions mark themselves, so the trainer only reviews written answers and uploads.
A deadline before the day. Make the online part due a day or two before the practical, so there is time to chase anyone who hasn’t finished. Because learners book different dates, the deadline needs to follow each learner’s own date.
Follow-up work, if the course has it. A reflection, a case study or a final quiz after the practical can sit in the same course, due a set number of days after the date.
A time estimate on the booking page. Say how long the online part takes and how long the session lasts, such as “about three hours online, then a three-hour practical”. Employers booking staff need to plan both.
Plan the learner’s timeline
- 1At booking
The lessons open in the learner's account, with the date, the venue and the deadline for the online part.
- 2A week before
A reminder with the venue and start time, and how much of the online part is left.
- 3Two days before
Check who hasn't started or is stuck, and contact them directly.
- 4The day before
The online part is due. The trainer sees who has finished and who passed each quiz.
- 5The day
The practical and its assessment. The register is marked for every session.
- 6After
Follow-up work if there is any, the feedback form and the certificate once both parts are complete.
Get the online part finished
Self-paced learning has a well-documented completion problem. Justin Reich and José Ruipérez-Valiente analyzed every MIT and Harvard course on edX from 2012 to 2018: 3.13% of all participants completed their courses in 2017–18, against 46% of verified learners, who had paid. A blended course has more going for it than a free online course, since the learner has paid, booked a date and often been sent by an employer. The same pressures still apply, so build the follow-up into the course:
- A deadline per learner, shown in their account and in the reminders.
- A progress check two days before the practical, with a direct email to anyone who hasn’t started.
- A note to the employer for staff they have booked, if a learner doesn’t respond.
- A clear rule for anyone who arrives with the online part unfinished, set before the course goes on sale.
A learner arrives without finishing the online part
Move them to a later date if they cannot attend, and keep the lessons they have finished.
Mark them Attended, keep the course In Progress, and issue the certificate when the last lesson is done.
Explain why before the day if you can, and charge under your published transfer terms.
Evidence and certificates
A blended course needs evidence from both parts: the register for the sessions, and the lesson progress and quiz results for the online part. On regulated courses, keep the quiz answers and the assessor’s marks with the learner’s record, since the awarding body may ask for them at a review.
Issue the certificate when both parts are done, and date it from the day the learner completed the course. If the qualification expires, the expiry runs from that date. Certificates and CPD for training providers covers what a certificate needs to show.
What to look for in a system for blended courses
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Is a blended course one booking, with both parts in it? | No separate e-learning accounts to set up and match to bookings |
| Do lesson deadlines follow each learner’s booked date? | Learners on different dates get the right deadline |
| Can you see who hasn’t started, before the day? | Time to chase them while it still helps |
| Can trainers see progress and quiz results for their dates? | The trainer knows who passed the theory before anyone arrives |
| Does moving a learner to another date keep their online progress? | Nobody repeats work they have finished |
| Does the certificate wait for both the register and the lessons? | No certificates for half a course |
| Can you print one learner’s full record? | Evidence for an awarding body in one document |
Live Online Training covers courses where the trainer-led part runs on a video call, and TMS vs LMS explains why blended courses need both kinds of system.
Where Cademy fits
Cademy runs blended courses as one course with bookable dates and online lessons, so the booking, the e-learning, the register and the certificate belong to the same registration.
Deadlines that follow each learner’s date
Lessons can open at booking or a set number of days before the course, and fall due before or after it. A lesson due a day before the course falls due on September 29 for someone booked on September 30 and on October 7 for someone booked on October 8. Learners get reminder emails about the due date, and a required quiz keeps the next lessons locked until they reach the pass mark. A learner moved to another date keeps the lessons they have finished.
Each lesson has its own access rules. It can open straight away, on a set date, a set time after enrolling, or around the start or end of the learner’s booked date, and it can also wait until the learner has paid in full, attended their date or finished the previous lesson. First aid learners can start the theory at booking while the resources open only once they have paid and attended. A lesson can be optional for everyone, and on the Teams plan it can be required for most learners but optional or hidden for some, such as returning learners tagged as having done the preparation already.
Progress before the day
The Progress tab shows each lesson, quiz and form: who hasn’t started, who is in progress and who has finished, with quiz scores and a To Mark list for answers marked by hand. On Registrants, views such as Not Started, Stuck and Active This Week find the learners to follow up, and you can email them from the list. Trainers see the Registrants and Progress tabs for the dates they are assigned to. SCORM packages report progress and scores in the same place on the Teams plan.
The register and the certificate
The trainer marks the register on the day, one person at a time or everyone at once. When every session is marked Attended and the lessons required for that learner are complete, the registration turns to Completed and the certificate issues, dated from the completion if you choose. Print Evidence Pack puts one learner’s attendance, lesson progress, quiz answers with assessor feedback and certificate records into a single PDF.
The blended learning feature page shows the course builder and the learner’s view in more detail.
To try it, start for free and set up one blended course, or book a call to see it with your own courses.
Frequently asked questions
What is blended learning in training? A course that combines self-paced online lessons with sessions led by a trainer, in person or live online, under one booking. The theory usually goes online and the practical, discussion and assessment stay with the trainer.
What is the difference between blended and hybrid training? Blended training splits the learning across time, with online lessons first and a session later. Hybrid training puts learners in two places at the same time, some in the room and some on a video call.
Is blended learning more effective than classroom training? In a 2013 meta-analysis of 45 studies by Means and colleagues, blended courses outperformed face-to-face ones, while purely online courses did about the same. The authors note that the blended courses often added learning time, resources and interaction, so the design is what makes the difference.
Can first aid training be blended? Yes, within the Blended Learning in First Aid Quality Assurance Standards (version 5, June 2026). Emergency First Aid at Work needs at least three of its six hours face to face, and First Aid at Work at least twelve of eighteen. The practical outcomes are delivered and assessed in the same room.
How do you make sure learners finish the online part? Give each learner a deadline tied to their booked date, send reminders before it, check progress two days before the practical, and contact anyone who hasn’t started. Decide in advance what happens if someone arrives with the online part unfinished.
When should a blended course issue the certificate? When the learner has attended every session and completed the online lessons, dated from the day they completed the course.
How long should online lessons be? Keep them short. Median viewing time on edX videos was at most six minutes, whatever the video’s length, so break each topic into a few short videos or pages followed by a quiz.
Sources
Checked November 4, 2026 on the publishers’ own pages.
Show all 6 sources
- Means, B., Toyama, Y., Murphy, R. and Baki, M. (2013), The Effectiveness of Online and Blended Learning: A Meta-Analysis of the Empirical Literature, Teachers College Record 115(3)
- Roediger, H. L. and Karpicke, J. D. (2006), Test-Enhanced Learning: Taking Memory Tests Improves Long-Term Retention, Psychological Science 17(3)
- Blended Learning in First Aid Quality Assurance Standards, version 5 (30 June 2026), as published by Energy & Environment Awards
- Guo, P. J., Kim, J. and Rubin, R. (2014), How Video Production Affects Student Engagement: An Empirical Study of MOOC Videos, Proceedings of Learning at Scale (L@S 2014)
- MIT Teaching Systems Lab, The MOOC Pivot (Reich and Ruipérez-Valiente, Science, 2019)
- Inside Higher Ed, Why MOOCs Didn’t Work, in 3 Data Points (January 15, 2019)