Blended learning is an education approach that combines traditional in-person classroom teaching with online learning components, giving students structure alongside flexibility.
Rather than choosing purely in-person or purely online instruction, blended learning mixes the two deliberately — for example, students might watch recorded lectures online at their own pace, then attend in-person sessions for discussion, hands-on practice, or assessment.
Blended learning became especially widespread after 2020, as institutions built more durable systems for combining remote and in-person instruction rather than treating them as entirely separate.
Last reviewed: September 2026