Agile Blended Learning: A Promising Approach for Higher Education in the UAE

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused a paradigm shift in terms of the adoption of technology in the realm of education, leading to a greater understanding of the advantages of blended learning. Higher educational institutions globally and in the United Arab Emirates have experienced this shift and have recognized that this approach can offer the necessary opportunities and flexibility to meet the demands of future education. This study aims to integrate the strengths of agile learning and blended learning to explore the possibility of developing new pedagogical practices to meet the various learning requirements of learners. The emergence of the blended learning paradigm, and agile approaches to ensure flexibility and sustainability in higher education are covered in this study. It explores theoretical and empirical literature to outline the potential benefits of blended learning, especially in the UAE, influenced by governmental development strategies, technological integration, and pedagogical innovations. This paper proposed an integrated holistic agile blended learning framework for fostering innovation in university teaching and learning. A fishbone analysis approach was utilized to identify possible barriers to implement agile blended learning, and a checklist for reviewing the progress of implementation and continuous improvement was suggested. This study highlights the importance of developing self-organized active learners, building more focus on scaffolding for faculty and students, as well as more institutional support and advanced infrastructure to support the agile blended learning process. It drives further research into flexible, learner-centered, and sustainable practices across higher education. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024.