By definition a course is labeled “hybrid” when it has elements of in-person and online instruction. Some institutions/organizations may further define the minimum percentage of time required in each modality to further differentiate “hybrid” from other similar terms used in the industry.
Hybrid Courses Explained
At Villanova, we are not specifying that a “hybrid” course have a specific number of hours, days, class periods that must be spent online or in-person; however, it must have some mixture of the two. This allows a faculty member to select a modality mix that is most appropriate for their class, its learning objectives and their schedule.
Given this, there are a variety of ways in which a faculty member can innovatively choose to design and teach a hybrid class. The guide below presents some considerations for planning.
When thinking about how to structure their hybrid class for Spring 2021, faculty should consider a few key factors:
1. Will they be able to teach to the full class on the in-person days or does the classroom only fit a third or half of the students?
2. Will the hybrid class have simulcast ability?
The answer to these questions will help inform the amount and type of online content that will need to be pre-recorded. If faculty need to know the room capacity requested for their course, please contact the department chair.
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HYBRID |
SIMULCAST |
Classroom for 1/3 of Class |
Amount of online course content will be driven by:
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Amount of online course content will be driven by:
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Classroom for 1/2 of Class |
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Classroom for Full Class |
Amount of online course content will be driven by:
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As shown above, in the Hybrid option in which only a third or a half of the students are present, there is an additional factor to consider when creating online content. For example, in this situation, a faculty member may need to teach the same lesson in a Tuesday/Thursday class to Group A on Tuesday and Group B on Thursday and place the other lesson for the week online as they will not have sufficient classroom time to cover all of the weeks content. Whereas, in situations in which a faculty member can teach to the whole class or has the ability to simulcast to the whole class, there isn’t a need to create online supplemental content that a sub-section of students who are not present in the classroom on a specific day will miss. However, this doesn’t mean that faculty shouldn’t consider putting more content online in favor of using class time for other activities such as project based learning, discussions about posted lectures, assessments (exams, quizzes) of students, students presenting work, etc.
Whether dictated by necessity or preference, once there is a general understanding on the amount of content that needs to be moved online – format considerations can be further explored. The third factor to consider is:
3. What elements/learning activities best lend themselves to each modality? What modality mix appropriately supports the learning objectives of the class?
Two main drivers should be considered, understanding that a variety of approaches can be adopted from combining the two in different ways. Faculty should consider how the use of modalities can complement one another to facilitate student learning:
- “Flipped” Classroom (Online Driver): Faculty prerecord lectures and post to Blackboard for student review and consumption prior to the in-person meeting. Class time is used for discussion, small group activities and problem-based learning for students physically present and virtually present via simulcast (if applicable). For lab or other specialty type classes, the in-person time may be reserved for only those activities which require use of the in-room equipment or assistance of supervisory personnel. It has been shown that holding students responsible (i.e. give a short Blackboard quiz or other graded assessment) for online lecture materials improves their understanding and places emphasis on those videos.
- “Traditional-Like” Classroom (Face-to-Face Driver): Faculty lecture and hold discussions similar to what is done in an in-person course with the students who are physically present or virtually present via simulcast (if applicable). Asynchronous activities have been pre-built into Blackboard for the students to complete post-class which may include discussion boards, quizzes, group assignments, etc.
Based on the above preference, a faculty member should then consider the following to ensure they choose the requisite schedule to meet the learning goals of the course while taking into consideration any capacity constraints that may exist.
4. How many in-person touch points with the students would they like to have over the length of the semester?
For example:
- Meeting with half of the students in-person each day in a 2 day a week class
- The students would be broken into groups and rotated to attend in-person between the days. The same content would need to be taught on both days.
- Meeting with half of the students in-person each day in a 2 day a week class with simulcast.
- The students would be broken into groups and rotated between the days for in-person participation. They would also be required to participate via live stream on the day in which they are not in class.
- Meeting 1 day in-person for a 2 day a week class
- The full class meets in-person one day a week. The class session that is not in person could be held via Zoom or the time could be used for activities of equal instructional equivalent value that are done asynchronously.
- Meeting every other week for a 1 day a week class
- This may be beneficial for classes that require research, group or independent work as this approach provides students more time between classes. This could be supplemented with a zoom check in on the week that the in-person class is not meeting.
Lastly, faculty need to consider the following well in advance of the start of the semester:
5. What type of assistance will they need in designing and developing the class? What type of technology training will be needed?
A hybrid class format offers a lot of flexibility to faculty members. The mix of in-person and online components can be quite varied and allows for adaptation based on the learning objectives, faculty preference and any capacity and technology constraints that may be present. The guide is designed to provide some items to consider when planning - however - it is not exhaustive of all of the hybrid types of courses that can be crafted. Other variations may exist. When considering the above or other innovative designs, it is critical to keep in mind that: 1) hybrid classes must still meet the same credit hour requirements as traditional classes; 2) students expect a certain level of in-person interaction from a hybrid class – they chose this modality over participating in an online class. If faculty opt to replace some in-person class meetings with asynchronous activities, they should consider adding additional virtual office hours; and 3) classroom and other zoom meeting times cannot vary from those assigned on the master schedule or conflicts may arise. Faculty should be cognizant of students’ other academic, personal and professional obligations.
Additional information on hybrid teaching