The second principle, interaction is critical , requires students be involved with each other, with the available learning resources including the internet, and certainly with the instructor. Student interaction may involve the whole class, small groups or teams, or one-on-one with a partner. This interaction may include discussing course content or assignments, problem solving, and developing projects (Hanover Research Council on Online Teaching, 2009) 8 . Encouraging interaction prevents students from feeling isolated in an online environment, which could cause them to mentally “check out.” Designing teaching strategies that focus on collaboration allows students to experience being an active leader and active listener and learn to shift responsibilities to various members of the group or community (Wood, Barry, 2020) 9 . Instructors in hybrid courses should avoid treating either the in-class experience or the online assignments as the “dumping ground” for content. Both portions of the course should be related to each other, and both should be filled with student activities that encourage application of the content in appropriate real-life situations. An important responsibility of the instructor is to think deeply about what part of the content should be emphasized in class and which can best be delivered online. Often the best approach is to connect online and classroom assignments. For example, student groups might work together on an online case study, followed by a presentation in the classroom. The third principle, striving for presence , involves developing a community of learners, which includes the instructor. The instructor will, of course, take the lead in establishing a sense of presence. The hybrid format helps establish presence because students and instructor typically have a regularly scheduled time to interact face-to-face. However, this presence must be felt during the online portion of the course as well (Hanover Research Council on Online Learning, 2009) 10 Instructors must be role models for involvement in the online portion of the course. If instructors do not want students to be on the online portion of the course only once a week, for example, the faculty must also be a regular presence (perhaps daily) in the course. 4. For those of you who are transitioning from a traditional classroom model to a hybrid learning approach, it may be helpful to consider how the two approaches are different. Table A, adapted from the Cornell Universi- ty Center for Teaching Innovation (2022), highlights some of the differences in a hybrid model. Transitioning from Traditional Classroom Learning to a Hybrid Model
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