Table A: Characteristics of Hybrid Learning 11
Components of Hybrid Learning
Characteristics
Facilitator; guides students in learning Provides frequent feedback with many small assessments
Instructor Role
Student Role
Assumes more responsibility for individual or collaborative learning
Learning Environment
Class time shortened; more time used for interactive learning
Learner-centered Less time spent in lecture Active and collaborative learning (problem-solving, group work, case studies, presentation)
In-class time
Watching relevant videos Discussion boards for students and instructor Reading or searching for materials Online quizzes Posting reading responses Collaborative writing Assignments with wikis and blogs
Online time
(Cornell University Center for Learning, 2022)
An additional way to connect students’ work online can inform the class portion of the course. For example, students might post questions that they have on the discussion board and a component of class time can be spent in answering these questions or explaining “fuzzy” concepts. Discussion boards, as identified in Table A, are often used to encourage student participation in the online portion of the course. Often, to encourage students to respond, instructors give “points” for the number of times they post in a given period. Despite this approach, instructors are often disappointed with the quality of the students’ postings. Student responses often seem as if they are just “posting to be posting,” as a way to achieve the necessary points. One way to improve the quality of the posting–and the underlying reflection—is to spend the necessary time to craft ques- tions to guide the discussion toward analysis and synthesis of information. Probing questions require the respondent to look beyond “yes” or “no” and move from reaction to reflection. Here are some examples of probing questions: § What do you think would happen if….? § How will you plan to…? § Why do you think this might happen? § What are some ways you can…? § Why did you decide to…? § How will you include…? § What is the value of ….? Such probing questions provide structure for students to think deeply about their work. This approach also gives in- structors direction to develop discussion grading rubrics. 12 (Sportsman, 2021) Hybrid instruction may provide the best of both worlds for students. However, using best practices both in face-to-face and online learning is key to success for both students and instructors.
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