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The Opportunities of Hybrid Learning
What is hybrid learning? Hybrid learning traditionally requires students to attend both online and in-person as opposed to some students attending in-person and some attending online. According to the article “Hybrid and Blended Learning”, Ian O’Byrne and Kristine Pytash defines hybrid learning as, “a pedagogical approach that combines face-to-face (F2F) instruction with computer-mediated instruction (Ferdig, Cavanaugh, & Freidhoff, 2012)” (O’Bryne & Pytash, pp. 137, 2015). The article goes on to describe that there are many different ways of implementing hybrid learning for students. In the article “Hybrid Course Design” Jennifer Shea, Ernita Joaquin, and Meg Gorzycki define three key features of hybrid learning which includes, “online learning activities are used to complement in-person activities”, “time in the classroom is reduced, but not eliminated”, and “online and in-person instructional elements of the course are designed to interact and benefit from the strengths of each (Learning Technology Center, 2014)” (Shea, Joaquin & Gorzycki, pp.539, 2015). When these three features of hybrid learning are incorporated into the learning model, it creates an experience where students continue to be engaged and have the opportunity to build connections with peers and instructors that are necessary to succeed in those courses. Some research suggests that hybrid learning spaces can create stronger learning outcomes for students. The article “Educational digitalisation and transformation” by Miquel Prats and Elena Sintes describes, “...the introduction of digital technologies can be a powerful tool for improving education, as well as for enhancing students’ motivation, involvement and interest” (Prats & Sintes, pp. 24, 2023).
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COVID-19 Impact on Hybrid Learning
The COVID-19 pandemic introduced online and hybrid learning into classrooms across the world. In the article “How teachers experienced the COVID-19 transition” by David Marshall, David Shannon and Savanna Love, they suggest, “since early March 2020, the COVID-19 viral pandemic has affected all facets of American life, including school operations...Most school districts shifted to online instruction, some opted for a kind of hybrid model...” (Marshall, Shannon, & Love, pp. 46, 2020). Educators had to switch to teaching in a different format with little to no training. Due to the last-minute changes, teachers at the K-12 level and higher education level had to adjust the expectations of students which in turn reduced the quality of learning. In the article ”College in the Time of Coronavirus” by Andrew Kelly and Rooney Columbus, they describe, “roughly two-thirds of faculty surveyed shared that they altered course assignments or examinations, and just under half said they lowered expectations for student work, dropped assignments and test altogether, or granted pass/fail options instead of letter grades. A strong majority of faculty and administrators believes these online courses were worse in quality than prior in-person offerings…”(Kelly & Columbus, pp. 3, 2020). The changes of expectations of students resulted in many students putting little to no effort into their education. What can be learned from the COVID-19 pandemic in regards to hybrid and online learning, is that in order to incentivize students to learn, there must be structure that creates goals for those students to meet.
At the higher education level, the COVID-19 pandemic has introduced serious challenges to campuses as students are not returning to in-person learning in as high of numbers as they were previously. According to the article “Being in Two Places at the Same Time” Khristin Fabian, Sally Smith, and Ella Taylor-Smith describe that students that did return to in-person learning were disappointed in the “campus-based (learning and social) experiences” in addition to “online and hybrid learning undermining previously-argued business cases for significant investment in campus buildings” (Fabian, Smith & Smith, pp. 693, 2024). What Fabian, Smith and Smith go on to address in their article is that despite these challenges for institutions, student preferences that were illuminated from the pandemic make it clear that there are advantages to hybrid learning. Fabian, Smith and Smith state, “A systematic review found that hybrid learning promoted student autonomy and increased student satisfaction and grades, although results differed across the studies depending on factors such as the participants involved and factors relating to delivery (Monk et al., 2020)” (Fabian, Smith & Smith, pp. 694, 2024).
The good and the bad of hybrid learning
Hybrid learning comes with many advantages and disadvantages which are often based on technology and how the hybrid learning model is implemented. According to Shae, Joaquin and Gorzycki, “Studies have shown that student satisfaction and achievement of learning outcomes correlate with high levels of three types of presence–social, cognitive, and teaching” (Shae, Joaquin & Gorzycki, pp. 540, 2015). The social presence is related to the connection between students, the course, and their instructor. The cognitive presence is related to the interaction between students, the course and their instructor. The teaching presence is based on three components, “course design and organization, facilitation, and instruction (Akyol & Garrison, 2008; Mayadas et al., 2003; Shae, Swan, Li & Pickett, 2005)” (Shae, Joaquin & Gorzycki, pp. 540, 2015). The article goes on to describe that a part of teaching presence is establishing “structure” that creates opportunities for students to interact with each other and their professor. Some of the major issues that contribute to a negative hybrid learning experience that are related to teaching presence include, “technical problems, poor teaching organization and planning, and inaccessibility” (Shae, Joaquin & Gorzycki, pp. 542). In order for these issues to be avoided, the teaching presence would demand more from instructors than a traditional environment would, which is not always fair or reasonable to those instructors. Teaching in a hybrid environment must be something that an instructor is interested in doing as opposed to being required. Despite the challenges involved in implementing a hybrid learning model, the majority of research contends that it creates more accessibility and inclusion for education. In Fabian, Smith and Smith’s study their results suggested, “A synchronous hybrid learning environment (particularly when aided with video recordings) is perceived to democratise access and promote an inclusive learning environment, as reported by both students and lecturers. Perhaps the campus is less important as a focus for learning, and hybrid can offer the best of both face-to-face and online worlds” (Fabian, Smith & Smith, pp. 702, 2024). Fabian, Smith and Smith are not suggesting that college campuses are not important, rather that learning is more important than the physical space, and that when learning can collaborate with technology and space, the results detail a better outcome for students.
Works Cited
Fabian, Khristin, et al. "Being in Two Places at the Same Time: a Future for Hybrid Learning Based on Student Preferences." SpringerLink, 8 June 2024, doi.org/10.1007/s11528-024-00974-x. Accessed 25 Oct. 2024.
Kelly, Andrew P., and Rooney Columbus. College in the Time of Coronavirus: CHALLENGES FACING AMERICAN HIGHER EDUCATION. American Enterprise Institute, 2020. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep25358. Accessed 25 Oct. 2024.
Marshall, David T., et al. “How Teachers Experienced the COVID-19 Transition to Remote Instruction.” The Phi Delta Kappan, vol. 102, no. 3, 2020, pp. 46–50. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/26977191. Accessed 11 Oct. 2024.
O’BYRNE, W. IAN, and KRISTINE E. PYTASH. “Hybrid and Blended Learning: Modifying Pedagogy Across Path, Pace, Time, and Place.” Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, vol. 59, no. 2, 2015, pp. 137–40. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/44011233. Accessed 11 Oct. 2024.
Prats, Miquel Àngel, and Elena Sintes. “Educational Digitalisation and Transformation.” Hybrid School: How to Drive the Digital Transformation of Schools, edited by Bonalletra Alcompas, Fundació Jaume Bofill, 2023, pp. 22–43. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep62623.4. Accessed 11 Oct. 2024.
Shea, Jennifer, et al. “Hybrid Course Design: Promoting Student Engagement and Success.” Journal of Public Affairs Education, vol. 21, no. 4, 2015, pp. 539–56. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/24615544. Accessed 16 Oct. 2024.
