Hybrid Model

[jerseyjay]

I think that lightening has a point. At my school, the administration bought hundreds of thousands of dollars of equipment and pushed hyflex as the solution to the difficulties caused by the pandemic. Many faculty objected. Through various incompetencies I won't describe, we ended up with a student body that is mainly vaccinated but with one or two unvaccinated students per class.

Then the administration decided that unvaccinated students could not come to campus, but that they could not be dropped from the classes they had registered for, so professors were supposed to do hyflex for those few students who could not come to campus.

When professors predicted that, students being students, the trend would be that most students would prefer Zoom over coming to campus, the administration said that students all hated online classes and wanted to come to campus. [This is true in the abstract. At the start of the semester, most of my students said they were happy to be back in the classroom. However, as is normal, by this time in the semester about a third of my students are absent from most of my classes. I am not doing hyflex, so the students just do not show up. I can imagine that if I were doing hyflex, they would log into Zoom.]

The result is that most of the courses are hyflex of one sort or another. (Having the same reaction as downer, I decided to make arrangements with the one or two students who could not come to class to do their work and send it to me instead of making the whole class hyflex.) It is not uncommon for the majority (sometimes the vast majority) of a class to be via Zoom while the professor lectures in the classroom.

The administration, which seems desperate to show that everything has returned to pre-pandemic normal, is now angry that so many students are Zooming when they are supposed to be on campus. So next semester professors are forbidden from making a class hyflex unless the administration approves it. So now many professors are upset.

Do professors like hyflex? I think that some prefer it to having a classroom full of students in the middle of a pandemic, and I think that some prefer standing in front of a classroom and teaching, even if most of the students are on Zoom, instead of teaching from their living room. I have heard nobody praise it as a good idea outside of the context of a pandemic. Personally, I prefer to be in the classroom and teach to students in person. I do not like Zoom. If everybody is on Zoom, I can sort of make it work.

As others have said, hyflex seems to combine the worst of both worlds. Plus I still have to schlep to campus and then find parking near my house at night; the best part of Zoom was that I didn't have to drive home after the night class I teach.

[downer]

But, is there ever an instance where one would ever choose a hybrid method of delivery, which wouldn't be soul draining?

I can imagine giving lectures where we have a team of people working on it. There would be a camera crew to film me and the students in the classroom. There would be a bank of screens in the classroom to show the online students and the streams from the classroom cameras. There would be an assistant working on interacting with the online students while I lectured. But much of the time would be spent in student discussion with everyone participating. It would be very enriching.

[bio-nonymous]

What are your thoughts on a teaching in a hybrid model? For those of you that do it do you like it?

I'm curious if you'll find even one person who likes hybrid teaching. As others have mentioned, teaching in a hybrid fashion typically results in compromising both the in-person and remote experience over what could be achieved with just a single format, and doing it well requires a tremendous amount of additional work.

Since the pandemic, where we were forced to go from 100%  in person to 100% on line, I teach/direct my courses (foundational science for graduate medical professionals) now as  hybrids: <50% asynchronous virtual, >50% in person (all in person content is recorded and made available to the students anyway). Students are mandated to attend in person lectures, so I am not in the position that people are in some med schools where they are teaching to 3 students and everyone else just  watches the recordings at 1.5 speed...(student driven hyflex,where they choose when and if to come to class--though some students here have been pushing for that model!). I am constantly working on the asynchronous lectures, working to make them sort of like the equivalent of an infotainment science show, yet still rigorous in content. It is a lot of work. mleok is correct in that it would be easier in most respects to simply teach 100% in person, but this format affords me the flexibility to teach asynchronous content (newly improved for every lecture each time) when, for example, one of the important conferences in my field is going on or I am under a grant submission deadline (I can sort of be in two places at once--though it makes for long evenings developing the virtual content...). I enjoy producing the virtual content, but do miss the direct interaction with students--so it is a toss-up. The students appreciate the flexibility of the asynchronous format for them to study at their leisure which caters to their extreme schedule, yet some of them also truly miss the interaction with the instructors. Once again it is a toss-up--but I am continuing with this grand experiment to see how it pans out over then next couple of years--mixing the in person experience with asynchronous virtual when it makes sense according to the content. As a bonus, the virtual content (and in person recordings) from prior semesters can provide instructional continuity in the case of extreme emergencies (car wreck on the way to campus, illness, natural disasters, etc.). SO yes, I do like the asynchronous virtual/in person hybrid model, even acknowledging the additional work required. FYI: I do think that synchronous online (we have attempted some of that, particularly during the lockdown) is usually NOT as good as in person instruction-->it just has too many compromises...IMHO.

[Puget]

I would point out that the type of "hybrid" that actually works pretty well and people like-- asynchronous lectures online, interactive content in person-- is nothing new-- it is simply a "flipped" classroom rebranded. There is plenty of research showing enhanced student learning in flipped classes in the sciences. As bio-nonymous notes, the process of preparing all the asynchronous content is really, really time consuming the first time, but then unless the contents need updating you are set for subsequent repetitions of the course.

Synchronous online however is a disaster -- way too easy for students to tune out, do something else on their computer/phone, and not really participate even if they are technically "attending". I get it-- I have trouble paying attention to online talks myself.

[ciao_yall]

Zoom/online is all the boring parts of teaching, like prep and grading. And none of the fun stuff like hanging out with cool, interesting students.

Students are not engaged and not learning at the same level we did in the classroom when they would interact, talk before/after class, approach me with questions, and make friends with one another.

[lightning]

In the end, you should use whatever course delivery format works best for the content and the students. Pre-pandemic, the best course delivery format was decided by the faculty member teaching the course. During the pandemic, that governance was taken away, and that's why hybrid sucks. Hybrid is now used for the wrong reasons, mandated by the wrong people, and delivering the content least suited to the delivery format(s) and the students.

But, is there ever an instance where one would ever choose a hybrid method of delivery, which wouldn't be soul draining?

Yes. I'll give one example.

But, this also all depends on what you mean by "hybrid." I define hybrid as using any combination of mediums that is most effective for achieving the learning objectives. Unfortunately, most admins do not think of "hybrid" in this way. But, my point is that the professor decides because the prof knows best about how the content can be delivered.

Sometimes my lesson plans involve a little bit of coding (scripting), in order to do some data formatting, calculations, and analysis, for purposes of gathering data for a research topic in a future lesson plan. The best way to do this, IMO, is to go through example code together and then ask students to write their own code in order to solve a simple problem, using the example as a model. Using Zoom, students can share their code with each other to help each other (guided by me), and so we/they can help each other as a group.  This is best when everyone is in Zoom. This is great because I don't normally have access to a computer lab for these modular lessons plans.

Then the next lesson plan could be about harvesting opinions about a case study, all done in chat, and analyzed (by the human students with the instructor as a guide) for themes, which can propel a discussion.

Then in the next lesson plan the students can come to campus, in the same classroom, masked, and work in groups to brainstorm on solutions informed by the data (and the transcript) that was gathered in the previous two lesson plans, via Zoom.

The main point is that the faculty member, the expert in the content area and the person who is on the front lines of teaching the content, is deciding on the best way that the content can be taught. Unfortunately, for most admins in this pandemic, "hybrid" means half the class in zoom and half the class in-person, with some rotation scheme that is set up, managed, and enforced by the faculty members (which is B*11sh!t).

[mleok]

In the end, you should use whatever course delivery format works best for the content and the students. Pre-pandemic, the best course delivery format was decided by the faculty member teaching the course. During the pandemic, that governance was taken away, and that's why hybrid sucks. Hybrid is now used for the wrong reasons, mandated by the wrong people, and delivering the content least suited to the delivery format(s) and the students.

But, is there ever an instance where one would ever choose a hybrid method of delivery, which wouldn't be soul draining?

Yes. I'll give one example.

But, this also all depends on what you mean by "hybrid." I define hybrid as using any combination of mediums that is most effective for achieving the learning objectives. Unfortunately, most admins do not think of "hybrid" in this way. But, my point is that the professor decides because the prof knows best about how the content can be delivered.

Sometimes my lesson plans involve a little bit of coding (scripting), in order to do some data formatting, calculations, and analysis, for purposes of gathering data for a research topic in a future lesson plan. The best way to do this, IMO, is to go through example code together and then ask students to write their own code in order to solve a simple problem, using the example as a model. Using Zoom, students can share their code with each other to help each other (guided by me), and so we/they can help each other as a group.  This is best when everyone is in Zoom. This is great because I don't normally have access to a computer lab for these modular lessons plans.

Then the next lesson plan could be about harvesting opinions about a case study, all done in chat, and analyzed (by the human students with the instructor as a guide) for themes, which can propel a discussion.

Then in the next lesson plan the students can come to campus, in the same classroom, masked, and work in groups to brainstorm on solutions informed by the data (and the transcript) that was gathered in the previous two lesson plans, via Zoom.

The main point is that the faculty member, the expert in the content area and the person who is on the front lines of teaching the content, is deciding on the best way that the content can be taught. Unfortunately, for most admins in this pandemic, "hybrid" means half the class in zoom and half the class in-person, with some rotation scheme that is set up, managed, and enforced by the faculty members (which is B*11sh!t).

Yes, I have no problem with a situation where there is a mix of modalities, but for any given component, everyone is on the same modality. A flipped classroom is like that, for example. The challenge is when one needs to simultaneously accommodate students who are attending in-person and remotely. Unfortunately, when administrators talk about hybrid, my suspicion is the latter is what they have in mind.

[mleok]

But, is there ever an instance where one would ever choose a hybrid method of delivery, which wouldn't be soul draining?

I can imagine giving lectures where we have a team of people working on it. There would be a camera crew to film me and the students in the classroom. There would be a bank of screens in the classroom to show the online students and the streams from the classroom cameras. There would be an assistant working on interacting with the online students while I lectured. But much of the time would be spent in student discussion with everyone participating. It would be very enriching.

And in that utopian world, we would have academic jobs for everyone who wants one. I think your scenario perfectly illustrates why hyflex instruction is so soul draining, because we have to do all those things in order facilitate it.

[marshwiggle]

I'd mentioned in another thread the idea of creating PSAs on common topics. Based on the discussion here, this is some of what might be in a PSA.

----

In-person vs. Online Instruction

Both in-person and online instruction can be effective, but they have different strengths and weaknesses.

• If instruction needs to be synchronous, it's better to be done in-person.
• If instruction needs to be remote, it's better to be asynchronous.

Trying to deliver the same content in-person and online simultaneously is difficult and ineffective.

What can be done well in-person and what can be done well online asynchronously are different, so it may be possible to deliver some content in-person and some online, but the decision of how particular content is best delivered precludes assuming it can be offered in either format as needed.

----

Does that make a decent summary?
Would something like that be useful as a pinned topic for future generations?

[mamselle]

I'd vote for it.

It's come up often enough in a variety of threads that it might be good to have a go-to thread like that, that could prevent the others being derailed, too.

M.

[lightning]

I would append


The faculty member teaching the course, who is also the content expert, is in the best position to decide the delivery format.

[marshwiggle]

I would append


The faculty member teaching the course, who is also the content expert, is in the best position to decide the delivery format.

Would it be good to have examples of the type of activities suited to each format? If so, any suggestions?

[the_geneticist]

I would append


The faculty member teaching the course, who is also the content expert, is in the best position to decide the delivery format.

Would it be good to have examples of the type of activities suited to each format? If so, any suggestions?

In person only: laboratory classes, classes with practical hands-on skills (nursing)

Remote & asynchronous: lectures

Discussions: I could be convinced either way, but in-person seems to have a lot more student engagement.  Asynchronous discussions require a LOT of scaffolding to have any benefit.

[artalot]

Group work can often be done asynchronously. Small group discussion where each group reports back to the class on their question, topic, etc. can also be done asynchronously using the breakout function in Zoom, for example.

FWIW I loved seeing my students engage with material via the chat function - I definitely got engagement from students who did not speak up in person.  Has anyone had success duplicating something like that in person?

[the_geneticist]

Group work can often be done asynchronously. Small group discussion where each group reports back to the class on their question, topic, etc. can also be done asynchronously using the breakout function in Zoom, for example.

FWIW I loved seeing my students engage with material via the chat function - I definitely got engagement from students who did not speak up in person.  Has anyone had success duplicating something like that in person?

What you are describing is a synchronous, live on Zoom class.  Yes, the breakout rooms do work well for facilitating small group discussions along with the chat function.