The University of Houston Embraces Hybrid Instruction
Not Just for Graduate Students Anymore
Traditionally DL programs have been most commonly offered at the graduate level. Undergraduates tend to lack the self discipline and self direction needed to excel in DL courses. As the experience of the Pew-funded study demonstrates, hybrids can make online learning a more viable option for undergraduate students as well.
The University of Wisconsin provides us with another example of the effectiveness of the hybrid model at the undergraduate level. During 1999-2001, the University of Wisconsin (UW) System Curricular Redesign Grant Program funded a collaborative project involving UW-Milwaukee and four UW-College campuses (Rock County, Sheboygan, Washington, and Waukesha). They identified 17 faculty members to design, develop, and teach the hybrid courses. The instructors represented a wide variety of disciplines. The courses they converted to hybrids ranged in size from less than 15 students to over 200 students. These courses covered all undergraduate levels from freshmen through senior, and the students enrolled included both traditional college-aged and older adult learners (Garnham & Kaleta, 2002). The faculty adopted various approaches to the hybrid model, based on their own instructional styles, course content, course size, and course goals. They reduced in-class time by 25% to 50%, using several different hybrid models. The models included: eliminating one class per week throughout the semester, meeting for several weeks and then not meeting for several weeks, and cutting non-productive time from a longer evening course. Qualitative assessments of student learning indicated better papers, higher quality projects, and better performance on exams (Garnham & Kaleta, 2002).