The University of Houston Embraces Hybrid Instruction
What Belongs On-line?
The challenge in hybrid class design is to identify what aspects of a particular course should be delivered f2f and what aspects can be delivered as well or better online. This mode of instruction is too new and studies too few to provide definitive answers to these questions. From our experience at UH and a review of the literature, the following patterns can be identified:
Delivery of Course Content
Online content can be provided to supplement or even to replace textbook reading assignments. All of the resources found in a traditional textbook-text, photographs and illustrations-can be easily provided to the student online. However, online content can offer much more and be far more engaging than any textbook. Text can come alive with animated illustrations. Imagine being able to view an animated cross-section view of a human circulatory system. Watch the red oxygen-rich blood as it is pumped through the arteries, and then turn blue as it returns through the veins to the heart. Or imagine viewing an animated cross-section of an internal combustion engine as the pistons rise and fall in the cylinders. Content can also be enhanced with digital film clips and sound files bringing video and audio into the learning experience. Animation, video, and audio technologies not only enhance and energize instruction; they also address the diverse learning styles and learning preferences of the students (University of Montana, 2003).
Online text can also be interspersed with interactivities that require students to engage with the content and which provide immediate feedback in regard to comprehension and retention (Murphy, 2003). Course content can contain hyperlinks that make it possible to integrate resources from across the country or around the world. One link might take students to view the treasures of the Louvre in Paris. Another link could take learners to online demonstrations and exhibits offered by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), in Houston. Sands (2002) concludes that activities that actively engage the students, require them to solve problems, collect and analyze data, and converse or respond with other students and the instructor constitute a superior learning environment. Sands also points to computer simulations and online exercises as tools that provide students with rich learning environments which provide immediate feedback (Sands, 2002).
Class Preparation
Online tools can be used to encourage students to engage with and master the content before attending a scheduled class meeting. An array of effective tools is offered in each of several course management systems available on the market. "The most obvious impact that technology has made on higher education in the past five years has probably been the widespread adoption of course management systems, such as WebCT and Blackboard," according to Murphy (2002). Sands (2002) lists online syllabi, lecture notes, electronic grade books, and posting of office hours as management enhancements that provide improved services to the students and instructors. By utilizing a course management system, the instructor can present online activities that are systematically designed to promote student engagement with course material. Students may be required to take an automated online quiz or to participate in an online discussion pertaining to the course content before physically attending the class session. Online discussion can be achieved through electronic bulletin boards or through an online chat room. Implementing this format ensures that students come to class prepared. This provides a learning experience that is of higher quality for both the student and instructor. Utts, Sommer, Acredolo, Maher, and Matthews (2003) state that "the best use of class time is for review of material the students have already studied (online) during the previous week." When students participate in class activities prior to attending class, they are prepared for the class meeting where they can review the material, ask informed questions, and participate in a meaningful discussion of the course material (Murphy 2003, Utts, et al., 2003).
Learning Reinforcement
Online activities can also be used to reinforce learning that has taken place in the classroom. By requiring that students engage in even a modest amount of online activity based on in-class instruction, retention can be improved dramatically. Online activities, to improve retention, may range from a simple automated quiz to advanced simulations. A reflective discussion of the activities or assignments from a previous class or a forthcoming class session may also be used. Threaded discussions provide students the opportunity to view the responses of other students, be exposed to multiple perspectives, and perhaps form a new point of view or solidify a view already held. According to Martyn (2003), "discussion-based teaching methods can be effective for long-term retention of knowledge and for higher-level cognitive and affective objectives, because students actively engage in the process" (22). An asynchronous discussion provides the learners the opportunity to reflect on a response or responses and prepare an informed contribution to the discussion, based not only on opinion, but also with integrated course content and supporting reference materials. This can improve the quality of the discussion and the learning process (Martyn, 2003). "The power of the hybrid course model is its flexibility and its pedagogical effectiveness. Because it emphasizes active learning techniques, it increases student interaction with other students and the instructor" (Aycock, Garnham, Kaleta, 6).