Lessons Learned from the Hybrid Course Project

Transcription

1 Vlume 8, Number 6: March 20, 2002 Lessns Learned frm the Hybrid Curse Prject by Alan Aycck, Ph.D., Carla Garnham, M.A., and Rbert Kaleta, Ph.D. Learning Technlgy Center, University f Wiscnsin-Milwaukee This article reprts n the mst significant bservatins frm the Hybrid Curse Prject and prvides "Lessns Learned" abut hybrid curse design and teaching fr: Faculty interested in develping their wn hybrid curses, Faculty develpers interested in helping instructrs create hybrid curses, and Academic administratrs interested in supprting hybrid curses. Fr an verview and mre general infrmatin abut the prject and hybrid curses, see Carla Garnham and Rbert Kaleta, Intrductin t Hybrid Curses, in this issue f TTT. Seventeen instructrs frm five University f Wiscnsin (UW) campuses, representing disciplines frm the humanities, scial sciences, engineering, and prfessins, participated in the Hybrid Curse Prject by transfrming a traditinal curse int a hybrid curse. A UW-System Curricular Redesign Grant prvided funding. Thrughut the prject, prject crdinatrs develped assessment prtcls t capture insights int the hybrid curse design prcess. The fllwing are the prtcls used during the Hybrid Curse Prject, in the apprximate rder that they were emplyed: Assessment f: Faculty familiarity with teaching technlgies; The initial Faculty Develpment Wrkshp n hybrid mdule design and the integratin f in-class and ut-f-class learning; The secnd Faculty Develpment Wrkshp n managing students and teaching in an nline envirnment and assessment in hybrid curses. Data n curse hits t student ratis: At mid-semester; At end f semester. Hybrid curse

2 Mid-semester surveys by students; Debriefing sessins with faculty after mid-semester; End f semester qualitative surveys by students; End f semester quantitative surveys by students; End f prject reflectins by faculty; Videtaped interviews with faculty. (Fr mre cmplete infrmatin abut the Hybrid Curse Prject,-- including sample hybrid curses; a template fr replicating the prject's Faculty Develpment Prgram; assessment prtcls used during the prject and; a Website designed t prvide students infrmatin abut hybrid curses,-- visit Lessn #1: There is n standard apprach t a hybrid curse. The first tw questins everyne asks abut hybrid curses are, "Hw much f the curse shuld be nline?" and "What part f the curse shuld g nline?" There are n pat answers! Hybrid curses shw enrmus variety in hw the face-t-face rati t nline time is distributed. In this Hybrid Curse Prject instructrs reduced class time frm 25% t 50%. They als scheduled their curses very differently. Fr example, sme replaced ne class per week with nline assignments. Others met with their students in class fr several weeks and then suspended class meetings fr several weeks as the students wrked independently r in teams n nline assignments. One hybrid instructr simply replaced the last 30 minutes f a weekly night curse with nline wrk t ensure that students were prepared t participate in the in-class discussins. Instructrs als design hybrid curses t accmmdate their wn teaching styles and curse cntent. Therefre, learning activities taking place in and ut f the classrm vary greatly. Fr example, an instructr can redesign traditinal lecture material int nline mdules fr the students t cmplete prir t attending a class and emphasize discussin in the class. Or, an instructr wh prefers t present in class may use ut f class time fr nline discussin frums that direct students t think critically and discuss their views with ther students and the instructr. Lessn #2: Redesigning a traditinal curse int a hybrid takes time. Hybrid instructrs shuld allw six mnths lead time fr curse develpment. At the end f the prject, the participants were universal in their advice t thers develping hybrid curses, "Start early and plan very carefully; hybridizatin is a lt f wrk." Because it's ften difficult t begin wrk n redesign, a frmal faculty develpment prgram can help instructrs in many ways, including getting started and pacing their prgress. The majrity f the prject's instructrs started learning abut hybrid methds and planning their curses in June By August they had develped a curse plan

3 which they cntinued t imprve upn during the fall 2000 semester. They taught their first hybrid curses in spring semester Lessn #3: Start small and keep it simple. Several instructrs verestimated what they culd accmplish in their first hybrid curse and verwrked themselves and the students. The fllwing are suggestins fr hybrid curse develpers. (Als, see Peter Sands' "tips" in Inside Outside, Upside Dwnside in this issue f TTT.) Instructrs shuld have a thrugh understanding f the time cmmitment and cnsequences f active-learning pedaggies befre deciding n an apprpriate technlgy t use in a curse. Fr example, nline discussins r frums are effective and ppular with students, but instructrs need t learn hw t mderate nline discussins effectively befre they use them in a curse. Relatively high-tech activities, such as streaming vide, are als relatively high-risk pedaggically at present; these technlgies are nt always easy t use, things d g wrng n a regular basis, and even when everything wrks right, bandwidth issues limit what and where learning activities take place. Students strngly prefer wrking frm hme, thus technlgies shuld be selected with this preference in mind. Learning t use the technlgy apprpriately and effectively can als be a challenge. Fr example, fr his first hybrid curse ne instructr put all f his lectures nline in streaming vide. He learned that 50-minute lectures nline were t lng; "lectures n the screen aren't the same as lectures in persn." When teaching his secnd hybrid curse, he brke his cntent presentatins int less than ten minute streaming vide clips, and he interspersed his mini-lectures with student-centered prblem-slving activities. Building upn the initial redesign, hybrid curse develpment is an incremental prcess with new mdules and learning activities added in subsequent semesters. Lessn #4: Redesign is the key t effective hybrid curses t integrate the facet-face and nline learning. An instructr's first impulse is ften t add nline wrk in additin t traditinal cursewrk r simply t lad lecture cntent, such as PwerPint slides, nline. Hwever, in rder t create effective interactivity, full curse redesign is essential fr successful hybrid curses.. As ne instructr put it, "The emphasis is n pedaggy, nt technlgy. Ask yurself what isn't wrking in yur curse that can be dne differently r better nline." There is nly ne effective way t use nline technlgies in hybrid curses: it is essential t redesign the curse t integrate the face-t-face and nline learning. The

4 nline learning mdules are central t a hybrid curse's success, and the students' wrk nline must be relevant t the in-class activities. The prject's participants emphasized this pint repeatedly. When asked, "What wuld I d differently?" they were united in their respnse: "I'd devte mre attentin t integrating what was ging n in the classrm with the nline wrk." This was true even thugh the prject's faculty develpment sessins repeatedly emphasized the imprtance f cnnecting in-class material with ut-f-class assignments. One instructr respnded emphatically, "Integrate nline with face-t-face, s there aren't tw separate curses." We fund it impssible t stress integrating face-t-face and nline learning t much. Additinally, the students were quite critical if they felt the face-t-face and time-ut-fclass cmpnents f the curse were nt well integrated. This was ne f the students' chief cmplaints abut sme f the hybrid curses. The debriefing sessins with the prject's instructrs indicated that instructrs were aware f these curse integratin prblems, which arse mre frm their inexperience with the hybrid mde f instructin than frm a prblem with the mdel. The thught and planning required fr a curse redesign is difficult and time-cnsuming. Thus, instructrs need t make certain that the time and resurces required t create a hybrid curse are available befre they cmmit t the prcess. Release time, summer cntracts, and ther practices fr prviding instructrs with the time required t redesign traditinal curses int hybrids are imprtant cnsideratins fr campus administratrs. Lessn #5: Hybrid curses facilitate interactin amng students, and between students and their instructr. Cntrary t many instructrs' initial cncerns, the hybrid apprach invariably increases student engagement and interactivity in a curse. One f the primary fears expressed by faculty abut hybrid curses is that they will lse cntact with their students. Just the ppsite ccurs. Hybrid curses encurage instructrs t develp new ways t engage their students nline and fster nline cmmunities. This greater nline interactin will emerge in the classrm as well. Thus, it is imprtant fr hybrid instructrs t learn hw t facilitate and manage nline interactin. As these are critical skills fr teaching hybrid curses, it is imprtant t ffer sessins in managing discussin frums and in building nline cmmunity fr instructrs planning t teach in the hybrid mdel. Lessn #6: Students dn't grasp the hybrid cncept readily. The hybrid mdel is new t students, s they need a clear ratinale fr its use. Our instructrs learned that students required repeated explanatins abut the mdel, explaining clearly what it is and why the instructr chse it. T qute frm ne student's bservatin, "There was nly ne real prblem; it was difficult at first t understand hw the curse was being taught and t get the technlgy t wrk prperly. After the curse gt rlling, it did get easier and easier t get a grip n it."

5 The hybrid instructrs anticipated wrking with their students n technlgy skills. Hwever, far mre imprtant were students' psychlgical maturity and time management skills. The instructrs reprted that their mst significant prblems were with students nt taking respnsibility fr their curses and with students' pr time management skills. As ne instructr advised, "Time management is a prblem. Begin a cnversatin with students abut time management. Spend a cuple f weeks lgging daily activities yurself, and yur time management discussins will be rted in yur experience." Students need t have strng time management skills in hybrid curses, and many need assistance develping this skill. Hybrid instructrs shuld pay attentin t their students' expectatins and skills. Surprisingly, many f the students dn't perceive time spent in lectures as "wrk", but they definitely see time spent nline as wrk, even if it is time they wuld have spent in class in a traditinal curse. Lessn #7: Time flexibility in hybrid curses is universally ppular. The increased time flexibility was very imprtant, especially t students, as evidenced by this student's cmment: "Yes, I wuld recmmend this curse t thers. I like the flexibility in that I can wrk n the curse wrk when it fits int my schedule. With wrking, taking care f a family and ging t schl, I dn't always have the freedm t be t a class at a particular time." At a substantially cmmuter university, such as UW- Milwaukee, this is nt surprising; the students have identified parking prblems as the university's number ne deficiency fr sme time. Fr the students the imprtance f time flexibility appears t utweigh any incnvenience caused by the technlgies. Hwever, students' expectatin f time flexibility is that the curse wrk can be dne at hme, nt merely utside the classrm. Apparently, wrk dne in a cmputer lab is nt perceived by the students as mre cnvenient t wrk dne in a classrm, n matter hw many hurs r hw many days the cmputer lab is pen. Thus, students strngly prefer using learning technlgies that are available frm hme. This is an imprtant insight fr thse develping hybrid curses. Lessn #8: Technlgy was nt a significant bstacle. Technlgy did nt prve t be a barrier fr mst f the instructrs r their students. Mst students' prblems with technlgy ccur at the start f the classes. All f the instructrs agreed with their clleague wh stated, "If the students gt past the first cuple f weeks, they were k." Fr technlgy issues, instructrs did recmmend writing very cmplete and clear "hw t" instructins fr students. One faculty participant reprted that he asked a friend withut a lt f cmputer savvy t read and wrk thrugh his instructins t students t ensure that they were useful and accurate. All instructrs cncurred that the first week f class shuld be dedicated t technlgy rientatin and class scializatin (students wrk tgether nline mst successfully if

6 they've gtten t knw each ther). Sme instructrs bjected t lsing this curse time t nn-curse cntent tpics, but all felt it was essential. The students liked using the technlgy, because they perceived they were acquiring a useful skill. Generally, students thught that Blackbard was easy t use and appreciated the pprtunity t learn hw t use the Web. Universally, they believed that cmputer skills learned in the hybrid curse wuld help them in ther curses and in the wrkplace. Lessn #9: Develping a hybrid curse is a cllegial prcess. All f the Hybrid Curse Prject instructrs emphasized the imprtance f discussing the curse redesign prblems and prgress with clleagues. They fund the pprtunity t interact with an experienced hybrid curse instructr especially valuable. An instructr with experience culd answer questins, share "war stries" abut what t expect when teaching a hybrid curse, and generally give reassurance. This was greatly appreciated by the inexperienced hybrid instructrs. Faculty learn best frm each ther. Instructinal designers and faculty develpment specialists play an imprtant rle in the redesign prcess, but it is essential fr the instructrs t interact amng themselves. The hybrid prject participants benefited frm the exchange f ideas and issues, bth in persn and nline. Lessn #10: Bth the instructrs and the students liked the hybrid curse mdel. The participating instructrs were psitive abut the hybrid mdel. As ne instructr remarked, "The hybrid tk smething I always knew was pssible and let me d it." Granted, these instructrs were self-nminated and interested in using instructinal technlgy in their teaching. Nnetheless, 100% f the Hybrid Curse Prject faculty participants wuld recmmend using the apprach t thers and plan t teach with the hybrid mdel again. The primary reasn fr their psitive assessment is that the hybrid mdel was valuable fr student learning. They stated that the hybrid mdel imprved their curses because Student interactivity increased, Student perfrmance imprved, and They culd accmplish curse gals that hadn't been pssible in their traditinal curse. The students were extremely attracted by the hybrid curse's time flexibility. This was a universal student respnse in every hybrid assessment prtcl. The substantial majrity (80%) f students said that they thught the hybrid mdel was wrthwhile, and that they wuld recmmend a curse ffered in the hybrid mde t thers.

7 Cnclusin The pwer f the hybrid curse mdel is its flexibility and its pedaggical effectiveness. Because it emphasizes active learning techniques, it increases student interactin with ther students and the instructr. One f the mst significant accmplishments f the Hybrid Curse Prject was its impact n the participating instructrs. They stated that the hybrid experience wuld change their apprach t all f their future teaching, whether in a traditinal, hybrid r distance educatin class. Thus, hybrid curses can accmplish general faculty develpment gals and prvide new and exciting teaching experiences fr instructrs and students. As ne instructr put it, "Hybrid gives me the best f bth wrlds."