When you design your education, it is for a hybrid situation not different then from a physical lecture. Your start with your learning objectives. What do you want them to learn? And then choose the assessment and learning activities that are suitable to reach these objectives.
What is important in a hybrid set-up is that you need to consider how you are going to serve the online and on-campus students at the same time. In this menu you can find some topics to think of in a hybrid lecture design:
Interaction
We know from research in education, psychology and neuroscience that learners only can transfer knowledge and skills to another context and remember things on the long-term if they actively do something with the learned material. Interaction is here the motor of learning and development.
How can you improve interaction in a hybrid set-up? Some examples:
- Use a voting tool to check their understanding or get input
- Use break-out rooms for the online participants and physical groups on campus
- Use open questions and be aware who you ask and when plus how they can answer
- Use a digital whiteboard to get input from the students
- Ask how they want to interact in the lecture? Set the rules together
- Prepare them a-synchronous by an assignment before the hybrid lecture
Groupwork & Groupfeeling
In a hybrid set-up where you have a mix of online and on-campus students the dynamic of the whole group is different than when you have all your students in the lecture hall. You want to avoid that one of the two groups feel disadvantaged. Also, in any case our education at the UT needs to meet the three objectives of qualification, socialisation and subjectification. Especially regarding socialisation it is important to find ways that students can connect with peers.
How can you improve groupwork and group feeling in a hybrid set-up? Some examples:
- Be clear about the set-up and your expectations
- Introduce to each other with an ice breaker
- Use a buddy system and couple on-campus with online students
- Try to combine online and on-campus activities
- Socialise on a platform like ‘Teams’
- Use groupwork and let them e.g. present to each other
Engagement & Motivation
When students are motivated and their engagement in education is high, it will give them a better chance of success to finish their programme and to succeed after (Dyer, 2015; Abbot-Chapman et al., 2014). The level of autonomy, competence and connection of the student plays an important role in this (Deci, Ryan 2012).
Student-driven engagement can help. It means that you create challenging assignments in which you give students the responsibility. Also, you create a collaborative structure for students to engage in learning experiences and tasks with their peers (Toth & Sousa, 2019).
How can you improve student engagement & motivation?
- Organise students into teams and give them role cards e.g.: facilitator, timekeeper, critical questioner, project leader etc.
- Let them think about own learning objectives and discuss with them the learning objectives of the course. How can they get there? What helps them to keep track of their progress?
- Use cooperative learning strategies like the jigsaw or the think-pair-share method.
Best practices & Inspiration
Do’s & Don’ts
During a hybrid lecture, you must take into account a lot more aspects than that you are normally used to when conducting a lecture. The main thing in mind is to prevent yourself from getting overloaded. During a hybrid lecture, you are normally paying attention to students that are present physically and digitally. While it is important to find your own style that you are comfortable with, there are a few tips to consider that can make conducting a hybrid lecture easier.
Usage of Chat
When conducting your hybrid lecture, it is highly possible that the chat is the main form of communication that you’ll have with your online students. While it might seem tantalizing to continuously check the chat to see whether there are questions, this will distract you from lecturing.
Instead, it is recommended to discuss set time periods in which you will answer questions from chat. For example, before the break, after the break and before the end of the lecture. Another solution would be appointing either a TA or fellow student to pay attention to the chat for you and notify you when questions arise.
Practice beforehand
If you are unfamiliar with a lecture hall and the hybrid equipment, please familiarize yourself beforehand. Either arrive in the lecture hall early to set up your equipment and make sure that everything is working for you or visit the lecture hall at an earlier time.
You can examine the available equipment in your booked lecture hall at this page. Furthermore, if you are unsure whether you can set-up the equipment, you can ask a TA to help you at the Service Desk of the building. For more information about support, you can visit this page.
Didactical and Technical Tips
Before the lecture
- Test the setup and facilities of the room
- Consider the context: (day)light, room (big/small), equipment available, etc.
- Go on time to the Lecture Hall to test software, microphones, and web camera
During the lecture
- Have a moderator (can be a student) helping with the interactions and chat
- Ask students to mute their microphones while they are not talking
- Considering using interactive tools, like Wooclap and pools, to activate your students and receive instant responses
- Use breakout rooms for teamwork and interaction
- Ask online students to participate (raising hands in the conferencing tools, using the chat, establishing moments for Q&A, etc.)
- Repeat questions from the audience for the stream/recording
- Handle your recording safely. Ensure no students are visible in the recording unless you have their explicit permission
After the lecture
- Ask for students' feedback
- Provide resources, like exercises, related to the discussed topics
- Encourage students' discussion and follow-up questions
- Review and adjust your options