Before Class

Learning Community

Construct a Single Learning Community

One of the most challenging aspects of the flexible delivery mode is creating a single cohesive learning community. According to Huang et al. 2017, often in flexible learning courses, students who choose to participate online feel disconnected or ignored as compared with their on-campus counterparts. Thus, instructors must make a conscious effort to design learning experiences that engage F2F and online students with each other, with the material, and with the instructor in a synergistic manner.

There are a series of factors that must be considered throughout any lesson. We have used the Jumpstart lesson template to identify specific considerations and questions that you can factor into your flexible delivery.

Specific Considerations and Questions in Flexible Delivery
Lesson Section Examples Considerations for Flexible Delivery
Learning Outcomes

Establish what the students will be able to do after the unit/lesson

 "Describe the relationship between form and function of the human heart”

ACTION VERB + LEARNING
  1. Are learning outcomes the same for all students? (They should be)
  2. What choices will students have in displaying their learning? (Differentiation in representation)
Connection Activity

Refocus, engage, motivate, and connect students to the content, and the content to life
  • Think/Pair/Share
  • Case Study
  • Show short clip with questions
  • Group problem solving
  • Short Debate
  1. How will remote students interact with each other and with F2F students for the chosen activity?
  2. How will feedback to remote and F2F students be provided during activities?
  3. During content delivery, can remote students hear the instructor?
  4. During content delivery, can remote students see the multimedia resources being used?
  5. For any videos, how will remote students access these videos?
  6. Are readings made accessible for remote and F2F students?
  7. While engaging in whole-class instruction or discussion, are there any remote hands up?
  8. Are remote students asking questions in the chat?
  9. How can F2F students ‘hear/read’ any questions or comments in the chat?
  10. In what way are comments and questions in the chat meaningfully integrated into the F2F conversation?
  11. When engaging with students in question-and-answer sessions, can remote students effectively hear peers?
  12. Can F2F students hear remote students when they use the mic?
Content Activity

Deliver small piece or chunk (a small subtopic) of the content
  • Lecture (15 min max)
  • Video
  • Group Work
  • Research/Reading
  • Socratic Dialogue
  • Multimedia piece
  • Reading
  • Guest Speaker
Practice Activity

An activity that allows students to apply, review, and practice what they have learned so they (and the instructor) become aware of what they know and what they don’t know
  • Worksheet
  • Think/Pair/Share
  • Group Activity
  • Questions
  • Case Study
  • Scenario
  • Application
REPEAT CONTENT ACTIVITY AND PRACTICE ACTIVITY FOR ALL THE CHUNKS/SUBTOPICS OF INFORMATION
Summary Activity

Allow students to synthesize what they know in a form like the eventual assignment – formative feedback
  • Create Mock Test Questions
  • Create grading rubric for the assessment in groups
  • Grade mock assignments as a class

References

Huang, Y., Shu, F., Zhao, C., & Huang, J. (2017). Investigating and analyzing teaching effect of blended synchronous classroom. In 6th International Conference of Educational Innovation Through Technology (EITT) (pp. 134–135). https://doi.org/10.1109/EITT.2017.40

Hybrid-Flexible (or HyFlex) Implementation Guide. The University of North Caroline at Chapel Hill. https://keepteaching.unc.edu/modes-of-teaching/hybrid-flexible/

Beatty, B. J. (2019). Hybrid-Flexible Course Design: Implementing student-directed hybrid classes (1st ed.). EdTech Books. Retrieved from https://edtechbooks.org/hyflex