Student Success in Hybrid Learning Environments

Welcome to our Tutorial!

The goal of this tutorial is to educate you what you can do in order to support student learning in a hybrid environment.  If you are unfamiliar with hybrid learning, please read further below for an overview of this emerging trend. 

Three major roles have been identified that affect student success in hybrid learning:
  1. Administrators
  2. Teachers
  3. Students
Click on the buttons at the top of the web-page to learn what you need to know as an administrator, a teacher and a student to make hybrid learning a success.


What is Hybrid Learning?

Vaughan (2007) says hybrid learning, also known as blended learning and mixed-mode instruction, refers to the hybridization of face-to-face classroom instruction with online learning and reduced classroom contact hours or reduced seat time (Diziuban, Hartman, & Moskal 2004). The idea of blending different learning experiences has been in existence ever since humans started thinking about teaching (Williams, 2003). But the infusion of technology into the learning and teaching process has brought hybrid learning into its limelight (Clark, 2003).
 
Blended learning, however, is not just the the ratio of delivery modalities where a certain percent of a course is online, but a pedagogical approach that combines the effectiveness and socialization opportunities of the classroom with the technologically-enhanced active learning possibilities of the online environment. Bleed (2001) suggests that blended learning should be viewed as an opportunity to redesign the way that courses are developed, scheduled, and delivered in higher education through a combination of physical and virtual instruction.
  
Different authors have different concepts of blended learning and Driscoll (2002) states that blended learning is:
  • To combine or mix modes of web-based technology (e.g virtual classroom) to accomplish an educational goal.
  • To combine various pedagogical approaches (e.g. constructivism, behaviorism etc) to produce an optimal learning outcome with or without instructional technology.
  • To combine any form of instructional technology (e.g video tape etc.) with face-to-face instructor led training
  • To mix or combine instructional technology with actual job tasks in order to create a harmonious effect of learning and working
David Hughes talks about the state of blended learning today and how it should be in the video below.
         

This video shows " what blended learning is" and what best practices in blended learning have been implemented by the TLT Blended Learning Group.
    

References


Bleed, R. (2001). A hybrid campus for a new millennium. Educause Review, 36(1), 16-24.

Clark, D. (2003). Blend it like Beckham. Epic Group PLC. Retrieved October 3, 2006, from http://www.epic.co.uk/content/resources/white_papers/blended.htm

Driscoll, M. (2002). Blended learning. E-learning, 3(3), 26-29.

Dziuban, C., Hartman, J., Moskal, P. (2004, march). Blended learning. Educause Center for applied Research belletin, 2004(7), 1-12.

Vaughan, N. (2007). Perspectives on Blended Learning in Higher Education. International Journal on E-Learning, 6(1), 81-94. Chesapeake, VA: AACE. Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org.eres.library.manoa.hawaii.edu/p/6310.

Williams, J. (2003). Blending into the background. E-Learning Age Magazine, 1.