Idea of the Month

Designing and Teaching Hybrid Courses

            As technology advances and more and more students enroll for classes on University campuses the hybrid course seems to become more popular.  Hybrid courses involve part of the course occurring online and the other part involving face to face meetings in the classroom.  Below are several questions and answers regarding designing and teaching hybrid courses.

Q: How much of the course should be online and what part of the course should go online?

A: There is not one specific answer to either of these questions, however it is often helpful to design hybrid courses to match your own teaching styles.  For example, if you prefer to present materials in class you may post discussions and assignments online and save class time for lectures.

Q: How long will it take to redesign a traditional course into a hybrid course?

A: Experts say instructors should allow six months, start early, and plan very carefully.

Q: How much can I expect from my students and myself in a hybrid course?

A: Start small and simple in designing your first hybrid course.  Don’t use a lot of technology that you are not familiar with or expect students to spend double the class time on assignments and out of class material just because there are two parts to the class.  Once you are comfortable teaching this type of course you can start adding new activities in and out of class slowly during the following semesters.

Q: Will a hybrid course keep my students engaged?

A: The ultimate answer is yes because the hybrid course encourages instructors to find new ways to interact with and engage students online, a task that is interesting for both students and instructors.  This interaction online will inevitably transfer to the classroom.

These questions were adapted from The Teaching Scholars Forum, Volume8, Number 6: March 20, 2002.

 Additional Resources

 http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/ocotillo/tv/hybrid_planning.html

 http://www4.uwm.edu/ltc/hybrid/

 http://www.uwsa.edu/ttt/browse/hybrid.htm

 http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/LTC/docs/seven.ppt

 http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/LTC/docs/foxvalley.ppt