Text CITL A Closer Look at the Flipped Hybrid Course Model

As mentioned previously, a course is considered to be hybrid when 30-79% of the delivery is online and the remaining percent is delivered in the classroom. There is no right or wrong percentage in either direction, but the freedom to utilize the best of what each modality has to offer is what makes hybrid learning so powerful.

Research on hybrid classroom formats has consistently shown that prerecording at least some lectures for students to watch online, and using in-class time for students to work with you and their peers on practical activities, results in improved learning outcomes and increased satisfaction. Flipped or Flipped Hybrid courses where lectures are viewed before class and homework is done in class have been shown to offer the most effective teaching and learning experiences.

Every course is a unique combination of elements that are right for that topic and instructor, but in flipped hybrid courses faculty will typically:

Prerecord some (or all) of their lectures and make them available online.
Require students to view lecture videos before coming to class, so that in-class time can be used for practice and hands-on activities.
Provide a clear schedule of in-class and online assignments and due dates to keep students on track.
Facilitate a variety of in-person and online activities, some of which are begun in class and continue online or vice versa.
Use Canvas to support communication, assessment, and engagement in the classroom learning community.

Flipped hybrid courses are typically tighter, better organized, and more enjoyable to teach. With even some lecture content moved online, faculty are able to devote more in-class time to discussing concepts in greater detail, and facilitating practical learning activities--changes that can result in higher levels of student engagement, better retention, and increased satisfaction. But turning a traditional course into a flipped hybrid course will take some effort. In addition to the expectations mentioned above, you will probably need to restructure substantial parts of your course in order to:

Avoid disjuncture between the in-class and online portions,
Balance student workload, and
Intentionally build an active and engaged learning community.

Start by Rethinking Your Course Narrative

Faculty who take the time to redesign and realign their course components will have the best results moving to a hybrid format, but it can be hard to know where to begin. Having worked with many faculty over the years, we recommend taking some time to reconsider the why of your course, especially if you have been teaching it for a while. One strategy is to follow our simple steps for rethinking the narrative of your course by imagining it as a story with a beginning, a middle, and an end. Investing some time doing this short exercise can help clarify your thinking, and will save you a lot of time later. Try it and see.