What do Gumby and hybrid courses have in common? Flexibility and options! Developing and teaching a hybrid course allows a faculty member to design a course with a wider range of learning experiences using a greater variety of modalities, strategies, and tools. These options can invigorate a course, the students, and the instructor. They also provide today’s diverse and non-traditional students with the flexibility they desire, helping them to stay engaged. A hybrid course may require students to attend on-campus only one or two days a week and via Zoom and/or online the other days. For some students, this flexibility may lead to greater persistence and retention. The flexibility is limited in that all students attend on the same day, time, and modality. The instructor predetermines the modalities, and whatever is printed in the syllabus is where and how the class meets on a given day. It’s a win-win for both faculty and students, offering enough flexibility and enough structure for everyone to succeed.
If you’re interested in developing a hybrid course, there’s plenty of support. The CTLE is developing two self-paced professional development courses to get you started. The first course, Introduction to Hybrid Teaching at Saint Leo (CTL 138), will introduce you to hybrid teaching, the models of hybrid learning that Saint Leo supports, and it will give you the basics about what is involved. It will take about one hour to complete. The second course, Deeper Dive into Hybrid Course Development at Saint Leo (CTL 200), is project-based and will help you develop your hybrid course’s first four modules/weeks. Upon completion of the course and four modules/weeks, and with your chair’s approval, you will be ready to build out the rest of your course! When you need help, a CTLE team member will be there to assist you with resources and 1:1 support.
For more information about this exciting course delivery option, check out CTLE’s Hybrid Teaching webpage, register for the first CTL (registration will open on Monday, May 9th), and talk to your chair about it!
