Hybrid Courses a blueprint for success Patricia S. Rahmlow Assistant Professor, Computer Science Montgomery County Community College Blue Bell, PA

Background Undergraduate: BS Math, Ursinus College Graduate: MBA, St. Joseph’s University Experience Computer Industry: 20 years in various positions including programming, customer support and marketing Academic: MCCC since January 1998 Online: Spring 2000 (approximately 30 sections to date) Hybrid: Fall 2003 (4 sections to date) 4/3/2019

Burning Questions? What one question do you want answered today about hybrid courses? 4/3/2019

What? Is your definition of a hybrid course? 4/3/2019

Why? Why do you want to teach a hybrid course? Why do students want to take a hybrid course? Why should you teach a hybrid course? Why should students take a hybrid course? 4/3/2019

How? How often will you meet? Why did you choose this time frame? 4/3/2019

What? What part of your course will be online? What part of your course will be outside of the classroom? What types of support materials are available to the student for out of classroom learning? 4/3/2019

Help? How often will you be available to the student? What mechanism will be available for student-to-student help? 4/3/2019

What is a hybrid course? A blended course using technology to help achieve your goals An approach to teaching that replaces some in-class activities with online activities Instruction that is highly structured but still flexible Teaching that is more learner focused than face-to-face courses 4/3/2019

Advantages – Faculty More material can be covered You can do the teaching you really want to but never had time to do Focus on more interesting / complicated topics in classroom 4/3/2019

Advantages – Students Student’s pace can be personalized to match their progress Weaker students can receive more of faculty’s attention Stronger students can be released from events they do not need to participate in 4/3/2019

Advantages – Students Face-to-face communication Exposure to learning environment prevalent in workplace Exposure to communication methods prevalent in workplace Extra help before taking completely online course 4/3/2019

Disadvantages – Faculty Faculty must do more planning Faculty must monitor goals Faculty must learn to see things in a new way Faculty must question their own premises Faculty must be available outside of traditional work hours 4/3/2019

Disadvantages – Students Students must understand what is being done Students must be motivated Students must be able to manage their time Students must be technically competent Students must ask for help 4/3/2019

Where do you begin? Analyze what you do Determine what you don’t enjoy doing Decide what you can do better Define student needs Identify what students can complete without your immediate help 4/3/2019

Analyze what you do Lecture Demonstration Discussions Lab exercises Field trips Guest speakers Web quests 4/3/2019

Determine what you don’t enjoy doing What parts of teaching do you just plain wish you didn’t have to do? What parts of your teaching are rote? What parts are you extraneous to? What parts do you have so well documented that they can stand alone? 4/3/2019

Decide what you can do better What topics need more time in the classroom? What topics are better in a conference mode? What additional topics would you like to cover? 4/3/2019

Define student needs What are student’s weaknesses that curriculum does not address? What would enable students to better use their time? What would allow student’s to focus on their interests or specialties? Do students need multiple evaluation strategies to demonstrate their mastery of the material? 4/3/2019

Identify what students can complete without your immediate help Group projects Group discussions Mini-research projects Group research projects 4/3/2019

What do the experts say? Cynthia Villanti Mohawk Valley Community College Hybrid courses enable a balance between faculty-centered and student-centered models Maintain face-to-face learning environment including non-verbal communication All communication skills are developed – verbal (speaking and listening) and written (reading and writing) Hybrid can increase student retention On-campus assessment addresses honesty concerns 4/3/2019

What do the experts say? University of Southern Indiana Students and faculty in hybrid courses faced the greatest challenges (compared to online and face-to-face) Difficulties not due to course design Hybrid courses take more work from the student Hybrid courses take more coaching from faculty 4/3/2019

What do the experts say? University of Southern Indiana Switching modes causes confusion Out of sight, out of mind Different number of meetings for various hybrid courses Advising problems with determining whether a student is a good candidate for a hybrid course 4/3/2019

What do the experts say? University of Southern Indiana Online part is sometimes superficial Instructors active in classroom discussion, not usually in online discussion 4/3/2019

MCCC Courses Fall 2004 Total sections: 1847 Online sections: 92 One to ten credits Any day or time Online sections: 92 Hybrid sections: 6 Telecourses: 14 Face-to-face sections: 1741 4/3/2019

MCCC Courses Disciplines Faculty Training / Course Development Computer Science Education Engineering Faculty Training / Course Development Online training 4/3/2019

Resources Richard D. Greenwood Professor of English, MCCC Faculty Focus Newsletter Saxon G. Reasons at saxrea@usi.edu AFT – On Campus http://www.aft.org/publications/on_campus/oct03/technology.html 4/3/2019

Examples CIS110 Hybrid CIS114 Hybrid 4/3/2019

Questions 4/3/2019