Chapter 3: Which Flexible Course Design is Best for Educators?

What is the Educator’s Perspective?

Delivering any course with a flexible design requires more consideration and work from the educator.  Institutions need to consider their educators and whether or not their faculty have the skills to teach flexible courses, and if not, determine what type of training may be required.  The administration would also need to consider how educators might perceive being asked to teach a flexible course.

• Would it be considered as more work with no additional pay?
• Would it be viewed as too challenging and not worth the effort, either from a technology management point of view or from the point of view of managing two or three separate groups of learners within the same course?
• Would it be welcomed as an opportunity for learning and personal growth?
• Would it be dismissed as a delivery mode due to concerns pertaining to academic honesty issues within the asynchronous option?
• Would educators welcome the opportunity to support student needs even if it may require additional time, effort, or personal training?

Managers should approach this with a change management lens because not everyone accepts change readily.  If educators do not have the skills or are against the concept, flexible courses may not run as smoothly as hoped and students may end up having a negative experience.

Watch the video below by Husan Aldamen, Associate Professor of Accounting, to hear his considerations for HyFlex learning options as they pertain to institutions, educators, and students.^[1]  Transcript for “Hyfllex Learning” Video [PDF–New Tab].  Closed captioning is available on YouTube.

MiraCosta College Survey

The College received 147 responses from educators who were surveyed on HyFlex teaching and learning. There were four takeaways from the HyFlex survey results. First, most faculty respondents had an interest in a 2-in-1 version of HyFlex, but not in the original 3-in-1 model. Second, faculty identified several areas of concern regarding working conditions: increased compensation, in-classroom IT support, and faculty well-being and choice.  Third, faculty interested in the HyFlex modality identified three top professional learning areas: preparing course content, using technology in the classroom, and managing a classroom across multiple modalities. Fourth, faculty shared several areas of concern regarding academic and professional matters: examples of effective teaching need to be shared, more research is needed on student engagement and retention in HyFlex courses, and faculty in disciplines should decide what makes pedagogical sense.^[2]

Brief Summary

“Since it was developed at San Francisco State University, the HyFlex model has been adopted at institutions around the world. Cambrian College in Ontario offers HyFlex courses for graduate programs in business analytics, crime analytics, and community and health services navigation. The University of Michigan offers courses including a statistics course in the HyFlex format.  Delgado Community College in New Orleans has been working to incorporate HyFlex into its curriculum.”^[3] Many of these and other institutions have studied the pros and cons of the HyFlex course model and have gathered and compiled insights gained from educator feedback. Below is a brief summary of some of the challenges experienced by educators.

What did educators find challenging about their HyFlex course experience?

1. Educators struggled to teach equitably both to students in the physical classroom and to those studying remotely.^[4]
2. Educators have to not only manage different styles and different modalities of learning but basically manage different classroom communities all within one class, which is not only more difficult for educators, it also takes a lot more time.^[5]
3. Educators experienced pedagogical challenges of how to modify assignments and activities for face-to-face students versus those that are online.^[6]
4. Educators observed a power dynamic between students that are face-to-face, who may dominate the conversation versus the students who are online who want to engage in the conversation.^[7]
5. Educators found it challenging to anticipate how many students are going to be face-to-face versus how many students are going to be online.^[8]
6. Educators had concerns about how to do active learning activities and build class community.^[9]
7. Educators found it challenging to manage technology difficulties (e.g., the camera doesn’t work, the projector breaks down, audio issues, poor Internet connections).^[10]

How Do Educators Feel About HyFlex?

Below are some quotes from educators about their experiences with, or feelings toward, HyFlex (trimodal) course delivery.

“Honestly, I’d rather do totally online or totally face-to-face. Having some students in person and some students online is a literal nightmare in a class that’s focused on discussions, group practice, and readings. I had to do it last semester and it was like pulling teeth to get the online students involved. Also, having to divide my attention equally between online and in-person students was insanely difficult since I naturally tend to want to concentrate on the people in front of me. We also couldn’t walk around the classroom or anything while lecturing because the camera was static. I had to lecture behind a podium and I’m usually super animated while lecturing.” Reddit User 1, 2021^[11]

“I’m currently teaching intro levels courses in the Hyflex format. It certainly presents more work from a tech perspective because I have to launch Zoom from the terminal, make sure the camera and microphone are working, join Zoom from my iPad so I can use that as a de facto “board”, and remember to record. On top of that, I’ll have to switch screen sharing back and forth between the terminal and my iPad depending on what program I’m using. That being said, it really doesn’t seem to have changed the experience that much. Yes, all exams are now in take-home format but the actual in-class teaching is largely the same. Some students are actually more likely to ask questions over in chat than in-person.” Reddit User 2, 2021^[12]

“Literally everyone I know who has taught following this model has hated it and felt like it was a ton of additional work. Plus in all cases, the majority of their students stopped coming to class after a few weeks so they were showing up to teach in person for just a couple of students. Everyone else was black squares online or not there at all because they were relying on the recording. Sounds like a nightmare and I am glad I was able to keep my classes fully online.” Reddit User 3, 2021^[13]

“Given that you are definitely not being paid 3x as much, I think it’s a bad idea. I think in this case quality of instruction method trumps quantity.” Reddit User 4, 2021^[14]

“Managing in-class teaching plus live streaming plus recording sounds like an anxiety attack in the making. How can genuine teaching and learning happen when our attention is so split?” Reddit User 5, 2021^[15]

“Hyflex has changed the way I work – with respect to flexibility and equity. The beauty of the Hyflex model is that it provides choice for learning preference and equal opportunity for every student to participate, which opens up opportunities for learning and connection. Many of our students learn differently; some need more one-on-one attention and some prefer to work independently. By giving these different options of being in class with the instructor or being in the comfort of their homes, we can provide for these learning opportunities.”^[16]

Why is Resistance Futile?

While many educators today work tirelessly to design learning materials and activities that will engage students and support their learning journey, some educators may be fearful of the rapid encroachment of technology taking over the classroom.  Some educators may be resistant to change, or fear losing their job to a robot (e.g., AI, automated systems, LMS).  Resistance is futile because technology will continue to advance and educators will need to either keep up with the times or become obsolete.

If we take a look at what history has taught us, companies that did not embrace new technologies or failed to innovate went out of business or lost a lot of money but then pivoted and made a come-back (e.g.., BlockBuster, Polaroid, Tower Records, Compaq, Victor Company (VHS tapes), etc.).  Colleges and universities also must innovate in order to keep up with societal changes in order to stay in business.  For example, many people today no longer have a home phone, instead, they use cell phones. Many people today have home computers or laptops which we did not have in the 80s or early 90s then with the proliferation of the Internet, people started connecting to information online.  Today most people expect to use the Internet to connect with friends, work, and school.  If institutions do not allow students to do that, learners will seek out other ways to learn or invest their money at other institutions that will allow them to learn in the course delivery mode they prefer. “At some point, you will see a revolution in education like you will in everything else.”^[17]

“During the early days of the pandemic, ‘people stood up Zoom classrooms’ and ‘they put a lot of video lectures up online,’ said Jeff Borden, the chief academic officer for D2L, a company that creates online learning software. ‘That’s fine. That was important to get people through.’ Now, however, Borden stressed, colleges and universities have the opportunity to move beyond these makeshift models. They can work to build more durable online learning platforms that meet the needs of a range of learners who must access coursework at different times and in different formats to suit their particular goals and lifestyles.”^[18]

Many educators already offer students some flexibility in assignment design, attendance, and assessment proctoring, which means it would only be a small shift to move fully into ByFlex delivery mode. Some educators already use the asynchronous LMS design even when teaching on campus, in the classroom, which allows their students to access the learning materials at the times they cannot attend class due to illness, appointment, or such.  Offering flexibility to students, supporting their needs, and allowing students to make choices (UDL) is what the ByFlex course model is all about.

How are Educators Supported?

It is important for institutions to support educators in designing and delivering bimodal (ByFlex) or trimodal (HyFlex) courses.  The University of Windsor, Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) appears to do this well, “HyFlex teaching provides choice to learners in their mode of engagement with the learning. Learners have the choice to attend classes in face-to-face or online modalities. The University of Windsor provides over 20 classrooms with live-streaming capabilities and 15 mobile HyFlex units. This site is a joint project between the Office of Open Learning, the Centre for Teaching and Learning, and IT Services, who are supporting HyFlex instructors and students”.^[19]

Seneca College’s Teaching and Learning Center provides courses, support, and resources to educators who are designing and developing flexible courses. “If you are going to be teaching a Flexible course, the best place to start is with the next offering of the professional development course, “FunFlex: The Fundamentals of Flexible Course Design and Delivery.” This is an online, asynchronous course, meaning that you can complete the three course modules on your own schedule, at times that work for you. The course is facilitated by a member of the Teaching & Learning Centre team, and also connects you to a Community of Practice on Microsoft Teams where you can share resources with colleagues.”^[20]

Many educators in higher education are seeking ways to make their courses more flexible. You are not alone. The HyFlex course model has been around since 2005 when Brian J. Beatty first coined the term and he has continually improved the model over the years incorporating advances in technology.  It may be that your institution has decided to move ahead with HyFlex delivery and you will become a part of that. To prepare yourself it would be wise to connect with the Teaching and Learning Center at your institution, take a course, read some articles, watch some videos, and then practice with the classroom technology.

It may be that your institution determines that HyFlex may be too expensive or too difficult to implement on a large scale and instead decides to move forward with the bimodal, ByFlex, course model, or a combination of both models. It may be that in the absence of a formal institutional plan, and after you (the educator) have researched and practiced delivery, you decide that HyFlex is too much for you to manage; although, you would like to offer some flexibility to students in how they attend and participate in your courses.  If that is the case, then consider if a bimodal, ByFlex, delivery will be enough to support your goals and meet your students’ needs.

What are the Benefits of ByFlex Course Design for Educators?

Educators may receive the following benefits from delivering bimodal flexible (ByFlex) courses.

1. Provides a Fail-Safe: The online options within ByFlex do provide a built-in fail-safe for times when in-class teaching isn’t possible (i.e., COVID, educator illness, and no classroom availability). While ByFlex has two options (synchronous and asynchronous), within two options for delivery (on campus or online), the educator could easily switch between modes.  For example, if the educator is ill and decides to offer that class online synchronously instead of commuting to the campus, they could email their manager and their students to let them know and switch the class from on-campus to online synchronous. Students who would normally travel to the campus, could either stay home and attend online synchronously or, if they do not have an appropriate device to support their learning from home, they could travel to the campus as they usually would and use a campus computer to attend the synchronous session.  If the educator is too ill to provide a synchronous session online, then either the educator or staff could send an email to the students letting them know there will be no synchronous class that day and directing them to the weekly learning module in the asynchronous LMS design so students could complete the learning activities assigned for that week.
2. Reduces Time for Course Preparation: After the course is developed in the LMS, it will be fully equipped with many learning materials, the course outline/syllabus, a weekly or topical flow of content, videos, assignments, possibly discussion boards, games for learning, etc. Therefore, the educator will not need to do a lot of preparation for each class.  This is especially helpful for new-to-the-course educators.
3. Maintains Consistency Across Sections: Having the LMS designed is great for all educators (and students) teaching the same course because all course sections will provide the same content to students across sections.  This consistency helps with program quality reviews, reduces student complaints, and helps ensure a high-quality course.
4. Improves Skillset: As educators design, develop, and deliver flexible courses they grow their skills in online delivery, UDL design, innovation, and curriculum design.  These skills are transferrable.  While change can be frightening at times educators who embrace change, work through the challenges, will be proud of their accomplishments, and have new skills when they come out the other side.
5. Reduces Stress: Educators have the course materials posted in the LMS which reduces the feeling of scrambling each week to quickly post learning materials. Of course, educators may add to the LMS materials at any point, but knowing that the majority of content is already available to students takes some pressure off educators so they can focus on adding value to the content and providing an engaging synchronous delivery.