Engagement and interactivity
Student engagement and interactivity is another element of hybrid learning. Instructors must consider how to keep students engaged synchronously and asynchronously. Educators need to present their course bi-modally for students who are physically on campus and for students who are remote. Instructors can prepare for their bi-modal connections by asking themselves: "What are the core experiences of in-person learning and interaction that need to be translated online?" Educators need to invest in the live lecture experience to ensure it's as personal for the student joining remotely as it's for the student in the physical classroom. Instructors must work to ensure all learners are active participants in the course rather than mere consumers.
Instructors can use various strategies to ensure that all students are active participants:
- Break students into small groups to solve problems, discuss concepts, or debate topics. Students joining remotely can work with students attending in person to engage in the small group discussions.
- Provide students with hands-on activities that allow them to practice or visualize concepts. Use everyday items that remote students have in their home so they'll feel they can participate in the activity. Communicate the items they should collect and have at their remote learning workspace before class begins so students come prepared. If special items are required, create take-home bags that students can pick up.
- Give students time to process and practice concepts individually. Be mindful about finding time in a class meeting for students to reflect on what they're hearing and to practice what you are demonstrating.
Furthermore, instructors need to implement strategies that quickly evaluate students' comprehension during synchronous sessions. Strategies include:
- Requiring everyone to reflect on a question and not allowing anyone to raise their hand to answer until everyone - both in-person and remote - shows a "thumbs-up." In-person students can physically indicate they're ready to move on with a thumbs-up; remote students can add a thumbs-up emoji in the chat window.
- Asking students to change their status to red if they're still working or are having trouble with a concept. They change their status to green when they're finished working or feel confident with the concept. In-person students use a note card with a red dot on one side and a green dot on the other side to show the appropriate selection.
- Creating an @forms or Polly poll, a Pear Deck or Nearpod presentation, or a Kahoot or Quizlet activity and asking all students to participate
Educators also need to examine coursework demands to ensure that students don't experience the two extremes of workloads: undue stress from tasks that are too challenging or boredom from tasks that aren't challenging enough. Both situations cause students to disengage. Instructors must consider students' Zone of Proximal Development to create "more accurate estimates of—and then monitoring—student workloads" (Resilience and transformation for the future of learning 9).