When considering teaching post-pandemic, the creation of a host of online resources presents instructors with a wide-range of new options. As faculty make decisions about how to leverage resources, it is worth remembering that quality courses can be designed for a range of modalities. This document focuses specifically on flipped and hybrid course modes and is not intended to be representative of all possible options or imply that these modes are optimal for all courses.
Specifically, this document provides guidance for how to leverage video lecture resources from 2020/2021 to transition a course to a hybrid or flipped mode of teaching. It should be noted that even in the absence of existing video resources from 2020/2021, one may still want to use this moment to transition the general approach of your classes, and this guide can be useful for determining which mode you want to utilize and what the video/online resources necessary to do so.
Guidance
Step 1: Determine what activities/experiences you want to ensure happen in-person and estimate the time allotted to them.
Examples:
- Stand alone group problem solving/discussion-based activities: You may have group activities that are best suited for in-person with real-time feedback. These activities may require anywhere from 1 to 3 hours to complete, but generally groups activities themselves require less than 3 hours.
- Post-activity lectures: You may have lecture material that is highly flexible and directly related to what happens in the group activities. This is material that is difficult to prepare ahead of time and is most impactful right after the group activities occur. Budget this as in-person time.
- Short activities integrated within a lecture: You may have lecture material that is integrated with clicker-question and student-student discussion. You will need to evaluate which of these you want in-person and which you want to occur with the combination of video/online quiz/student discussion asynchronously on discussion boards. Estimate the amount of time associated with the in-person material.
Step 2: Determine the amount of required lecture video time versus optional supplemental videos.
This step is critical to ensure that the course does not exceed normal workload expectations for the students. Some key questions to consider:
- What is the appropriate length for each video? Usually 5 – 15 minutes, depending on the subject.
- Which videos need to be watched before the in-person classes and which are best viewed after?
- Will you include short assessments/quizzes on the video content? (this may be included in the time calculation)
- Are there going to be any videos that are recorded in response to what happens in the in-person sessions?
Step 3: Determine which class schedule best accommodates the time requirements identified in the previous steps and other potential constraints (e.g., class sizes and classroom availability)
Make sure the time calculations in Step 1 and 2 are consistent. Assuming a standard 4-unit course, and the time of the online resources calculated from Step 1 and Step 2, you will likely utilize one of the following three basic models of course design.
Considering Time Commitment
When evaluating which mode of instruction best fits a particular course, it is important to carefully track where the instructor time is being spent and where the student time commitment occurs. For example, for students in a flipped course (Model 1), it is important to carefully track any required online work so as not to exceed the expected total time required for the course.
For faculty time, in general, the preparation of the bulk of video lectures is assumed to be a one-time workload investment prior to the course. When done strategically, these pre-recorded videos should be applicable for a number of years and free up time during the quarter for the instructors to engage with students in new ways. However, there may be some just-in-time video preparation that needs to be considered as part of the instructor’s time commitment.
Models & Example Schedules
Model 1: Traditional or Flipped Course
This model utilizes the traditional number of in-person meetings (such as three hours of lecture and one hour discussion) and augments the in-person meeting with required online components. This is typically called a “flipped” course when the in-person meetings are heavily utilized for activities and the online components serve the role of the content delivery associated with traditional lectures.
Scheduling Example for a 4 Unit Course:
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MWF Course All students meet in class together 3 days per week. Class time may be used to lecture on new material, facilitate activities, or a combination of both. |
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Model 2: Split Cohort Hybrid Course
This leverages the traditional schedule to split the class into smaller cohorts to take advantage of a smaller class size. Each cohort experiences a reduction in required in-class time that is supplemented by online materials (synchronous and/or asynchronous). This is ideal when the number of students that can meet in-person is limited by one or more factors, including the nature of the in-person activities, classroom availability, TA support, or LA support, and the demand for the course is higher than this limit.
Scheduling Examples for 4 Unit Course:
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MWF Course Students are grouped into smaller cohorts and attend class in person 1 hour per week with their cohort. Online content and activities replace the equivalent of 2 hours of in class instruction.
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TuTh Course All students meet in class together 1 day per week for 1.5 hours. Online content and activities replace the equivalent of 1.5 hours of in class instruction.
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Model 3: Single Cohort Hybrid Course
Considered a more traditional hybrid format, in this model the entire class meets together at the same time, but for a reduced amount of in-person time. The reduced in-class time is augmented by additional required online activities (synchronous and/or asynchronous).
Scheduling Examples for a 4 Unit Course:
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TuTh Course All students meet in class together 1 day per week for 1.5 hours. Online content and activities replace the equivalent of 1.5 hours of in class instruction. |
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MWF Course All students meet in class together 1 day per week. Online content and activities replace the equivalent of 2 hours of in class instruction. Alternatively, students could meet twice a week in class with 1 hour of material completed online. |
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