HYFLEX TEACHING - LEARNING MODEL

HYFLEX TEACHING - LEARNING MODEL

 What is Hyflex Teaching-Learning Model?

•         It is the Hybrid Flexible Model in short
•         A student-centered model offered Face-to-face (F2F) and fully Online
•         Choice of attending online/offline or switching between them as per their convenience

Teacher's Role in Hyflex Model

• A fully developed F2F course and a fully developed online course
• Knowledge of online modes of teaching like Teams, Zoom, Google Meet, Webex, etc
• Class management - accommodating in-person students and those attending virtually at the same time, as well as those who will be engaging with a recording of the session at a later time.
• Differentiated assessment patterns

Benefits of the Model

The advantages or benefits of the model is as below, but not limited to

• Students are able to customize their education to fit their needs, whether they need a more hands-on, in-person approach or thrive in an asynchronous online environment where they work more independently.

• The instructor may see improved participation as students are in control of how they participate in class.

• Recorded Classes help provide extra help to students

• Equitable Education is more widely available

• Ability to learn how to learn online without committing to an “only-online” course.

• The university benefits from having more accessible courses through multiple modalities.

Limitations of the Model

A few limitations of the model is as below:

• This model may require a high amount of support from the university. For instance, if an instructor would like to have the F2F class and a synchronous live online meet at the same time, there are technical logistics to consider that may even need a student assistant to help run the class.

• Instructors will need to be fully aware of how to engage synchronous live online students at the same time as the students who are F2F.

• This model requires that two fully developed courses be in place, one for online and one for F2F learning. The materials will inevitably be the same, but the approach to teaching online is different from teaching in-person. Just putting your F2F materials online is not an effective approach.

• Student disengagement & motivation

Key Takeaways:

• The key selling point of HyFlex instruction is that students can choose their preferred mode of course delivery for each class session, instead of being locked to a singular format for the entire course duration.

• Requires effort on the part of faculty in terms of preparation.

• Emphasizes the need for instructors and students to partner on the cultivation of a meaningful learning environment.

Conclusion:

The HyFlex course model stands a chance to address the many challenges and hurdles faced by the learners of today. Hybrid learning along with flexibility was something which was previously unattainable. A number of challenges, particularly around technology, student engagement, acoustics, and pedagogy might be faced in the initial piloting while incorporating this model. Keeping aside the challenges, the focus on the outcomes and impact of this course delivery method will bring around a massive change in the way education is imparted. We will need to be flexible to change various instructional methods to align with the factual data that may challenge our beliefs.

Kavitha Hariharasubramanian

S.Y. M.Ed (Dr.D.Y.Patil College of Education)