This semester, I taught a doctoral course that involved HyFlex teaching. HyFlex is a teaching approach that was developed by Brian Beatty, a professor at San Francisco State University, that provides students with flexibility and choice in how they attend and participate in class (EDUCAUSE et al., 2020). They can choose to attend on-site (e.g., in a technologically equipped classroom on a university campus), remotely (e.g., via a video conferencing tool like Zoom), or in some cases, also asynchronously (e.g., engaging with the content, instructor, and peers asynchronously via a learning management system). Students typically choose, ahead of time, in which way they will engage in class. A key characteristic of HyFlex, as it was conceptualized and implemented by Beatty, is student choice. However, there are also many variations of the model in practice. Moreover, HyFlex models that provide asynchronous learning opportunities require that instructors develop asynchronous content for all students to engage.
Teaching some students on-site and some students remotely, also referred to as simulteaching, hybrid teaching, or concurrent teaching, became prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic so students could still attend class even if they were sick. However, allowing students to join class remotely did not begin during the pandemic. It has been used, at smaller scale, in many different learning situations, including workplace training. For instance, in 2009, many universities, schools, and employers grappled with supporting students and employees during the H1N1 swine flu. My university asked all faculty to develop plans to allow students to join classes remotely, via Blackboard (the primary learning management system used in my university), in the event someone became ill with the H1N1 flu. Key differences between 2009 and 2023 are that today’s technologies are more reliable and robust, making it much easier to cultivate HyFlex teaching and learning, practically all students have experienced the COVID-19 pandemic (and therefore have some experience with some type of remote learning), and many students also have expectations for more flexibility in their learning modality (Paykamian, 2022).
HyFlex teaching is also an important consideration for supporting instructional continuity, which is “is the capacity to maintain course schedules when plans are disrupted, typically by unanticipated events beyond anyone’s control” (Milman & Watkins, 2021, para. 1). As noted in a prior Ends and Means article (Milman, 2022), instructors should be prepared for the unexpected and to have plans in place to support the continuity of learning. Additionally, Penrod (2022) noted, “students’ needs may change unexpectedly during a course, and physical and online spaces are needed to meet students’ preferences and needs” (para. 7). Therefore, preparing for the possibility of teaching HyFlex, is important, even for courses that are all on-site.
Preparing for Teaching a HyFlex Course
Most of my formal university teaching has only involved teaching on-site or teaching asynchronously online. I have also led many meetings, talks, and workshops that one could characterize as HyFlex over the years. I have researched, observed, and discussed teaching HyFlex with several professors and students, with a particular interest in learning what worked and which strategies they recommended.
The HyFlex approach requires significant technical support, planning, and coordination to ensure its success. The onsite classroom has to be technologically equipped to allow simultaneous discussions, collaboration, and presentation so that all students can participate whether they are in the classroom (i.e., on-site) or joining in via a video conferencing tool. Beatty’s (2019) book provides details about many of the costs and resources needed for HyFlex to be successful, including professional development for instructors and additional compensation or a course release the first time an instructor teaches a course using the HyFlex approach.
My classroom had a mounted camera, whiteboard, and mics in the ceiling to capture sound throughout the classroom, as well as the following capabilities:
lecture capture;
polling;
present/project;
small group breakout;
video playback;
web conferencing; and
Blackboard LMS (“Rome Hall 351,” n.d.).
Lessons Learned
Trial and Error With Technology
Although we encountered technical difficulties and physical space challenges because the instructor computer workstation worked was located in one corner of the room, it also offered the best sound quality. We also had a very large room with a capacity of 48 for only 10 students. Unfortunately, using my laptop which would have allowed greater mobility around the room, as well as the ability to sit in different parts of the room, did not work well with the room setup (i.e., lecture capture and ceiling mounted classroom mics). Also, when different students were in our on-site classroom and running Zoom to engage with and hear their peers joining in remotely, they had to turn the sound off of the sound on their computers because the mics and instructor workstation picked up background noise. For instructors and students who present who like to move around the room while talking/presenting, being tethered to a podium and screen can be challenging. However, it is important to be visible to those joining in remotely.
Checking in Frequently With Students
Throughout the semester, I checked with students on-site and joining in remotely for their feedback about how the course was going for them. For those joining in remotely, I would often check-in with them either via chat or I would stop the class and verbally check in. Moreover, when a student in our on-site classroom spoke quietly, I would ask the individual to speak louder. Throughout the semester, the biggest challenge was ensuring those joining remotely could hear what everyone was saying. Additionally, we had to check in with them to ensure that when slides were presented, that they, too, could see the different slides. Sometimes, those joining remotely could not see the slides changing/moving forward in the slide deck presented.
Being Flexible
Initially I thought a buddy system would work but this was hard to manage since some students joined remotely due to insufficient time to commute to our campus from their work or location where they were collecting data for research studies. Often, these changes happened right before class started – so I found that I just needed to be very flexible, listen, and learn from our experiences.
Conclusion
I plan to reflect more on our experiences in a HyFlex classroom. I was fortunate to have an on-site classroom that was well equipped with technology; however, being tethered to the instructor workstation and podium in one corner of the room was limiting for me and the students. This was a small class and I wonder how it would work if the class had double, triple, or significantly more students. Scaling up always poses challenges, including with technology.
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