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Hybrid Learning: A Brave New World in Education
Hybrid Learning:
A Brave New World in Education
BY TRACY FAUCHER, DEPUTY HEAD AND STEPHANIE STEPHENS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF LEARNING INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
Kindergarten students learning alongside their at-home classmates in real-time.
When other schools were challenged to reinvent themselves in preparation for the 2020–2021 school year, HTS had, very early on, a plan in place. Primarily, our goal was to provide our students and their families with flexible options that would allow our entire community to continue to thrive. We wanted our stakeholders to feel safe and assured that, no matter what, our programming would continue to advance learning and provide great experiences and connections for our students. To help us achieve this goal, we made a commitment to a learning framework called “hybrid learning.”
In the hybrid model, face-to-face instruction and remote learning are combined into one cohesive experience. Some of the students are at school in the physical classroom, while others are attending class remotely. Although the definition is simple enough, successful implementation is highly complex and there are a number of variables to consider. Not only does this model require a well-established and comprehensive infrastructure, but a significant investment is needed to sustain it. Perhaps most importantly, the school needs to have a visionary strategic
plan and be in tune with the best research and experts. The culture of the school should be one wherein iteration and adaptation are the norm. In other words, the school needs to be a community of lifelong learners.
Sound familiar? One needs only to leaf through a few years of HTS publications to recognize these ingredients have all been key priorities for the last few years at our school. This is the reason we were able to hit the ground running when we made the commitment to do a full-school implementation of the HTS Hybrid Learning Model in September 2020.
Like anything else, purposeful and intentional design makes all the difference. From the onset of the pandemic, HTS connected with experts to help guide and prepare us for success. It has been with this careful eye to the future that HTS has been able to set itself apart from other schools; not all hybrid models have been as promising as our model has been. As with everything we do, compromising excellence in creating the best learning experience is never an option.
WHAT DIFFERENTIATES HTS’S MODEL OF HYBRID LEARNING?
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND ONGOING CONSULTATION/SUPPORT
Our teachers have been provided with significant training, support and time to adapt to the necessary tools and workflows. As Matthew Iu, Senior School science teacher, notes, “From the moment the lockdown began, HTS has equipped teachers to navigate this brave new world of education. We were given training on ways to engage our students digitally, leveraging the most up-to-date educational apps and services; but at the same time, we were also given the freedom (and even encouraged) to experiment with new pedagogies. The school has been supporting us ever since – offering exceptional IT assistance and ensuring the facilities are up to the task of running the Hybrid Learning Model.”
ONGOING CLASSROOM, STUDENT AND PARENT SUPPORT
The move to a hybrid system is significant for our families as well, so we have worked hard to ensure that they feel well-supported with a number of extras. Some of the new opportunities we created include the following:
• Virtual Learning Hub • Live Virtual IT Support Hub and Chat Room • Parent Technology Learning Series • Hybrid and Technology Training Guides • Innovative Learning Program Courses
AN INVESTMENT IN NEW AND UPGRADED TECHNOLOGY
For almost 10 years now, a major focus of our strategic plans has been to intentionally and appropriately leverage technology and innovation to enhance our programs. We have been creating and refining strong workflows, ensuring all of our teachers have technology in their hands, establishing robust learning management infrastructure and curating the best possible selection of software to support our programs. Our students and our teachers use the tools confidently and appreciate the opportunities they create. As Grade 12 student Summer Xu reflects, “I like that the Owl cameras make it feel like I’m physically in the classroom with my peers, even when I’m learning from home.”
WHY DOES THIS MATTER SO MUCH?
Our community is at the heart of everything we do. Keeping our learners at the centre of every decision has helped us have a strong 'North Star' to guide our way. This model matters because we knew it would help us keep two crucial elements of the HTS experience intact – outstanding learning experiences and connection. Rather than having a
dichotomous choice for students and families (registering for either in-person or online learning for identified chunks of time), the HTS Hybrid Learning Model: • Breaks down barriers between people, space and time. This provides great agility and flexibility for our learners. • Allows us to quickly transition from a face-to-face to remote format if needed with minimal disruption to student learning. • Provides great connectivity between the learners and their teachers, when instruction is carefully designed to bring people together. • Provides a great framework to facilitate interdisciplinary collaborations. Teachers can coteach with one another, supporting students as they work on projects and collaborating on resources and materials to meet our students’ needs. • Enables students and teachers to engage with experts around the world more seamlessly, bringing authenticity to the learning process for our students. • Leverages a robust online learning space to provide our students with differentiated resources, instructions and mediums to support the diverse needs and interests of our learners. Simply put, the calibre of our programs can remain consistent, highly accessible and of the highest quality, whether students and teachers are on campus or not.
SO HOW DO WE KNOW WE WERE SUCCESSFUL?
Grade 12 student, Summer Xu says, “To me, hybrid learning means blending different teaching methods together to give both online and in-person students equal opportunities to learn.”
Jeslyn Li, Grade 11 student, agrees: “This might sound crazy, but I feel like it’s actually easier to reach out to students and teachers for a meeting now that we’re all learning in this hybrid system. Before, I must admit that no one was comfortable just sending a calendar invite to a teacher for academic help, but now, I think with our model and sources like the virtual academic hub, people are definitely more able to connect with teachers. Also, we are able to meet outside of our regular school hours for clubs like TED-Ed and Fashion Forward to adjust to fit members’ schedules because we are meeting virtually – this would have been impossible before.”
But it is not just students who are seeing the benefits of HTS developing such a robust hybrid model. Grade 3 teacher Karen Lyons says, “As a teacher, I have been able to maintain contact with at-home learners. Gone are the days of missed lessons when someone is absent from school. Lessons can also be recorded and shared and reviewed at a later time. Both remote learners and in-person learners take advantage of this.”
Seasoned teacher and English Department Co-Head Katie Young shares some reflections on her experiences: “Hybrid learning means flexibility and having the ability to provide our learners with what they need when they need it. Whether that means we spend more time on a concept as a whole class, more time in small groups deconstructing ideas and collaborating, or more time for one-on-one conferences, we have the opportunity to do so in this new model. I appreciate involving learners in ways that I had not thought of previously. For example:
• The use of virtual breakout rooms and Google
Chat affords the opportunity for collaboration of ideas that was not always possible in the traditional classroom setting, as my students often work across sections and at their own pace. • Students can curate their work by recording it; this allows me to see their thinking and processes in ways that I have not been able to in the past. • I can also meet virtually with my learners one-onone (privately), and my students can be more honest and seek help in deeper ways, without the same fear
Grade 5 student, Joshua Chou, joining his class from home during synchronous time.
of embarrassment they might have had in the past when sharing for all to hear. • Students have the ability to work more at their own pace, as we often will complete asynchronous activities, affording them time to ask me questions or to work one-on-one when needed.” The connection between and within our community is deeply important in the learning process. Putting the time, resources and dedication into learning and refining this model has helped us achieve this connection that now extends beyond the physical walls. Indicated in the College of DuPage paper, An Introduction to Hybrid Teaching (page 4), when hybrid learning is scaffolded well, “the learning outcomes and academic achievement are stronger with hybrid than for either face-to-face or online teaching alone.”
HYBRID IS HERE TO STAY
The true sign of meaningful innovation is that it permanently alters what was present before its arrival. We know that the worries and protocols of the global pandemic will not always be the driving force that they currently are. However, the HTS Hybrid Learning Model will not fade away once we have seen the other side of this pandemic. This model has helped us create more opportunities for students to truly build the learning experiences that work for them and fit their needs. We have also come to better understand instructional and assessment practices. For example, snow-day disruptions can be a thing of the past. Athletes who miss extended periods due to rigorous training and competition schedules are now only a recording away from their learning. Students on exchange in Europe can now stay connected to their class during their time away. No one knows what additional opportunities await us, but what we do know is that we are ready to support our learners.
As Georgette Marshall, Music Department Head, says, “It is my hope that when life returns to ‘normal,’ we will be able to blend the best parts of the old model and the new model to create a wonderful future for our students.”
College of DuPage, "An Introduction to Hybrid Teaching," https://www.codlearningtech.org/PDF/hybridteachingworkbook.pdf
Heather MacDonald
Head of Lower School In what ways has this global pandemic accelerated the transformation of education in your area?
The global pandemic has changed many aspects of life in the Lower School. We have observed the acceleration of students’ personal development as they are taking on more responsibility, showing more independence and demonstrating selfefficacy skills. Being able to enter the building on their own, walking to their classroom and managing their personal belongings in new ways are all small things that add up to increased student confidence.
Our technology use has always been innovative and intentional, but this year we have reached new heights. To ensure all young learners can access learning and interact with their classmates and teacher, regardless of where they are learning, all our students have the use of an iPad. The ability to navigate the technologies of Google Classroom, Google Meet and breakout rooms, to name just a few, has enabled each student to get the most from our hybrid model of learning in a year unlike one we ever expected.
Cynthia Shi
Mathematics Faculty In what ways has your HTS experience transformed you?
I am grateful for the opportunity to transform professionally as a teacher. What really stands out for me is the incorporation of 21st-century pedagogy and the frequent use of technology at HTS. I have benefited from the abundance of training and the support from the mathematics team, which have helped me engage more deeply with my students as they learn faceto-face and virtually.
