Universities worldwide are experimenting with different methods of course design and content delivery. MOOCs, or Massive Open Online Courses, are much in the news. And so is the less-radical approach of hybrid classroom formats—a mix of traditional face-to-face, in-the-seat class time and required online learning, divided roughly 50-50. “Think evolution rather than revolution,” says Myung-Soo Lee, interim dean of the Zicklin School of Business, which is in the sixth year of its Hybrid and Online Teaching initiative called HOT Zicklin. “HOT places the Zicklin School clearly among institutions committed to exploring the intersection of technology and pedagogy,” says Lee.
[pullquote sid=”pullquote-hybrid-1369324681″ type=”2″]The goal of hybrid courses is to join the best features of in-class teaching with the best of online learning to promote active, independent study and reduce class seat time. [/pullquote]Because hybrid classes require physical space less often, their schedules open in-demand classrooms, enabling a university to offer more course sections to more students and generate more revenue, much needed in these times of dwindling resources. Students and faculty benefit from the flexibility as well.
But are hybrid courses as effective? Seeking to provide empirical data addressing that key question are Baruch Economics Professors Ted Joyce and Sean Crockett, who plan to conduct a field study among students in ECO 1001 this fall. With four course sections and 700 to 800 students enrolled, it will be the largest randomized field study of its kind to date.
The results of Joyce and Crockett’s study could support Baruch’s implementation of hybrid online courses within the core curriculum but also have the potential to shape the direction of online education nationwide.
—Diane Harrigan