It Is Time to Embrace the Hybrid Education Model

When planning for my first elective course as a lead instructor in late 2019, a global pandemic failed to crack my list of contingency plans. I joined the ranks of educators scrambling to convert all of their content to online-only in a matter a few days (two of my colleagues were given 48 hours).

Fast forward 18 months and we have the opportunity to ‘return to normal.’ Should that be the goal? Is that what students are looking for? The pandemic has shown online education can be successful and offer many advantages lacking from in-person approaches, such as greater access and integrated technology.

Embrace hybrid models

Education does not need to be in-person or virtual. Individual classes do not need to be one or the other. Take the advantages of each model — throw in asynchronous learning — to design a personalized course that best meets the demands of today's world.

Students want flexible, high-quality, cost-effective education. If the price is going up, the value should increase with it. The hybrid model — combining online and in-person education — provides the best avenue to high-value education. Research shows online and in-person learning leads to the same exam and course grades, while online learning provides more flexibility.

But what if hybrid education is not in the strategic plan? What if a university only used online offerings as a pandemic bandaid and plans for a full return to in-person in the fall?

Research provides us insights into the best plan of action.

Where online education falls short

When we switched our orthopedic residency program didactic sessions to exclusively online in June 2020 — we postponed all April and May classes — we experienced every pain point of virtual learning.

The engagement was mediocre at best. There is a slight communication lag causing frequent interruptions and dissuading others from speaking. The distraction of being on a computer is magnified when you are alone as there is no teacher or fellow classmate within arms reach holding you accountable. The connection with the speaker is hindered and the PowerPoint becomes the star of the show.

Residencies (and many college programs) are grueling. Social connection amongst classmates can enhance resilience and ease the burden of the program. That social connection largely requires in-person engagement. Research shows we struggle to build bonds over virtual mediums.

All of these barriers worsen information retainment that compounds over the following weeks as knowledge gaps and disdain for the lectures grow.

There are strategies that can be employed to improve the online experience, but they are all striving for the gold standard: in-person education.

This is what universities should focus on. All of the efforts to improve online learning are driven by comparisons to in-person education. How can online engagement match in-person?

Instead, celebrate the opportunity to return to in-person education.

The on-campus experience cannot be replaced

Education is more than the content delivered, it is an experience. The campus, the people, and the environment provide value. Most people are Zoom-fatigued and ready to interact in person. Don’t limit yourself to the education component either.

I went to Virginia Tech for undergrad. They are in the running for the top campus food annually. My options included London broil, lobster, and gourmet salads, and club sandwiches 6 inches tall.

That was only one of the 11 dining halls.

While food is not directly part of the lectures, it is part of the college education experience, as are other aspects of being on-campus, such as in-person gatherings after class, study halls, gyms, sporting events (including clubs and intramurals), and academic experiences (such as cooking classes and labs).

Online education was prominent prior to COVID-19, yet it remained the inferior choice for most students. A big driver of choosing in-person over online education is the campus experience.

The evolution of my elective

I liked that the class was interactive. It was more like an open forum than a lecture style, which was nice. — Student from my course

The hybrid model can start with online and asynchronous learning, providing adjunct opportunities that enhance in-person education. They can demonstrate the changes and lessons learned over the past 18 months.

When I first rolled out my nutrition elective for the Emory Univesity Doctor of Physical Therapy program in the spring semester of 2020, the intention was to be fully in-person. I would provide a 3-hour lecture every three weeks with two cooking classes sandwiched in between.

We managed to complete a single sandwich before the pandemic struck.

The shift to online forced us to cancel all cooking sessions. I learned through experience the challenges of long online sessions. We made adjustments and layered in asynchronous learning in 2021. The cooking classes were still on hold.

The goal is to return to the cooking classes in 2022 but the course will be different from the original format. I will keep some of the recordings, allowing for students to gather some content on their own time. In-person sessions will focus on discussion rather than strict lectures.

I learned lessons teaching during a pandemic, as did all universities. Returning to in-person education does not require us to abandon those lessons. We can open campuses without closing the home office.