Hybrid Course Design and Instruction

Traditionally, the notion of hybrid—or blended—learning combines face-to-face and online classroom experiences in roughly equal parts. A common example would be having a class that meets twice a week meet once in real life and connect to the course content a second time through an asynchronous online learning experience. Since the vast majority of courses at Columbia College Chicago are taught in a multi-hour block one time a week, hybrid learning experiences have not been a usual course design at our institution.

As a result of the pandemic, hybrid course design is being used in order to both address the need for some face-to-face, hands-on learning opportunities for our students, as well as the social distancing practices necessary to keep our community members—faculty, staff, and students—safe. This webpage presents a number of resources intended to assist faculty in thinking through models for hybrid learning that include face-to-face, as well as synchronous and asynchronous online learning experiences.

First are guidelines created by area coordinators in the English and Creative Writing Department. While there are discipline-specific considerations for all areas, many of the suggestions are applicable across the college. Secondly, we offer a range of course-specific plans collected from individuals across the college earlier this summer. These plans are organized roughly in terms of scheduling format. Again, while there may be content-area differences, many of the ideas and organizational principles translate across disciplines. Finally, we offer a curated, annotated list of online resources intended to help support your thinking through hybrid/blended learning experiences in order to prepare for teaching in the fall.

Guidelines for Hybrid Course Design – English and Creative Writing Department

Models for Hybrid Course Design

Models for alternating F2F and online meetings	Models for various frequency for F2F and online meetings	Models for courses that meet 2x per week
CCCX 215 – Creative Communities: People, Power, and Narratives – The Bronzeville Writers	CINE 381A – Studies in Documentary: The Nature Documentary	DANC 167 - Dance Improvisation
CCCX 215 – Creative Communities: People, Power, and Narrative – Unsettling Chicago	INMD 260 – Intro to IAM Team Development	DANC 315B - Ballet Technique III
ECON 311H – Irrational Economics: Why We Make Bad Decisions	PROG 101 - Introduction to Programming	ENGL 112 - Writing and Rhetoric II
FASH 101 – Intro to the Fashion Industry
ILLU 442 – Freelance Illustration
SIGN 260 – Creativity and ASL
SIGN 310 – Advanced American Sign Language
THEA 304 – Advanced Acting: On-Camera Performance

Hybrid/Blended/Flipped Classes Resources

Help for Transitioning Courses Online

The Shawnee State University’s Teaching and Learning Center site includes resources on hybrid course design, accessibility in online courses, connecting with students and building community, and webinars, including “Employing Equity-Minded & Culturally-Affirming Teaching and Learning Practices in Virtual Learning Communities” and “Responding to Racial Bias and Microaggressions in the Online Environment.”

Blended Learning Toolkit

The Blended Learning Toolkit is a free, open resource for educational institutions created by University of Central Florida to assist with developing and/or expanding blended learning initiatives. The Blended Learning Toolkit offers guidance, examples and other resources to help faculty prepare their own blended learning courses, including illustrations and diagrams that demonstrate the flow between online content and the face-to-face classroom. Also includes Student Success Strategies.

Blended and Online Learning

This site provides access to the Vanderbilt Center for Teaching (CFT) Teaching Guides, with summaries of best practices, links to other online resources, and more. Search topics using the alphabetized topics list or by category: Principles & Frameworks, Pedagogies & Strategies, Reflecting & Assessing, Challenges & Opportunities, and Populations & Contexts. See guides such as “Flipping the Classroom,” “Making Better PowerPoint Presentations,” and “Effective Educational Videos” to design effective hybrid learning experiences.

Flipping the Classroom and Getting Started with Designing a Hybrid Learning Course

Getting Started with Designing a Hybrid Learning Course is a resource from Cornell’s Center for Teaching Innovation, which includes an overview of components in both hybrid and traditional learning and discussions of designing a flipped/hybrid course, creating learning opportunities, activities and assessments, preparing students for hybrid learning and other topics.

Hybrid Learning

This resource created at Oregon State University provides many linked resources, examples and video tutorials that guide faculty in the design, planning and teaching of hybrid courses, while maximizing the benefits of flipped and blended learning. Share or adapt general and Canvas-specific one-page guides supporting student success with students; guides include: Classify Your Course, Time Management with Remote & Online Learning, Elements of a Productive Study Space, Physical Strategies to Support Learning and more.