Hybrid And Blended Learning In Higher Education

What Is Hybrid Learning?
Hybrid learning is when conventional face-to-face teaching is combined with offline or distance learning approaches, like experiential learning and remote course delivery. The aim is to use the right combination of learning strategies to efficiently teach content while still meeting students’ learning needs. The additional learning strategies are intended to supplement rather than replace conventional face-to-face training. If a class meets two days per week, for example, a hybrid learning teacher can schedule one day for an in-class lecture and the other for a hands-on lab or online assignment.

Here are some examples of hybrid learning tools:

Video conferencing
Learning management systems
Online tasks
Online discussion boards
Pre-recorded video training
What Is Blended Learning?
Blended learning combines offline and online learning. Blended learning, unlike hybrid learning, uses online teaching to supplement rather than replace conventional face-to-face instruction. In blended learning, students engage online to complete assignments, ask questions, connect with other students, and remotely communicate with their teachers. Using the example above, a blended learning teacher can schedule face-to-face training on both days and delegate students to write an online forum post outside class time.

Hybrid Versus Blended Learning
While hybrid and blended learning are often used interchangeably, there is a distinction between the two. Blended learning focuses primarily on combining distance learning with standard teaching, while hybrid learning focuses on using any available learning methodology to better teach the material, whether online or offline. Another distinction is that blended learning emphasizes an equal mix of distance learning and conventional instruction, while hybrid learning emphasizes online or non-traditional instruction.

Hybrid And Blended Learning Benefits
Though hybrid and blended learning slightly vary, both use a combination of in-person and online learning to address the demands of busy students. The opportunity to personalize instruction to fulfill the individual needs of each student is the strength of these learning formats. As a result, both hybrid and mixed learning models could be especially well-suited to adults who choose to return to college to complete their degrees.

Here are 5 benefits that these teaching styles incorporate:

1. Students Get The Convenience Of Online Learning Combined With The Regularity Of In-Class Sessions
Especially for working students, these learning formats enable them to study at their own speed, at least to some degree. The more complex or hands-on subjects can be discussed in a conventional classroom environment, while other subject matter can be encouraged digitally through blended and hybrid models.

2. Some Students Perform Better With Hybrid Learning
Students are concerned about balancing their busy lives with studies in a way that allows them to succeed in college, but in some cases, blended learning models may actually boost students’ performance. According to recent studies, blended and hybrid learning can potentially help students improve their grades.

Although students in online classes did marginally better than those in face-to-face courses, students in blended learning programs ultimately outperformed all others, according to another survey by the US Department of Education. The reason for this is that delivering things in a variety of ways helps people remember what they’ve learned. Also, by incorporating technologies into learning models, students are more likely to be engaged and centered.

3. Students Get To Interact With Professors And Classmates Face-To-Face
It’s often easier to make in-person contacts than to network successfully online. Face-to-face course components allow students to interact with their professors or peers during classes or ask questions, which can be extremely useful when students are in a hurry to finish an assignment or take an exam.

4. Students Have Ownership Over Their Own Learning
Increased student autonomy is another advantage in mixed and integrated learning models. The combination of conventional classes with flexible, online learning will truly inspire students to set their own goals, chart their progress, and figure out their own opportunities. Many of these abilities are transferrable to the workplace.