Hybrid teaching refers to a scenario where teaching takes place at the same time for students who are physically present in the classroom and for students who join the classroom remotely via a web platform such as MS Teams.

Hybrid teaching can seem like an easy approach, but this way of teaching can also have significant challenges, look very different and vary in complexity. There is a lot to consider when exploring whether hybrid teaching is the best approach for you...

The University has outlined its preferred approach for 21/22 on the Teaching, Learning and Assessment: Our Preferred Approach 2021/22 page.

As mentioned previously, colleagues are not encouraged to hybrid teach. However, we recognise that there may be instances where you consider adopting hybrid teaching in response to a specific need, for example to provide students with continued access to teaching and learning that would otherwise be disrupted due to Covid19 restrictions. Hybrid delivery does not require prior approval, however, if you or your department plans to make a substantive, long-term or permanent change to this mode of delivery, it must be logged via the curriculum change log for approval.

Careful consideration should be given before you undertake hybrid teaching. Achieving a good student experience through a hybrid teaching session is not easy and typically requires:

• Multi-tasking by the tutor causing high cognitive load.
• Support to monitor the chat and assist remote students.
• Redesign of sessions to consider both student audiences.
• Additional IT equipment in the classroom (e.g. cameras and mics).
• Strong technical skills and confidence on the part of the tutor, with the ability to resolve issues that may arise during sessions.
• Significant time investment required by the tutor for planning and set-up.

Hybrid teaching is not recommended unless you have existing experience of hybrid delivery or are confident that you will be able to hybrid teach without any additional support. Therefore, you should ask yourself the following:

• What am I trying to achieve – what are my outcomes, how will hybrid teaching ensure that student meet the intended learning outcomes?
• What activities will you include to ensure engagement and interaction?
• Am I prepared for the risk of technical failure? Do I have a backup plan in place?
• Am I prepared, and have the time, to redesign my course and sessions for hybrid delivery?
• Is hybrid delivery a suitable approach given the student cohort and teaching I want to deliver?
• Is this an inclusive approach? Do I have students with accessibility requirements?
• Have I attended training and feel confident I know how to use the technologies necessary for hybrid delivery?
• Am I confident to hybrid teach without any additional support?
• Am I confident to multi-task during a teaching session?
• How will I interact with the in-classroom and hybrid audiences?
• Am I timetabled in a suitable hybrid-teaching space?
• Do I have the necessary equipment to hybrid teach in a teaching space without hybrid facilities?

Technical Failure

The risk of technical failure should not be underestimated. Presenters and participants could suffer a multitude of technical issues during a session, for example, loss of internet connection. If you are planning hybrid delivery you should ensure:

1. You have a back-up plan should technical issues occur (e.g. recording the session or replacing it with a pre-recorded resource).
2. You know what to do and who to contact if you encounter technical issues.
3. Hybrid students know what to do if they encounter technical issues during a session.

Inclusive Practice

Blended and hybrid approaches offer flexibility for all students to attend and engage in learning in a way that suits their needs. However, hybrid teaching may be challenging for some learners and we should be mindful of their needs as we plan and design teaching and learning activities.

Further guidance and advice on inclusive practice can be found in the Creating accessible and inclusive online education section of Teaching for Learning Online.

Further guidance and advice on creating accessible content and activities can be found on the Accessibility Guidance for Authors pages and training sessions delivered by LDCU (Moodle, Word, PowerPoint, PDF, mathematical content and audio and video).

The University has outlined the approach for online and face-to-face activities on the Teaching, Learning and Assessment: Our Preferred Approach 2021/22 pages.

You do not have to pick a single approach to teaching. A mix of online synchronous and asynchronous activities with hybrid sessions can be achieved very successfully where it has been carefully designed.

Asynchronous activities can be used to support and supplement hybrid/in-classroom teaching activities, for example, by covering fundamental concepts in a pre-recorded video so that online synchronous or in-classroom sessions can be spent on discussion, activities with peers and the application of knowledge.

Designing hybrid teaching sessions

Moving to a hybrid mode of delivery requires thought and preparation. if after careful consideration you want to pursue hybrid teaching then planning is everything. You may want to consider the following:

Setting student expectations:

Hybrid teaching and learning will likely be a new experience for you and your students. Therefore, it is important to set student expectations from the outset.

• How will you engage with and interact with your students?
• How will your students interact with each other?
• Share your approach with your students possibly demonstrating how it may work.
• Set expectations, invite contributions and feedback.
• Create a communication plan so students know where updates will be posted, how to contact you and when they can expect a response.
• Share the structure of the course. Be clear about which sessions will be hybrid, online and/or asynchronous.
• Explain that technical issues may arise and instructions for students to follow in those cases.
• Explain what provision there will be for students in different time zones who may not be able to attend during UK hours.
• Explain what mitigations will be put in place for students with disabilities.
• Encourage students to raise any concerns with you as early as possible.

Ahead of the session:

• Explore how group work will happen, will it take place synchronously, asynchronously? Will you mix up groups so those in person engage with those at a distance?
• How will you ensure that the session is interactive and engaging?
• How will you present the material, will you have a clear structure etc.
• How will the hybrid session meet the learning objectives?
• Start small.
• Consider time on task for online and in class activities etc.
• Consider what online learning and in person learning activities you are going to use? What technology will you need?
• Decide on the mechanism and technology that hybrid students will use.
• Understand what facilities are available to you in your teaching space(s).
• Participate in training sessions or book technical training prior to delivery.
• Establish a backup plan in case of technical issues.
• Check whether you have students with accessibility requirements that may be impacted by this mode of delivery.
• Build in time to set-up the AV equipment and Teams at the start of a session.
• Ensure there is time spare in the session to allow for possible disruption and technical issues.
• To reduce multi-tasking, schedule specific time for questions and comments to be reviewed and addressed.
• Decide when and how you will monitor the chat.
• What platform will hybrid participants use to interact or post questions?
• Establish the 'etiquette' of the session.
  
  • How will the in-room and hybrid students interact?
  • When should questions or comments be raised?
  • How will questions and comments be monitored?
  • When will they be addressed?
• Provide students with a detailed description of how teaching will take place and what technologies to use.

During the session:

• Building in time to reflect on and in action.
• Reiterate how teaching will take place and the 'etiquette' for the session.
• Repeat questions and comments aloud for the benefit of the in-room and hybrid audience.
• Provide a space for students to share questions/comments e.g. Teams chat, Padlet or Vevox.

The Audio Visual (AV) Team have worked to enhance the capabilities of on-site, Centrally Timetabled Teaching Rooms (CTTRs) to address the challenges presented by Covid-19 such as capacity issues and hybrid delivery.

Hybrid enabled rooms are limited and technologies differ across the estate. The University is committed to developing our pedagogies and technologies to offer a quality hybrid experience for staff and students.

Thank you to colleagues in AV services for their hard work in delivering these enhancements.

The University has centrally timetabled spaces and some departments maintain their own locally timetabled spaces, each space has different audio visual capabilities. Therefore, you should consult the Audio Visual Room Information pages to check the equipment available to you in your teaching space.

• Centrally Timetabled Room Information
• Locally Timetabled Rooms

For more guidance on how to use hybrid enabled teaching spaces see the Audio Visual guidance.

Given the number of hybrid-enabled rooms, you may find yourself teaching in a room without hybrid capabilities, however, that does not mean you cannot teach using hybrid methods or make your teaching available to audiences who can't be in the room.

There are spaces without inbuilt microphones or video cameras. These spaces are unsuitable for hybrid teaching therefore, it is not recommended.

If you feel like the technology in the room does not meet the standard you require, or would like additional spaces with hybrid functionality, please contact our colleagues in Space Management. Please provide as much detail as possible to aid their response. spacemanagement@warwick.ac.uk

AV Services has a list of Recommended Equipment to support hybrid, distanced or hybrid activities.

Any of the listed USB webcams or microphones can be plugged in to the PCs in Centrally Timetabled Teaching spaces. This is not advised as a default approach.

For 21/22 you will be able to request rooms with Teams-enabled facilities. These spaces are limited and with 3 different options for you to select from Teams - Audio Only, Teams – Tutor Camera and Teams – Tutor/Room Camera, as a suitability of the space you need. To understand the options available to teach to remote audiences, visit the AV Services Campus Room Information and Hybrid teaching at Warwick guidance.

As always with these types of requirements, there are no guarantees we will be able to accommodate your request as we will still need to prioritise matching group sizes to room capacities.

If we are unable to allocate you with the level of MS Teams enabled room you desire, we will allocate you a room with the next best level of MS Teams space. If you are unable to get your preferred level of MS Teams enabled room, then we would strongly advise contacting AV Services for further guidance and consultation. We will also escalate any unmet requests to Space Management so that demand for these spaces and technologies can be measured to inform future developments.

Contact the Timetabling Team via room dot bookings at warwick dot ac dot uk.

Training and support is available for teaching in 21/22 and for hybrid teaching. If you are not sure who to contact, get in touch with LDCU via ldcu at warwick dot ac dot uk and the team will ensure your email reaches the relevant team.