University classes go hybrid
Last month, anthropology professor Ari Gandsman did a dry run of an entirely new kind of class in an empty lecture hall at the University of Ottawa.
About 200 students have signed up to take Gandsman's introduction to anthropology course. On Thursday, when the class goes live, half will attend the class in person and the other half online.
In theory, “bimodal learning” will allow online students to ask questions of their instructor and exchange ideas with classmates in real time via microphones and monitors in the classroom.
The university says bimodal learning offers a flexible way for students to learn and a chance to interact. As universities head into a second year of pandemic learning, it's a way for at least some students to have a shot at in-person learning.
Gandsman has no idea how his bimodal class will work out.
“I think I did the right thing. But it's unclear how it's going to work,” he said. “It feels very improvised and almost experimental.”
Julie Laplante, a professor of medical anthropology, signed up to teach a bimodal seminar class of five PhD students. Only one will be in Ottawa, with the others participating from Turkey, Haiti, Brazil and France. She volunteered for bimodal teaching in the hopes that the four international students, who are still waiting to come to Canada, will eventually be able to attend in person.
“Last year, a lot of international students made it to Ottawa, but had no chance of meeting anyone,” she said. “If there was even a possibility of being in-person this year, I wanted to try.”
But Laplante also has reservations about the technological limitations, including the ability of students to hear what she's saying — instructors may be behind a Plexiglas window or required to wear a mask — as well as the challenges of having to divide her attention between two sets of students.
“You have to be a bit of an acrobat,” she said.
Gandsman decided to volunteer because he feels in-person classes are the most rewarding experience for both the students and himself.
Although some students have embraced virtual learning during the pandemic, others find it difficult to keep up, he said. Attendance drops off, and if students miss assignments, there is a “snowball effect.”
In Gandsman's large introductory courses, the number of students who did not complete the course was far higher last year than anything he's seen before.
“I've never seen students struggle as much as they did in the last year,” he said. “Something about the in-person experience helps performance.”
He also has reservations. There were training sessions on bimodal learning last month, but they only demonstrated the technology and didn't touch on the teaching strategies, he said.
Armaan Singh Kheppar, a thirdyear political science student at the University of Ottawa, will be taking a bimodal course this fall.
“Students want a little more normalcy in their academic careers. Personally, I'm eager to return to campus. I like having structure in my learning,” Kheppar said, noting he has been assured that he can join the online portion of the class if the fourth wave of COVID -19 becomes a concern.
But Kheppar is also the advocacy commissioner at the University of Ottawa Students' Union, and said he was disappointed in the lack of consultation with instructors and students.
For tenured professors, like Gandsman and Laplante, offering a bimodal class is an option. Parttime instructors didn't have the choice of giving it a pass — and they have had little time to prepare, said Susan Spronk, president of the Association of Professors at the U of O.
Carleton University calls this platform “hybrid flexible,” also known as “HyFlex,” and offers it as an option for instructors of classes of up to 60 students.
In the U.S., where HyFlex has been used in some institutions for more than five years, it has been perceived as a way to meet enrolment demands without having to build more space, while creating a flexible schedule for students who are working or living elsewhere.
A group of instructors at community colleges in Louisiana noted that the courses take time to develop and revise. But students reported that they liked the option and didn't feel as “abandoned” as they did with other online courses.
Some fear that the pandemic will become an opportunity to implement a money-saving model that will become a permanent part of the academic landscape. As of July, unions at the U of O were aware of at least 440 bimodal courses being taught in the fall term and another 535 were planned in the winter semester, Spronk said.
Meanwhile, with classes starting Tuesday, campuses are gearing up to respond to another curveball. A letter from the province to the presidents of colleges and universities on Aug. 31 said amendments have been made to remove physical distancing and capacity-limit requirements for indoor instructional spaces such as classrooms and labs.
Shelley Tapp, the deputy minister of colleges and universities, acknowledged that the changes “may not fully align with your planning assumptions” and some institutions “may still have to amend plans for the fall with limited time until instructional and other campus activities resume.”
What it means for in-person classes is unclear, but faculty associations are alarmed the rules are being relaxed, said Sue Wurtele, president of the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations.
“The government promised we would have this direction in early August. It's really late in the day to be changing things.”