The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on universities, with many courses being delivered entirely online. As countries begin to bring the pandemic under control, there is a potential way to safely resume some face-to-face teaching through the use of synchronous hybrid classrooms, where both physically and remotely attending students are taught simultaneously. However, this approach comes with challenges, including the risk that remotely attending students may feel disconnected from their physical peers. In response to this challenge, Christopher M. Poskitt, Kyong Jin Shim, Yi Meng Lau and Hong Seng Ong describe in their experience report how they adapted an interactive programming course for hybrid delivery in a way that mitigated this risk. Their solution centred on using Slack as a professional communication platform to equalise participation opportunities and facilitate peer learning between physically present and remote students. Additionally, they implemented a semi-flipped classroom approach to mitigate "Zoom fatigue," covering concepts in videos and using shorter lessons for consolidation. The authors critically reflect on the results of a student survey and their own experiences implementing the solution. This report was accepted by the 34th Conference on Software Engineering Education and Training (CSEE&T 2022), which was held as part of the 55th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS 2022). Their findings provide valuable insights into how educators can adapt their teaching methods for hybrid delivery models while ensuring all students have equal opportunities for engagement and learning.
- COVID-19 pandemic has impacted universities, leading to online course delivery
- Synchronous hybrid classrooms can allow for safe resumption of face-to-face teaching
- Challenges include potential disconnection between physically and remotely attending students
- Authors Christopher M. Poskitt, Kyong Jin Shim, Yi Meng Lau, and Hong Seng Ong adapted an interactive programming course for hybrid delivery to mitigate this risk
- Solution involved using Slack as a professional communication platform to equalize participation opportunities and facilitate peer learning between physically present and remote students
- Semi-flipped classroom approach was implemented to mitigate "Zoom fatigue"
- Results of a student survey and authors' experiences implementing the solution were critically reflected on
- Report was accepted by the 34th Conference on Software Engineering Education and Training (CSEE&T 2022) held as part of the 55th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS 2022)
- Findings provide valuable insights into how educators can adapt their teaching methods for hybrid delivery models while ensuring all students have equal opportunities for engagement and learning.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, universities had to teach classes online. But now, some teachers are using a mix of online and in-person teaching called "synchronous hybrid classrooms." This can be safer than just having everyone in class together. But it can also be hard for students who are not there in person to feel included. Some teachers made a new way of teaching that uses an app called Slack to help everyone feel more involved. They also changed how they taught the class so that students wouldn't get too tired of being on video calls all the time. The teachers asked the students what they thought about this new way of learning and wrote about it in a report that was accepted at a big conference for people who study software engineering education. This report can help other teachers learn how to teach their classes in new ways that work well for everyone.
Definitions
- Pandemic: a disease that spreads across many countries and affects many people
- Online course delivery: taking classes over the internet instead of going to school
- Synchronous hybrid classrooms: a mix of online and in-person teaching where everyone is learning at the same time
- Disconnection: feeling like you're not part of something or not connected with others
- Slack: an app used for communication between groups or teams
Adapting Interactive Programming Courses for Hybrid Delivery: A Reflection on the Experience of Christopher M. Poskitt, Kyong Jin Shim, Yi Meng Lau and Hong Seng Ong
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on universities across the world, with many courses being delivered entirely online. As countries begin to bring the pandemic under control, there is potential to safely resume some face-to-face teaching through synchronous hybrid classrooms. In such classrooms, both physically and remotely attending students are taught simultaneously. However, this approach comes with challenges; one of which is that remotely attending students may feel disconnected from their physical peers. To address this challenge, Christopher M. Poskitt et al., have adapted an interactive programming course for hybrid delivery in a way that mitigates this risk. Their solution was accepted by the 34th Conference on Software Engineering Education and Training (CSEE&T 2022) as part of the 55th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS 2022). In this article we will discuss their findings and provide valuable insights into how educators can adapt their teaching methods for hybrid delivery models while ensuring all students have equal opportunities for engagement and learning.
Solution Overview
Poskitt et al.'s solution centred around using Slack as a professional communication platform to equalise participation opportunities between physically present and remote students as well as facilitate peer learning between them. Additionally they implemented a semi-flipped classroom approach to mitigate "Zoom fatigue," covering concepts in videos before class time and using shorter lessons during class time for consolidation activities such as group work or discussions about topics covered in videos prior to class time.
Results & Reflections
The authors critically reflect on the results of a student survey conducted at the end of their course which showed that most respondents felt comfortable participating in class regardless if they were physically present or not due to features like chat rooms within Slack where everyone could participate equally without interruption from physical peers dominating conversations or having access to better resources than those who were remote participants only. The authors also reflected positively upon implementing shorter classes due to Zoom fatigue being reduced significantly compared with traditional lecture style classes which lasted longer than two hours at times when done online due to technical difficulties experienced by some participants when attempting tasks together over video calls like screen sharing etc.. Overall it appears that these changes made by Poskitt et al., successfully addressed issues associated with delivering interactive programming courses via hybrid delivery models while still providing all participants with equal opportunities for engagement and learning despite any differences in location or resources available between them.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Christopher M Poskitt et al's experience report provides valuable insights into how educators can adapt their teaching methods for hybrid delivery models while ensuring all students have equal opportunities for engagement and learning despite any differences in location or resources available between them . By using Slack as a professional communication platform , implementing shorter classes ,and creating an environment where everyone could participate equally without interruption from physical peers dominating conversations or having access to better resources than those who were remote participants only ,the authors successfully addressed issues associated with delivering interactive programming courses via hybrid delivery models .
