A Graduate Course in HyFlex Mode: Experiences and Recommendations

Abstract Book of the 8th International Conference on Innovative Research in Education

Year: 2025

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A Graduate Course in HyFlex Mode: Experiences and Recommendations

Zuochen Zhang

ABSTRACT:

A Hybrid-Flexible (HyFlex) class is similar to a hybrid (or blended) class that has both online and in-class components, but in addition allows students to choose their participation mode: online or in person. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, like what happened in many institutions around the globe, courses at the University of Windsor, Canada had to be delivered in the online mode, which was a solution for the special situation. However, for some students, they felt their learning was compromised if they took all the courses online. To meet the learning needs of students, the university decided to offer some courses via the HyFlex mode in lecture halls that would allow in-class students to keep the two-meter physical distance required by the health guidelines. A few lecture halls on campus were dedicated to the HyFlex courses, including undergraduate and graduate courses in various disciplines. This paper reports a Master of Education course titled “ICT for teaching and learning” that was offered in the fall semester of 2021. The author was the instructor of the course which had fourteen students who were participating from Canada, China, India, and USA. Four students were located locally, who could choose to participate in person or online while the rest could only participate online. Based on inputs from students in the formative and summative evaluations, and the author’s experience and observations, this paper intends to share challenges experienced and strategies employed in the HyFlex course, and offer recommendations for stakeholders in similar contexts.

Keywords: challenges, flexibility, learning needs, participation, strategies