Is hybrid teaching delivering equivalent learning for students in higher education?

Abstract

Hybrid approaches to teaching, where there is a proportion of online (asynchronous or synchronous) teaching as well as face-to-face synchronous teaching, were adopted almost ubiquitously by UK higher education institutions throughout the 2020/2021 academic year amidst disruption caused by national and international Covid-19 restrictions. One example of this was the introduction and use of software such as Microsoft (MS) Teams as a learning tool and platform to continue education provisions. As such, this study reports on the implementation of MS Teams to deliver a foundation year physical science curriculum within a hybrid learning context over the 2020/2021 academic year and within multiple learning contexts. In-built data analytics from MS Teams were used to measure student engagement and activity on the software. Additionally, a questionnaire was used to capture student perspectives of MS Teams and their use as a learning tool. These data show that the like-for-like replacement of face-to-face teaching with an online alternative within this hybrid approach did not produce a clear like-for-like learning environment for students, except in the case of small-group collaborations where students found clear utility for the platform. Significant thought needs to be given to the use of online and hybrid alternatives to traditional face-to-face instruction and, in order to facilitate student learning and engagement effectively, a bottom-up approach to redesign may be required instead of simply substituting teaching tools.