HyFlex course design: outcomes, challenges, and supports for students and instructors

Abstract

Since it was first developed in 2006, the hybrid flexible, or HyFlex, course model has been growing in prevalence in higher education. HyFlex courses are defined as those allowing students to decide whether to experience course material in person, online synchronously, or asynchronously on a weekly or daily basis without warning to, or permission from, the course’s instructor. Empirical research regarding this instructional approach is still relatively limited despite increased attention during and following the COVID-19 pandemic. Increasing interest in providing alternatives to fully in-person instruction has made it necessary to closely examine the existing body of research to determine the effectiveness of HyFlex instruction, challenges that it presents, strategies used to meet these challenges, and gaps in knowledge that must be filled by future studies. This systematic review analyzed 57 empirical studies focusing on the HyFlex course model during the last 10 years to determine its learning outcomes, challenges, beneficial technologies, instructional strategies and supports, and recommendations for future mitigation efforts.