Hybrid Course Gallery

Human Nutrition (FON 100, 241)
Maureen Zimmerman (Mesa Community College)
zimmerman@mail.mc.maricopa.edu

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What is your discipline and the title of your course?

Human Nutrition. I offered FON 241, Principle of Human Nutrition and FON 100, Introductory Nutrition as hybrid courses in the fall of 2001.

What makes your course a hybrid?

According to my research, hybrid courses:

Move a significant part of the coursework online
Reduce the amount of time spent in a physical classroom setting
Join the best features of in-class teaching with the best features of online learning
Promote active independent learning.

What kind of activities do students do in out of class time?

I wanted to get the information material to the students prior to class and let the students do the learning ahead of time. They were required to read content material, write a Reading Log for each chapter or lesson, work through the required portions of the CD-ROM, read the Internet assignment, do the chapter/lesson assignmentsÑall to prepare for class time.

Where do your students do their out of work activities?

Most of them did their outside work at home or at the library; some used the departmental computer lab on Open Lab days, so that they would have access to me, the instructor.

What was the reason for offering your course as a hybrid?

As a result of teaching online for many years, and doing research about online studentsÕ persistence and attrition, I discovered some students just do not have the self-regulatory skills necessary to succeed in online course (e.g, help-seeking behavior, time-management, questioning, using feedback, comprehension monitoring, etc.). However, these skills can be taught and learned, so I decided to teach students how to become successful in the online milieu via the hybrid option.

How many scheduled f2f meetings are there and how are they scheduled?

These were all MWF classes. We met in person every W and F. Then, on Mondays, I held Open Lab in our Department Computer lab. I was there during that time for students. Towards the end of the semester, we met every MWF.

What technologies support your hybrid?

Internet, CD-ROM, PowerPoint

What worked? What did not?

Well, to start with students did not know these were hybrid courses, even though there was a note in the course schedule. Of the 60 students taking the courses in three different sections, only 3 knew that these courses were hybrid format. So, that was the first big problem. However, students were still game to try it after I explained the format. At mid-semester I conducted a formative evaluation and discovered that students who registered for these three sections really wanted the face-to-face format, although, almost all of them identified some technology or self-regulatory skill that they acquired because of the hybrid format.

What would you do over/different?

1) Everett Rogers Theory of Diffusion of Innovation explains how innovations enter and spread in an institution. Critical to this process is the way early adopters are handled. Innovations of this kind require buy in from more than just the department chair; support is needed higher up, as well. When innovations are viewed as suspect, the process is compromised. Institutional policies should reward early adopters and provide incentives for additional diffusion activities. Critical mass is achieved through the efforts of early adopters of the innovation and their interaction with peers who eventually come to evaluate the innovation as something worth attempting. Further, the norms of the social system need to be favorable to an innovationÑand thus provide incentives for adoption. If Maricopa had a model for innovation adoption, these efforts might be more successful and cause less frustration for early adopters.

2) Innovations also need to be part of the total system. For example, students need to know which courses are hybrid courses. I went to advising and asked them how we could be sure that students would know they were registering for hybrid courses, and they told me how to solve the problem. We are trying it this semester.

How were you supported?

I received no development time, no compensation, etc.; however, I did not ask for any either.

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