In my earlier post, I mentioned Hybrid Teaching and Learning as the future of education.
In today’s post, I will address the student in our learner community and highlight a few pointers on how to best use this pedagogical tool.
When you dissect the classroom proceedings in the present, in-class format, you will observe that there is one-way communication between the faculty and students, and at other times there is two-way communication. Two-way communication is also between the student participants in the class when the faculty moderates this discussion. You will observe this during a case study discussion. The idea is that in higher education, there has to be a distinctively collaborative approach while solving a business problem. The critical thinking part is when the concepts taught are brought into application. One-way communication is when the faculty describes the subject matter, and the student’s only role is to understand the idea and make copious notes. While making copious notes, a few points get missed, and then you reach out to your neighbor to fill in these contents.
The students also experience that the faculty is either too fast or too slow. Further, at various times during the lecture, physical tiredness or class distractions impact the understanding of concepts. A question raised by fellow students further confuses others when the question raised is out of context. We strongly recommend that this part of the discussion or lecture be delivered as online video content or in asynchronous mode. The video content has multiple advantages: the flow of content is smooth, pausing the video at any time is possible, and revisiting the problematic content is feasible. As the student is studying alone without distractions, learning at his own pace and in the comfort of his residence, the learning is maximal. The student can consult books or access online resources at various points to clarify doubts while listening to the video narrative. Further, he can make his notes by pausing the video at any time. The concepts learned are applied, and the queries are addressed in the immediate live session.
Although very effective, the role of students in making this a success is vital.
How should the student get the best out of this hybrid teaching pedagogical initiative?
Well, a few points worth considering are as under,
- The success of this pedagogical tool depends mainly on the student completing the requirements of watching the video and answering the quizzes that follow the video. It is like a case study pre-read, a must to participate in a class discussion. Not reading the case study or reading it at the last minute will seldom be effective in a discussion. So, the student’s best interests get served when they complete their part of the requirement.
- The always-available video content does not mean that the student should not make his notes. Most times, we find students lazy in preparing or writing notes if the same is available readily in the form of video content. However, it is proven that paraphrasing the contents in your own words or making your notes will render the concepts easy to understand. Sometime later, when you want to revise the chapter, referring to your notes rather than the video content would be most beneficial. The video content should serve as a backup during the revision phase.
- The notes should be carried to the in-class session and during the application discussions constantly referred. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to review the video content in the in-class session; thus, queries or doubts miss out.
- After the in-class session, the students should make supporting notes and list their observations of applying the concepts to business situations.
- After the in-class session, a peer group discussion on the concept, applications, and methodology is best suited to understand the concept fully. In such peer group discussions, specific dimensions hitherto not thought off come up, or someone facing difficulty gets help, enhancing learning. There cannot be a better pedagogical tool than peer learning or collaborative learning.
Finally, I would want to add that taking charge of the process would be in the best interests of students and help them gain knowledge and enhance their skills in applying this knowledge. Higher education is all about the application of concepts learned.
