Abstract:

The transition from secondary school to university is often challenging (Gomez et al., 2022). Students entering university in fall 2023 potentially posed more challenges as most of this cohort was strongly affected by COVID-19’s educational impacts (Pownall et al., 2022). This cohort missed significant class time and experienced sudden switches to online learning where teachers and students had little expertise (Namkung et al., 2022).

Realizing that students entering directly from secondary school after COVID-19 had more gaps than previous students, coupled with a desire for flexible learning formats, we assembled a team of experienced educators to design new courses tailored specifically to this demographic using a hyflex approach. These educators adapted courses and learning experiences to meet the needs of these freshmen students enrolled in a Bachelor of Arts in Educational Studies program in Ontario, Canada. We carefully designed hyflex classes where students could attend and participate in the same class either in-person or online. Part of this design involved a dedicated TA to support online students, the flipped classroom model (two hours of asynchronous work and 50 minutes of synchronous class time), and the incorporation of active and collaborative learning activities.

Using an Action Research methodology (Carr, 2007), we created a plan to support these students’ adaptation while maintaining the rigour of university education. As a team, we implemented and reflected on the plan, noting successes and areas where students needed additional support. Sources of data included instructor reflections, anonymous data from course evaluations, and field notes.

Feedback from year-one students was generally positive, but instructors noted a number of opportunities for improvement. Key recommendations include explicit instructions for online course components, the use of cognitive maps (Peacock & Cowan, 2017) for independent way-finding and agency-building, and intentional scaffolding to support the development of students' self-regulation in the online learning process (Zimmerman & Moylan, 2009). These items may better support students whose secondary education was impacted by COVID-19. Other recommendations include adapting how “hyflex” is offered. For example, instead of offering the online and in-person sessions concurrently (where both teacher and student attention can become fractured), the sessions could be offered consecutively in different modes – one class might be offered first in-person and then immediately after, online (with the potential for students to move between the two). In addition, explicit instruction on the flipped classroom approach, coupled with embedded accountability is critical for student engagement and learning. Finally, reducing the amount of content covered in first-year courses is necessary so that students can focus on the development of foundational knowledge and skills. Our findings and recommendations will be discussed in detail during the session.

Keywords:

Hyflex, technology, education, post-secondary, university, first-year students.