Lance Eaton presented on implementing hybrid flexible pedagogy to engage student choice and meet course objectives. Hybrid flexible pedagogy involves designing courses that mix face-to-face and online learning, and allow students to choose their learning format, content, and assessments within guidelines. Eaton discussed how he redesigned his American literature course using this approach after facing issues like class cancellations and student absences. He provided examples of how he structured assignments, content, and activities to give students choice and addressed lessons learned like taking time to build the new design and using instructional design support.

1. Lance Eaton
Instructional Designer
Brandeis University
leaton01@brandeis.edu
@leaton01
http://www.ByAnyOtherNerd.com
Choosing Wisely & Widely:
Implementing Hybrid Flexible Pedagogy to
Engage Student Choice, Meet Course
Objectives, & Avoid Class Cancellations
Presentation Resources-
https://goo.gl/iackYq

2. How many of you have:
• Cancelled a class because of weather/personal issue?
• Had students need to miss a class?
• Jettisoned important material because of loss of time?
• Acknowledged the learning content is dull?
• Felt students were unprepared for your online course?
• Felt student(s) had too many artificial barriers (not of their making)
in their way?
Some Questions
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3. Introduction
• 11 years teaching at community college
• Graduate of a community college
• Instructional designer at a community college (5 years)
• Doctoral student – UMASS Boston
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4. Outline for this workshop
• How I Got to Hybrid Flexible
• The Students
• What I Did With Hybrid Flexible Pedagogy
• Breaking down hybrid flexible pedagogy
– Assignments
– Content
– Format & Activities
• Lessons Learn
• Other choice strategies
• Where to go from here
• Questions
• The Answer to Life, The Universe, & Everything
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5. Conversation Starter
Source: Imgur
Presentation Resources-
https://goo.gl/iackYq

6. How I Got Here
• Students
– Independent
– Attentive
– Territorial
– Agreeable
– Aloof
– Hyper-focused
– Irritable
– Curious
• Technology
– Embracing Asynchronicity
• Frustration with traditional artificial barriers
– Personal disclosure: I hate desks. Presentation Resources-

7. The Students
The Student Whose
Had Fuel Added to
Her (Crisis) Fire
The Student Who Could
Either Learn or Work
The Student Who Wasn't
Ready for Online
How many of us have had one or more of these students?
How did you resolve these challenges?
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8. Source: Ryan Tyler Smithright Source: Beverly & Pack Source: Alberto G.

9. Hybrid Flexible Pedagogy
A course designed to empower students to determine where
and how they learn best. Hybrid means mixing face to face
(F2F) with online learning. Flexible means students choose
their learning format (online vs. F2F), their content, and their
assessments within reasonable limits.
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10. How the Course Works
Useless
Aside: This
format looks
like a pizza.
CLASS ENDS
Path 3: Self-
Selected Hybrid
Face-to-Face
Lecture
Discussion &
activities
Blog
Online
Video lectures
Online Discussion
Blog
START
CLASS
HERE
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11. Assignments
Progression of Hybrid Flexible Design
Content Format
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12. Assignments
• Let students blend their strengths with your expectations
• It’s all about the objectives/outcomes
• Good objectives/outcomes create good options
Source: Buzzfeed Presentation Resources-

13. Assignments – My Course Outcome
A. Identify the historical origins of the United States’ diverse cultural &
intellectual traditions from the Civil War to the end of the 20th
Century.
B. Connect the influence of historical, cultural, and intellectual
traditions upon on another as they relate to American Literature from
the Civil War to the end of the 20 th Century.
C. Communicate clearly the student's own and others' close readings
of American literature.
D. Analyze types of literature (e.g. speeches, essays, poetry, fiction,
treatises) for subtext, symbols, and patterns relating to American
identity and culture.
Presentation Resources-

14. Activities – My Assignment Outcomes
Research Assignment
1. Researching at the college level. (A, B, D)
2. Constructing a complex argument using relevant information and
evidence. (A, B, C, D)
3. Writing or speaking to adult audiences. (C)
4. Critically engaging with a field’s intellectual traditions and
expectations. (A, B, D)
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15. Activities – Research Assignment
1. Article Analysis
2. Context Research Essay
3. Author Research Presentation
4. Author Research Essay
5. Story Research Presentation
6. Story Research Writing
7. Pitch Your Own
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16. Activities - Group Activity
1. Identify a particular learning outcome/objective in a given course.
2. Come up with 5 different ways to assess that outcome.
3. Share with another person. See if they can come up with 2
more.
4. Add to Google Document
https://goo.gl/zdyb9p
5. Share the objective; tell us at least 2 new ways you’ve thought
about assessing this. Presentation Resources-

17. Activities – Tools
1. A good set of guidelines with specifications for each assignment.
2. Learning management system or other relevant tools for hosting
assignments.
3. 2-3 deadlines
1. Identify assignment
2. Rough draft
3. Final draft
4. Rubrics
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18. Content & Choice
Is there really only 1 piece of content that can help my students achieve the objective?
• No.
Where are places where I might find great content for my objectives?
• Internal resources (Library, department resources)
• Disciplinary resources
• Open Educational Resources
• Online resources
What forms & media formats might be conducive for my students’ learning?
• Textual (books, websites, journal articles, etc)
• Comic
• Audio (podcasts, audiobooks)
• Video (documentaries, YouTube channels, archival video, instructional series, TED Talks)
• Interactive platform (simulations, video games, augmented reality programs)

19. Content – American Literature 1
1. Restructured literature to genres (first person accounts, essays & tracts,
fiction, & poetry) and centuries (16th – 19th centuries)
2. 1 Required Reading
3. 2-4 self-selected readings
4. Identified readings at least 1 week before
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20. Content – Activity
1. Identify a course topic.
2. Identify content used to convey the topic.
3. Identify at least 5 other resources you could use for that same topic.
(Yes, you can use the internet)
4. With partner, decide which one is the more challenging topic.
5. Together, try to find a total of 8 items (including the original 5).
Bonus challenge: Find at least 3 different formats
6. Add to Activity 2 Google Document https://goo.gl/6VMaAC
7. Take a break.
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21. Content – Tools
• Content Tracker
https://goo.gl/CcKPyC
• OER Commons
https://www.oercommons.org/
• OpenStax
https://openstax.org/
• YouTube
http://www.YouTube.com
• Internet Archive
http://www.archive.org
• Merlot
https://www.merlot.org/merlot/index.htm
• Library databases
• Discipline-related resources
• College Websites/Resources
• Government websites & databases
• Edited Open Content

22. Format – Face-to-Face/Online
• Both/And, not Either/Or
• We can achieve much in both arenas
• Instructor as connector
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23. • Attendance 1st class mandatory
• Week prior: students fill out form for attendance/readings
• If attending one F2F class; split the difference with activities
• One space where all students meet (the blog)
• Class discussions informed F2F & vice versa
Format – My course
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24. Format – Activity
• Identify all the different activities that you typically do in a course.
• For each activity, determine at least 2 ways you might try to recreate
them in an online environment (if you can find more than 2, great).
• Add them to the form.
https://goo.gl/deCtSk
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25. Format – The Tools
• Learning management system
• Mini-lecture recording tool (Screencast-O-Matic)
• Platform for videos (YouTube)
• Attendance management tool (Google Form)
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26. Format – The Challenges
• Takes time to build.
• It takes a lot to envision
• Explaining without overwhelming.
• Getting everyone on the same rung.
• It can be overwhelming to plan and execute.
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27. Presentation Resources-

28. Format – The Benefits
• No class cancelations
• More engaged classrooms
• Opportunities for closer connections
• More creative activities
• Opportunities to expand without losing other things
• Unseen departures and redemptions
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29. Advice/Lessons Learned - Designing
• Tackle the process slowly.
• Use your instructional designers & communities of practice.
• Find the right tools for you.
• OER Is Your Best Friend
• Make sure you are accessible.
• Have 1 or more spot-checkers.
• Embrace the fear.
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30. Advice/Lessons Learned - Teaching
• Prime the students (flyers/emails)
• Face to Face 1st class.
• Quiz to go online.
• Return to class policy.
• Own mistakes & hiccups.
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31. QUESTIONS & OPEN DISCUSSION

32. Where to Go From Here
• Folder Resources
https://goo.gl/iackYq
• Content Tracker Template
https://goo.gl/NdGLNx
• Flexible Hybrid Course Map
https://goo.gl/6ZeTx3

33. THANK YOU!
Lance Eaton
Instructional Designer
Brandeis University
leaton01@brandeis.edu
@leaton01
http://www.ByAnyOtherNerd.com
Presentation Resources-
https://goo.gl/iackYq