Hybrid Classroom

The principal task before us is therefore to refocus the debate to find a hybrid model which combines powerful technology with powerful teaching.

Impact of the hybrid classroom

For hybridisation to work in education, we need to begin to ask more ambitious questions about what we lose and gain by combining old with new – and the joint impact for different groups of children, for different subjects and different contexts. So far, we know little about these combinations.

In evaluating hybrid learning models, we also mustn’t lose sight of the fact that hybrid models produce hybridised outcomes. Last year’s results from a comparative study by the Hybrid Learning Institute – which aims to balance digital and traditional instruction – found that students in nine out of ten schools using hybrid learning had higher academic performance on standardised tests compared to traditional classrooms.

This is encouraging, but tells us little about the added value of the combination, and what extra skills the students learnt in the process. As the coalition Partnership for 21st-Century Skills advocates, 21st-century classrooms need to support new soft skills such as communication, team work and time management, as well as traditional skills in core subject areas.

Hybrids are, by definition, complex – and it’s clear we can’t reinvigorate children’s education overnight. Technology can jump-start the process but we cannot leapfrog over traditional infrastructure models in schools. The future of our classrooms is bright if we can carefully blend innovation with sound principles of education, rather than let one replace the other.
http://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-the-hybrid-classroom-and-is-it-the-future-of-education-37611