Life once was easy. I taught my usual 3 classes, did research. But then one day I said, you know, it really bugs me that we don’t have a Sustainability degree here. 5 years later (and a new Sustainability degree) I thought, you know, it is silly that OSU, as a major environmental science research mecca, does not have an introductory Environmental Science and Sustainability class. 2 years later I think… you know, that class isn’t really open to everyone because it will only be scheduled once a term and if a class conflicts, the student can’t take it. And besides, if there is a 100 person limit, how much interaction will there be in the large lecture anyhow? The personal interaction will all be in the smaller group labs and recitations! Why not make the ‘sage on the stage’ part digital, and keep the interactions to smaller groups? And that is the history of why I want to make my 100-person Sustainability SUS/SOIL 102 into a hybrid class.
I think that this sort of lab/recitation class really lends itself to a hybrid format. Everyone should try it 🙂 as long as they aren’t as easily overwhelmed by glitzy computer technology as I am. Since discussion and hands-on activities are all handled in a small-group 3 hour sessions anyhow, why not put the background learning content on the web, so that students can learn and incorporate material at their own speed? Some students learn science in 2 seconds, will take the Blackboard quizzes, analyze the data presented, write what they need to write, and be done 20 minutes later. Others might need to really ponder the concepts, Google and Wikipedia half the vocabulary, and fret over data analysis and synthesis for a lot longer. Why not from the comfort of their own dorm rooms, or more likely, the local coffee house?
The tricky part might be in how lost students might get — what if they really need a lot of help with content in the book or with lecture material? Then again, in a 100 person class, they don’t get help during the lecture part.
My principal concern is over student motivation. I set the points for Blackboard activities high, and getting through each week’s activities requires reading all the material assigned, watching TED talks, doing online work. The points for midterms and finals are set relatively low, so that the weekly activities were good carrots. They get points SUBTRACTED from their grade (a lot) if they don’t come to the lab/recitation, besides not getting the points for the lab, so there is a lot of playing Big Brother for these young non-science major freshmen, likely in their first college science class. Is there a better way to play Big Brother and ‘encourage’ them to keep up to date and be more self-motivated than they ever had to be in high school? More carrots, more sticks?
