GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Post-Pandemic Lessons
SCUP North Central, October 2021

 

Learning Styles

Active learning:
Students participate or interact in the instructional process through relevant activities and discussion such as hands-on exercises, group problems, peer instruction, and games and challenges. The process of active learning activates divergent thinking, which helps students think less in terms of individual concepts and more in terms of big picture. Key skills that develop through the process of active learning are analysis, evaluation, public speaking, and collaboration. By activating students’ brains in different ways, active learning can help them process, learn, and remember information.

Passive Learning:
Holds the student responsible for absorbing the presented information in their own ways, accountable for paying attention, asking questions, and performing well on tests. The information may be presented in the form of lectures or assigned readings. Passive learning promotes defining, describing, listening, and writing skills. This process initiates convergent thinking, where a given question typically has only one right answer.

 

Core Modes of Instructional Interaction

In-Person:
Includes any form of instructional interaction that occurs in the flesh and in real time between teachers and students or among colleagues and peers.

Remote:
Fully distanced approach in which students learn from home, both online and offline. Can be asynchronous or synchronous (the latter typically via video conferencing). Remote is ideal for accommodating distance learning, especially by students who may live far away, possibly in a different time zone.

 

Composite Modes of Instructional Interaction

(varying degrees of in-person and remote)

Blended:
All class time remains face-to-face / in-person, with online instruction complementing but not replacing or repeating it. Online materials are meant to supplement and build on content discussed in the classroom and can be accessed on the student’s own time, as many times as necessary. Widespread use of Canvas means lots of people are already teaching blended courses.

Hybrid:
Some class time is in-person, and some (often much) is online, with online replacing some of the face-to-face instruction. All students follow the same combination of online and in-person learning. Online interactions can be synchronous or asynchronous. Hybrid is ideal to help accommodate students with a commute or those working part-time, as they have fewer in-person classes. At the same time, having some face-to-face helps to support the sense of community.

Trimodal:
The instructor engages in three things simultaneously: teaching students in-person in the physical classroom, teaching remote students live through an online platform like Zoom, and recording classroom instruction for future viewing. It requires the use of in-classroom cameras and microphones, a digital whiteboard, a video platform, and other technology to make teaching and learning experiences as seamless as possible. It also requires teachers to toggle between the Roomers (in-person participants) and Zoomers (online participants) in a way that keeps everyone engaged, connected, and supported.

 

Integrated Course Formats

(as referenced in this presentation)

Flipped Classroom:
A Flipped Classroom is a form of Blended or Hybrid learning. In this specific approach, the online portion of the course is used to share new information with students prior to in-person class time. When students attend the in-person class, they build off what they’ve learned online by engaging in face-to-face discussions, activities, and collaboration.

HyFlex (Hybrid Flexible) Classroom:
The HyFlex model engages Trimodal teaching and is a hybrid-flexible approach that allows students to choose and move between in-person (Roomers) and online (Zoomers) participation, depending on which works best for the student throughout the course. In-person and remote students are able to interact in real time and have the opportunity to reach the same learning outcomes, no matter which type of instruction they choose. HyFlex requires educators to build both a fully in-person experience and a fully online experience in a single course, allowing students to choose either path or move between the two. Originally developed to offer accessibility and flexibility to working adult students, this format has gained renewed attention during the pandemic.

 

Presenter Contacts:

Anna Pravinata, Alliiance
apravinata@alliiance.us

Nina Ebbighausen, Alliiance
nebbighausen@alliiance.us

Amanda Aspenson, BWBR
aaspenson@bwbr.com