For decades, the traditional classroom setup was thought to be the optimal way to educate students. However, two years into the pandemic, it has become clear that many can gain more from learning through the four corners of a screen and within the four walls of a classroom combined.
When 2020 arrived hand-in-hand with COVID-19, governments and schools were faced with a dilemma as they struggled to search for a way to continue education in the midst of global disarray. Enter distance learning—making use of online materials and the hands-on teacher-student dynamic, online distance learning has proven to be an effective method among schools that possess the capacity for educational technology.
However, once the pandemic ends, schools will likely revert to an entirely face-to-face setup. And while this indeed brings about its own benefits, there is more that the youth can gain from a combination of both physical and online settings. Hence, the hybrid setup should be permanently integrated into the teaching method of private schools long after the pandemic ends.
First, the hybrid setup will greatly help the youth in adapting to a world swiftly being digitized. More and more, institutions have been pivoting towards a hybrid work setting as the norm. According to Gartner (the leading information technology research and advisory company), from 2019 to 2021, the percentage of all home-based knowledge workers increased from 27% to 51%. Therefore, it would be more beneficial to prepare and learn to work in a hybrid setting, even during one’s academic life.
In a hybrid setting, one will gain more on-demand access to a larger array of information as well. Long before the pandemic hit, Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) such as Khan Academy, Coursera, edX, and other information and tools intended for students were already available online. These are more immediately accessible in a partially online setup—which in turn makes the information more useful, convenient, and valuable to its user. With this, students will wield the benefit of having access to traditional resources available within the school, and increased real-time and on-demand access to online ones. Students will also learn to responsibly filter and use the information while still being in a teacher-supervised environment.
Last but certainly not least, students will gain more academic flexibility through the integration of the hybrid set-up. American educational psychologist Benjamin Bloom once stated, “It makes no sense to expect all students to take the same amount of time to achieve the same objectives.” A hybrid setting would provide one with a schedule that is both student-flexible and set by the school, while still ensuring structure and organization in their academic life. This will enable one to maximize their learning and study more at their own pace.
Still, despite the perks of the hybrid setup, there are many challenges that come with it, such as lessened face-to-face social interaction. The lack of companionship between students normally developed through physical interaction can give rise to difficulties in completing group assignments and building relationships. But, this lessened face-to-face interaction can be compensated for through online communication. True, it is not as rich or as nuanced as physical interaction, but it can still serve as an acceptable substitute so long as it is not the primary source of social interaction.
Secondly, not all schools have the proper means and tools to implement this kind of setup immediately, as it can be costly on both the management’s and the students’ ends.
And finally, as with all changes, the hybrid setup will require much preparation and planning in order to be executed. Days when online learning will take place will have to be decided on, papers and assignments would need to be given digitally or physically depending on the task and grade level, and students and teachers alike will have to be on the same page with regard to the learning materials used.
While the arguments made here for a hybrid setting are based on theory and for now are only applicable to the private setting, this kind of setup still stands to be promising. Indeed, both setups come with their own sets of positives and negatives. However, given the unique benefits each of them has to offer, gaining the best of both worlds would be an asset to the youth. Hence, the incorporation of hybrid learning is the most ideal approach, and the path to a greater education system. Yes, this pandemic may have been what gave way to and began such a setup, but it does not have to end with it.
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