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Engage and communicate effectively in the hybrid classroom by facilitating, moderating and curating inclusive student learning experiences.
Hybrid housekeeping and setting expectations
Hybrid classes can be a new experience for students and tutors. It’s worth taking the time to establish clear ‘rules of engagement’ so everyone knows what is expected of them and what to expect from you.
- Brief tutors and assistants in advance about what the ‘plan’ is for each class.
- Make an announcement before each hybrid class with any important details, such as the Zoom meeting link, or what devices students should bring.
- Communicate clear attendance policies in advance, so students know when they can attend online and when they must attend in person.
- Outline how students on campus and online can communicate with each other during class. You could prepare a housekeeping slide with brief instructions on:
- How to ask questions in class (for example, via chat)
- When to use online reactions (for example, use ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ reaction in Zoom to contribute to polls)
- Alternatively, you might develop an activity to co-design ‘hybrid house rules’ with your students.
It’s important to set expectations around everyone’s role during a hybrid class. At the start of session, discuss with students how they can help facilitate hybrid classes. This could involve a different student each week monitoring the Zoom chat, or groups of students working together to include their offsite peers in activities.
Facilitate inclusive discussion in a hybrid class
Online participants can sometimes feel left out of discussions and activities in hybrid classes. Design discussions to allow space for both on-campus and online students to speak up and have their voice heard by everyone.
- Remember to address both the on-campus and the online audience when asking the class to participate in a discussion.
- Check the chat regularly for online audience questions. Let students know that you will be doing this.
- Repeat and relay any in-room questions that weren’t caught on the microphone.
- Tell students in advance that you will be calling on them in class. This is called ‘warm calling‘, and can encourage students to attend and engage in their preferred mode.
Polls for connected feedback
Polling is a great way to engage with both the on-campus and online audience. Carefully crafted polling questions can be used to gather feedback about student understanding and provide an opportunity for general feedback and discussion.
Tools you can use for polling include:
Shared documents and whiteboards
Shared documents allow multiple users to work on a document synchronously in real time. They offer a great solution for an inclusive approach to breakout group work and other collaborative hybrid class activities.
Some options for this include:
- Online shared document (e.g. Microsoft Word, Google Docs)
- Online whiteboard (e.g. Microsoft Whiteboard, Google Jamboard, Miro)