CHCS - Perspectives - Summer/Fall 2014

PERSPECTIVES • SUMMER–FALL 2014 53 Over nine years ago, when my physical therapy colleagues pro- posed a hybrid program for entry-level students who needed flexi- bility because of work, family, or geographical challenges, I pushed back. “You want to do what? seriously? It will never work,” I ex- claimed. Ironically, I transformed from chief naysayer to director of the Hybrid entry-Level Doctor of Physical Therapy (He-D.P.T.) Pro- gram at the nsU Tampa Campus about six years later. This article provides a glimpse into why I’ve become the champion of high-qual- ity hybrid instruction and how our team teaches entry-level D.P.T. students in such a unique manner. SURPRISING BEGINNINGS The idea for the Hybrid D.P.T. Program was first developed in 2005 by stanley Wilson, ed.D., formerly the chair of the D.P.T. Program and now the dean of the College of Health Care sciences, and Debra stern, D.P.T., D.B.A., M.s.M., PT, director of clinical education for the Fort Lauderdale program and a charter faculty member in nsU’s Physical Therapy Department. Dr. stern had been on the Committee on Admissions for many years and advocated this idea based on the large number of prospective applicants that needed flexibility in at- tending classes outside of the traditional Monday-Friday workweek. Dr. stern, together with Drs. Wilson and Dawn Brown Cross, ed.D., M.B.A., PT, CLT, former associate professor in the physical therapy department, developed a proposal for the hybrid program. In 2009, nsU hired Catherine Page, Ph.D., M.P.H., PT, as the con- sultant to move the hybrid concept from idea to reality. My personal change of heart occurred through gentle encouragement from Dr. Page to give the idea a second chance. I turned to the higher edu- cation literature, reflected on my teaching experiences in both prob- lem-based and traditional curricula, and replaced “why?” with “what if?” The rest, as they say, is history. WHAT IS HYBRID LEARNING? Another term for hybrid learning is blended learning because it blends both face-to-face and online instruction within a single course . garrison and Vaughan 1 (2008) describe blended learning as the “thoughtful fusion of online and face-to-face instruction.” Online ele- ments of hybrid courses can be synchronous (students and faculty members online at the same time), asynchronous (students and in- structors online at different times), or a combination of the two. Face- to-face elements may include traditional lecture and lab instruction. In the He-D.P.T. Program, we use our face-to-face time for intensive hands-on training in labs and synthesizing what was learned online using cases, games, patients, or classroom debates. Hybrid instruction is not simply adding Web-based materials to a traditional classroom; it is a complete redesign of learning experi- ences to incorporate the best that online and face-to-face instruction offers. The He-D.P.T. Program at the Tampa Campus was designed as an expansion of our well-respected entry-Level D.P.T. Program in Fort Lauderdale—transforming the three-year traditional curricu- lum into a four-year hybrid program. Because it was created with the working student in mind, all classes in the He-D.P.T. Program are delivered in a blended format in which students spend three weeks completely online followed by four intensive days on our Tampa Campus. This cycle—three weeks online followed by four days face-to-face—repeats throughout each term until full-time clinical rotations begin in the fourth year. For our program, online instruction is usually asynchronous because of vary- ing student work schedules, but we do use synchronous technology such as Blackboard Collaborate, Zoom, Join-Me, phone conference calls, or online chat sessions several times monthly. In a hybrid curriculum, it is imperative that students learn through- out the entire month, not just during the four days on campus. The schedule provides a framework for faculty members to organize units, modules, and topics within the curriculum over four-week blocks. Hybrid instruction is one way to flip the traditional classroom so that students spend more time learning actively first so that class- room time is spent applying and synthesizing information and skills. Because hybrid instruction is relatively new to entry-level profes- sional education, there are many misconceptions about what it is— and is not. COMMON MYTHS AND MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT HYBRID LEARNING There are many myths and misconceptions about blended learning. One common myth is that hybrid programs are easier than traditional education, or that they lack the rigor and discipline of classroom in- struction five days per week. As we tell our hybrid students, flexible is not a synonym for easy. In fact, working and being in an entry- level professional program is challenging (Please see the following article entitled “Reflections from a Hybrid student.”). All students— not only those who are quick to raise a hand in the face-to-face en- vironment—must speak up in the online portion of a blended classroom. As someone who has taught for many years in the tradi- tional classroom, I’ve found this to be one of the most refreshing as- pects of hybrid education. even introverted and shy students find their voices in the hybrid environment. A second misconception is that being in a student hybrid program is a lonely experience. In well-designed hybrid classes, instructors communicate frequently with students using multiple modes—includ- ing written messages, videos, and podcasts. ensuring a strong pres- ence of the faculty in a hybrid classroom is what garrison and Vaughan term “Instructor Presence 1 .” For example, our faculty mem- bers reach out to students in the online classroom each week using a videotaped Monday Morning Memo. This tool helps faculty mem- bers become real in their students’ lives by asking them how they are, reminding them of upcoming deadlines and assignments, or chatting about current events. The use of weekly videos, podcasts, or written memos was encouraged by Michael simonson, Ph.D., professor of the Instructional Technology and Distance education Program from nsU’s Fischler school of education, who was a member of our He- D.P.T. Advisory Board and is a national expert in online instruction. Continued on the next page...