Contents
Presenters
Dr Rebecca Wells – Senior Lecturer, School of Health & Medical Sciences
Johanna Fenton – Digital Education Manager, University of Leeds
Dr Khristin Fabian, Lecturer in Data Science, Edinburgh Napier University
Paper
Hybrid teaching and learning has been adopted at City St George’s by diverse curriculums. The impetus for the development of hybrid teaching and learning approaches at CSG is the desire to engage and include a wider range of students that could not otherwise access higher education.
The use of hybrid teaching and learning, where online and in person students are taught synchronously, has increased in the UK since the Covid-19 pandemic (Baty et al 2022). Originally adopted to help to include students who were forced to learn online due to pandemic instructions to isolate or social distancing rules, hybrid approaches are now common across many universities in the UK and internationally. In many cases, such as at City St George’s University of London, learning technologists have designed hybrid learning spaces and these have been installed in universities to enable high quality teaching and learning to take place, despite the distance between online and in person students (Rutherford, 2024). The academic literature on this kind of hybrid teaching and learning indicates that pandemic use of this approach offered a flexibility for students that was welcomed. At the same time teaching staff have found it difficult to adapt to new ways of teaching (Melcher et al., 2024; Fabian, Smith and Taylor-Smith, 2024). Five years after the first Covid-19 lock down in the UK, how has hybrid teaching and learning in Higher Education Institutions changed, and how are students and staff responding to the benefits and challenges of hybrid education? How can we harness these new ways of teaching and learning to further engage and include students? This session will explore the use of hybrid teaching methods in three different HEIs, comparing and contrasting different experiences and approaches.
The session will include three speakers, each from a different university that use hybrid teaching approaches and learning spaces. The fifteen minute time frame will be divided between the three speakers who will speak for 5 minutes each on their experience of hybrid teaching and learning at their university, with a particular focus on the ability of hybrid learning spaces to enable engaged and inclusive education. This will be followed by 5 minutes for questions and discussion. Much current academic literature focuses on experiences of hybrid education in higher education institutions during the Covid-19 pandemic e.g. Melcher et al 2024 and Fabian Smith and Taylor-Smith, 2024. This session will update attendees on the current state of play for hybrid education in the sector. Indicative questions for discussion include:
- How widespread is hybrid teaching in the HE sector in the UK currently?
- What aspects of hybrid education foster inclusion?
- How can hybrid taught sessions be made more engaging for students?
- With rising numbers of students and space issues in universities can hybrid modes of teaching and learning offer solutions?
- What are the future expected trends in this area?
References
Baty, P., et al. (2022). Hybrid learning: The future? Times Higher Education. Available At https://www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/hybrid-learning-future
Fabian, K., Smith, S. and Taylor-Smith, E., 2024. Being in two places at the same time: A future for hybrid learning based on student preferences. TechTrends, 68(4), pp.693-704.
Melcher, M., Rutherford, J., Secker, J., Wells, R. and Knight, R.-.A. (2025). Evaluating hybrid teaching practices: a case study of staff and student experiences at City St George’s, University of London. Cogent Education, 12(1). doi:10.1080/2331186x.2024.2448356 .
Rutherford, J. (2024) New ISLA learning spaces for City Law School City St George’s University of London Blogs Available at: New ISLA learning spaces for City Law School – Inclusive Synchronous Learning Activities
