With this successful track record in mind, liberal arts institutions
can rest assured that adopting well-designed hybrid course formats
can be a step for improved student learning overall. The
institutions can take certain steps to support instructors willing
to dramatically redesign their courses and teach in this new format:
1. Support course redesign, whether in the form of pedagogy
consultants and instructional designers, or via intensive
workshops;
2. Recognize the significant time investment required to create
effective hybrid courses, whether through summer stipends
or teaching releases;
3. Recognize the additional time necessary to effectively teach a
hybrid course, through a reduced teaching load or by funding
student teaching assistants to help with the course;
4. Encourage creative experimentation, recognizing that
blended learning courses take time to perfect and often result
in lower than usual student evaluations for the first several
iterations.
5. Provide technical assistance, ideally by a dedicated person
paired with the instructor, along with trainings and support
for software and learning platforms that universities may not
typically support;
6. Strengthen infrastructure, including campus Wi-Fi networks,
software packages and licenses, computer hardware, and
streaming media subscriptions.