Abstract

Technology-assisted instruction is changing how faculty and students interact. This is resulting in dramatic changes in the way instruction is designed and delivered. Many universities offer both face-to-face and online courses. In addition, universities are experimenting with an alternative delivery modality, referred to as hybrid or blended courses. A hybrid course is one in which a significant portion of the learning activities have been moved online. Universities are discovering that when faculty members convert a course to the hybrid format using proper instructional design methodology, not only does their redesigned course improve but their traditional courses also improve. When considering this new delivery modality, faculty need to recognize that teaching online is qualitatively different from teaching face-to-face.

The Hybrid Professional Development Program described in this paper focuses on offering faculty a situated experience in which they can gain the perspective of an online instructor. This professional-development program consists of five stages: orientation to hybrid instruction; design course; develop course; teach course; evaluate, revise, and improve course.

The overall goal is to provide participants with knowledge of hybrid instruction and the skills necessary to design or teach a hybrid course. Today's technologies offer faculty an opportunity to transform their teaching from presenting information to facilitating a learning experience for their students. The program challenges faculty at the University of Delaware to reflect on how they are teaching and whether it is the best way to deliver content. The experience of this program should result in greater student, faculty, and university satisfaction with the teaching/learning process.