The impact of interactive synchronous HyFlex model on student academic performance in a large active learning introductory college design course.

HyFlex learning environments have been meeting the unique needs of students and institutions for nearly 20 years. However, it was the pandemic that gave HyFlex its widespread acceptance and application. Literature suggests that HyFlex may now be considered part of the new norm in education and therefore, further study is needed on how it affects both teaching and learning. Our flipped design thinking course leverages active learning requiring the instructor and students to interact extensively. We piloted a specific version of HyFlex we named "Interactive Synchronous HyFlex" where students can participate on a daily basis in person or synchronously online. In this specific instance of HyFlex we explore: (1) Does student academic performance differ in the HyFlex environment compared to the Face to Face only environment? And (2) Does student academic performance differ based on how they chose to participate in the HyFlex course? Data were collected for this quasi-experimental study design on overall semester grades and three significant design projects during the semester. We compared the course offered as a Face to Face only experience to the course offered as a HyFlex course enabling remote participation. Second, we parse students in the HyFlex course into two categories: those who did not participate remotely vs. those who participated remotely once or more times. Students in the HyFlex course had a significantly different grade distribution earning more A's and more F's than their Face to Face only counterparts. Given the positive results of the Interactive Synchronous HyFlex approach, we plan to continue implementing it in our introductory design course though we will increase our attention on the remote students as they may need additional scaffolding to be successful.

HyFlex environment: addressing students' basic psychological needs.

Active learning strategies engage students and promote student-centered learning environments. Implementing active learning in a HyFlex environment during the Fall of 2020 global pandemic was challenging. We describe the Interactive Synchronous HyFlex approach to teaching design thinking at the introductory college level and explore impacts on students' basic psychological needs, including autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Aligned with Self-Determination Theory, active learning has been shown to motivate students and increase performance and retention in science, engineering, and mathematics disciplines, among others (Freeman et al., 2014; Lo & Hew, 2019). In active environments, the predominant mode of instruction is not lecture based and it engages students through student-to-student interactions and student-to-instructor interactions. The flipped classroom is a pedagogical model in which the typical lecture and homework elements of a course are reversed. This model of instruction is ideal for our design thinking course used as a context for this study because students are challenged to learn by doing. In active learning courses, students engage in video-recorded lectures or talks, text-based materials and online quizzes, or other preparation activities before and in preparation for class (Bishop & Verleger, 2013; Lo et al., 2017; O'Flaherty & Phillips, 2015). Scheduled class meeting time is used for engagement and interaction between students informed by a social constructivist learning theory. Students challenge each other to apply what they have learned with guidance and support from the instructor.

The Facilitator Model: Investigating a Novel Dual Credit Experience for Open-Ended Design Coursework.

This study explored the implementation of a novel approach to dual credit referred to as the facilitator model that can be suited for STEM-focused coursework such as courses focused on engineering, design, technology, and innovation. Unlike other models, high school teachers facilitate the implementation of a college course for both high school and college credit in collaboration with a university instructor who evaluates student learning. This novel approach was specifically implemented for an open-ended undergraduate design course within an engineering technology college, similar to many first-year engineering course experiences that emphasize project-based learning, from a large research-intensive public university. For this study, the facilitator model was piloted with five high school teachers as facilitators of an undergraduate design course for dual credit at two innovative, STEM-focused public charter schools. The qualitative research design focused on examining (1) teacher needs while implementing, and perceptions of, the dual credit facilitator model for an undergraduate design course in urban public charter schools and (2) the impact of this model on student learning. This study included the collection and analysis of over 90 h of interviews, focus groups, surveys, and observations. Results provide a promising outlook for the use of the facilitator model when delivering dual credit content that is open ended and within the context of design, technology, and engineering by (1) navigating multiple institutional policies and processes related to dual-credit implementation, (2) providing ongoing support and fostering collaboration between high schools and university, (3) enabling students to earn directly transcripted college credits that count as a required course toward degree completion, and (4) increasing affordability and access to dual credit coursework. These potential advantages over other dual credit models can help address barriers that may limit access to dual credit coursework, specifically for underserved high schools. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s41979-022-00075-5.