REDESIGNING THE REDESIGN UT Tyler’s construction management department is moving toward a fully hybrid program, and Arnold has adapted all four of her face-to-face courses to the hybrid style. She has improved her method each year, saying that she’s learned a lot since her first redesign, her Construction Administration and Economics course. After reflecting on the redesign, Arnold made modifications to the course delivery. “I changed just about everything,” she said. “Student comments helped me realize I needed to revamp this one. They said there wasn’t enough time to do the project, or that they didn’t learn anything from certain parts of the course. I said, ‘Okay, let’s dump that part and spend more time here instead.’ It’s a really good course now.” She stresses that hybrid classes are best suited to students who are self-motivated and keep up with the online portion of the coursework. But as with any delivery method, some students still come to class unprepared and usually don’t fare as well. “It’s an incredible amount of work (to redesign a course), but it was worth it,” Arnold said. “The students are learning, and the whole workforce is going toward computers, so it’s good for students to be exposed to that.”
At the end of the semester, Schmitt discovered that the students’ grades were on par with the face-to-face classes he taught in the past. Like Arnold, Schmitt also learned a lot from the experience and knows what he’d like to change the next time he teaches the course, including making better use of the online discussion board and adding pop culture resources for extra credit. “I think they learn more in the hybrid version,” said Schmitt, who now encourages other professors to take advantage of the PATSS Academy. “If I could teach all hybrid now, I would.”
times they’d need to drive to campus. Crystal Zapata, a freshman psychology major, admitted she was nervous when she signed up for Schmitt’s hybrid class. As the weeks passed, she realized how much she was learning while listening to prerecorded lectures at times convenient for her. Living in Longview, Texas, with a full-time job and two young children at home, Zapata appreciated the class flexibility. “The best part was being able to access my course on my computer via Blackboard while I was on my lunch break at work, on my phone waiting in the parking lot to pick up my kids from school, or even using my tablet while laying in bed,” she said. Zapata noted there were other benefits too, such as having 24-hour access to lecture videos and being able to watch them again for review if necessary. She also enjoyed getting test scores immediately after completing an exam. Plus, students are learning skills for the changing job market. “Lots of corporations are moving to a flexible time schedule or work-from-home,” Marzilli said. “We provide opportunities for students to practice time-management strategies.” With approximately 80 PATSSapproved courses in only three years, Marzilli considers the program a success. “These aren’t the same students we had 20 years ago,” Marzilli said. “Working with students on their level shows the quality of the faculty we have here at UT Tyler.” n
DEDICATED TO STUDENT SUCCESS In addition to the other benefits, Marzilli says the hybrid teaching method also makes a UT Tyler education possible for students who wouldn’t otherwise be able to attend. By having face-to-face class time only once a week, hybrid courses allow for “time-sharing” to accommodate students who work full time or who live far from campus. Time-sharing involves departmental faculty members working together to schedule multiple classes at the same time each day of the week. For example, class time for three different courses could be scheduled from 8-8:50 a.m. three days a week, which helps working students attend class at a fixed time and then go to their job the rest of the day. Or FROM CRITIC TO ADVOCATE Reflecting on the fall semester, Schmitt students can schedule all their classes into one admits his surprise with the success of his or two days a week, reducing the number of first hybrid course, Abnormal Psychology. During the PATSS Academy when he witnessed the quality of the audio and video capabilities of the recording equipment, he gained confidence that students would enjoy the course. “I had a cameraman in my classroom every day recording my class,” he said. “With that kind of support, you can make a good product. It was time-consuming, but my life is teaching, so I wanted everything to be really high quality.” During class time, Schmitt focused on case studies of real-life interactions with his private-practice patients. He said he accomplished more with his students by posting his lectures online and by In hybrid classes, which blend face-to-face and online instruction, students can view using class time for abstract thinking and class material and recorded lectures anywhere, using a computer or mobile device. diagnostic skill development.
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT TYLER MAGAZINE
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