Three Salem faculty members, representing three different subjects, joined forces to explore student and teacher experiences with the Hyflex course format, focusing on its flexibility and impact on student success and engagement.
Collaborating on this research project were Dr. Rachael Blasiman, associate professor of psychology; Dr. Sheren Farag, assistant professor of horticulture; and Kristine Harrington, associate lecturer of English.
The three were the first faculty members to study and implement the Hyflex method, with each earning Gold and Platinum awards from the Center for Teaching and Learning for this research. Additionally, their manuscript was recently accepted for publication in the Journal of Interactive Learning Research.
As Farag explained, Hyflex represents a course that is a blend of “hybrid” and “flexible” in formats that allow students to attend classes via three modalities: remotely in real-time (synchronously); completing coursework at their own pace (asynchronously); or in person.
Additional flexibility also allows students to change their preferences for attending class at any time during the semester.
“Hyflex is not about the subject matter, but rather a flexible course delivery method that can be adapted to any discipline,” Farag noted. “Our study involved three distinct fields: horticulture, writing and psychology. This demonstrates that Hyflex can be applied across a wide range of subjects.”
Research began
In the spring of 2023, Blasiman, Farag and Harrington agreed to participate in a pilot study to implement the new Hyflex course teaching method. At that point, Blasiman suggested they initiate formal research by conducting pre-semester and post-semester surveys with students, along with focus groups, to collect data and ultimately analyze the effectiveness of this teaching approach.
Farag explained that because none of the three had prior experience or specific training using Hyflex, they relied heavily on the support of Rachael Esterly, a Regional Campus instructional designer, who helped them structure their courses to fit the three different modalities used through this approach.
“In general, we believe that instructors who adopt the Hyflex modality would require significant support because of the complexity of the design,” Farag said.
The actual research component of this collaboration began in the fall of 2023 when the three faculty members worked to develop pre- and post-semester surveys for students from each of the course subjects. At the end of the semester, they held focus groups to gather student feedback, while Blasiman also interviewed the instructors to get their views on using Hyflex.
Most of the students included in this research were full-time students (75%). Of those, 12.5% were freshmen; 18.8% were sophomores; 12.5% were juniors; and 31.3% were seniors.
Students were between 19 and 43 years old, and their GPAs ranged from 2.7 to 4.0.
When choosing a modality, 49% of the students selected in-person instruction; 34% chose asynchronous; and 8% elected for remote delivery.
Student feedback
According to Blasiman and the research presented at a recent conference, there was a notable difference in students’ perceived engagement at the beginning of the semester compared to the end of the semester.
At the beginning, students rated their engagement in their Hyflex classes as 4.11 on a 10-point scale (10 being the highest level of engagement) and at the end of the semester, they rated their engagement as 8.4.
By comparison, the same students rated their level of engagement in their non-Hyflex classes at 3.56 in the beginning of the semester and at a 7 at the end of the semester.
“Almost all students overwhelmingly appreciated the flexibility of the Hyflex approach, which significantly helped them manage work and family commitments,” Farag noted. “From the student feedback, we identified six main themes related to their success: flexibility, organization, challenges, modality differences, engagement and lab experiences. Flexibility was the strongest theme, allowing students to manage their studies more effectively alongside work and family commitments.”
Faculty feedback
“From the instructor perspective, creating and teaching a Hyflex course required a significant amount of time beyond regular course preparation, yet the course organization was a strong theme in the student focus group,” the three instructors stated.
The research clearly indicated that while students were “very much in favor of taking another Hyflex course, … instructors were more hesitant.”
The challenge appears to be linked to technological challenges of using Hyflex and assuring that all three modalities provide equivalent opportunities for engagement and learning experiences.
“Despite the considerable effort and planning required from instructors, particularly in creating materials suitable for all modalities, the Hyflex model offers significant flexibility to meet the needs of diverse students, especially non-traditional students who must balance college, work and family commitments,” Farag concluded. “This approach provides valuable opportunities for these learners.”
Cutline A: The research team focused on the Hyflex teaching model includes (from left) Dr. Rachael Blasiman, Dr. Sheren Farag and Kristine Harrington.
Cutline B: Reviewing their work are (from left) Kristine Harrington, Dr. Sheren Farag and Dr. Rachael Blasiman.