Looking Ahead to A Hybrid 2020–21: What Does That Mean for Schools?

Sarah Hanawald

Projections from public health authorities strongly suggest that schools should be prepared for an unsettled learning environment in the academic year 2020–21. Significant impacts to schools’ calendars and weekly schedules could be widespread or localized, should outbreaks occur and school-closing or stay-at-home orders be put in place. The right approach for finishing the school year was to minimize academic change to assist students and teachers in the enormous and unanticipated disruption in their lives. Now is the time to pivot and recognize that we can now anticipate the need to sustain academic programs for a longer time period. Schools need to develop a hybrid learning model to be nimble when circumstances change. What does this term mean in the complex educational and operational situation in which schools will find themselves? 

Hybrid learning is an environment that allows for maximum flexibility between online and in-person instruction. There may be some days when a school’s physical campus must be closed and others where campus is open. When campus is open, only some students may be physically present. Some students may primarily receive in-person instruction, while others receive most of their instruction online; there will likely be movement between these two groups. There may be faculty who teach primarily in one modality or another. 

Highly functional hybrid environments are based on a few solid principles. At a foundational level, a robust learning management system (LMS), used by all faculty, provides a common platform for housing and delivering instructional materials and, even more to the point, offers a consistent user experience for teachers, students, and families. At the instructional level, all faculty must develop a shared set of skills in conceptualizing and building courses and teaching in multiple modalities (in-person, online, and blended). With a common platform as well as common principles underlying instruction in an effective hybrid environment, student learning continues seamlessly even as modalities change.

While preparing for this scenario is daunting, it is essential. The upcoming summer break provides schools with time that we haven’t had in the spring of 2020 to line up ideas and resources. With thoughtful planning that begins with identifying key needs and aligning these with the right resources to meet them, a school can face a hybridized ’20–21 not as a time of acute disruption but as a modified but mission-driven and effective way of doing school—of delivering programs and student support at accustomed levels of quality and intensity.

---

---

Principles for Hybrid Learning

​Hybrid learning is an environment that allows for maximum flexibility between online and in-person instruction. There may be some days when a school’s physical campus must be closed and others where campus is open. When campus is open, only some students may be physically present. Some students may primarily receive in-person instruction, while others receive most of their instruction online; there will likely be movement between these two groups. There may be faculty who teach primarily in one modality or another.

The principles of hybrid learning are predicated on the assumption that the school already has a strong, effective, and mature curriculum and culture of learning and that the school’s engaged community can thrive across modalities. 

These principles draw heavily on both the Principles of Independent Curriculum and The Pedagogy of One Schoolhouse.

Congruent With The Mission And Values Of The School
A hybrid learning program aligns with the stated mission, values, culture, and strategic priorities of the school.

The Student–Teacher Relationship Forms The Foundation For All Learning
A hybrid learning program keeps students and teachers in community whether online or in-person. Teachers are equally responsive in any learning modality. 

Responsive To The Interests, Capacities, And Aspirations Of The Students Being Taught
A hybrid learning program serves the actual students in each class, regardless of modality, and is designed and implemented to meet students’ interests, abilities (both developed and developing), aims, and requirements in all dimensions.

A Sufficiency Of Technology
A hybrid learning program relies on robust, ubiquitous, and curated technology tools that empower the delivery of the program but do not dictate teaching or learning.

Multiple Modes Of Assessment
A hybrid learning program supports the measurement of student mastery of articulated competencies and standards through a full range of assessment tools and techniques, both formative and summative. 

Structure And Organization Are Essential Operational Elements
A hybrid learning program provides predictability and consistency in uncertain and fluctuating circumstances. 

Inclusive And Just
A hybrid learning program recognizes the variety of students’ multiple perspectives, fluctuating situations, experiences, and access to resources. 

Wellness And Balance
A hybrid learning program relies on a deep understanding of the developmental, social-emotional, and physical needs of learners and educators alike.