The Pedagogical Model of Hybrid Teaching: Difficulties of University Students in the Context of COVID-19

Abstract

The global pandemic caused by COVID-19 has led to changes in many areas, with educational scenarios being affected. In this sense, university education has undergone significant changes owing to the impossibility of following the fully face-to-face mode of teaching. Given this situation, the general objective of this study is to analyze the university educational scenario in the context of COVID-19 and, more specifically, to identify the difficulties perceived by students. Using a mixed quantitative–qualitative methodological approach, an ad hoc questionnaire was designed, and data were collected from a sample of 238 students of the Bachelor’s Degree in Teaching during the 2020/2021 academic year. The results obtained have shown that students have experienced numerous difficulties in adapting to the hybrid teaching model. In this sense, it is worth highlighting the decrease in motivation, the feeling of loneliness, technical connection problems, and less interaction with the teaching staff and other students. The degree of satisfaction with the teaching received is also moderate. As a conclusion, it can be stated that the difficulties identified recommend the introduction of actions to improve the application of the teaching model implemented in favor of university excellence.

Challenges in Hybrid Teaching Amidst Pandemic: The Proposed Model

“…Students have had a lot of difficulties adjusting to the hybrid teaching model which causes a decline in motivation, technical connection issues, and less engagement with the teaching staff and other students [22]. "Of course, many are hesitant, but since it is the call of the time because of this COVID-19, we have to accept and we have to do it.…”

Teaching style and academic engagement in pre-service teachers during the COVID-19 lockdown: Mediation of motivational climate

“…The situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has meant a change of approach to the teaching-learning process at all educational levels, including in initial teacher training (Camargo et al, 2020). During the first phase of the pandemic, characterized by a period of confinement, initial teacher training programs had to adapt quickly and abruptly to the new training reality, which meant moving from a face-to-face training model to a virtual one (Lorenzo-Lledó et al, 2021). For pre-service teachers, this new scenario meant facing both the inconveniences related to a virtual educational model (e.g., lack of digital competence, lack of technological resources, problems with the Wi-Fi connection, or lack of planning), and with their home conditions (e.g., sharing spaces with other family members, stress, or difficulties in concentrating), which led to them experiencing low engagement levels toward their initial training program (Scull et al, 2020).…”

Open Distance Teaching Practices in Pandemic Times: Devising a Simplified Virtual Pedagogic Model for the University of Saint Joseph in Macau, China

“…Suddenly all teaching-learning processes had to move online which led to an increased use of and familiarization with web conferencing technologies, thus intensifying, and driving new ways to learn and communicate while launching new or enforcing existing online learning communities. These online learning practices tend(ed) to be adopted after the pandemics thus establishing unstructured approaches of hybrid pedagogic models integrating both online and face-toface classroom-based teaching-learning processes [8] [9].…”