University teachers' perspectives on synchronous in-person and distance teaching and learning (SynPaD hybrid)

Abstract

Although most teaching in higher education may still involve either in-person teaching or online distance teaching, various forms of hybrid teaching are becoming more common. Maturity of hybrid teaching has been limited by the lack of research-based development and poor definition of teaching practices in the literature. This article is about a particular variant of hybrid teaching (SynPaD hybrid) involving learners in the physical presence of one or more teachers with other learners attending synchronously via videoconferencing, in situations where all participants can, or should be able to, interact both verbally and visually with all other participants. The article applies a recognised qualitative research approach to gather potentially important insights into the perspectives of university teachers in capacities as teachers and as learners about SynPaD hybrid teaching, and interprets its findings using self-determination theory. Notable insights from this research suggest that university teachers in the role of learners are able to appreciate SynPaD hybrid and may insist that university teachers tasked with supporting learning in this context should rise to the challenges of teaching in this way. University teachers, acting in the role of teacher, may question the practicality of teaching in SynPaD hybrid and their motivation to teach in this way. This article describes and comments on the difficult decisions faced by higher education institutions as SynPaD hybrid emerges as an alternative to more orthodox in-person and online teaching situations.