Packing Slip 
item |
Beyond Hybrid: Integrating Delivery Modes through Chimera Classes (2004-2005 MIL Fellowship) |
contact |
Craig Jacobsen (Mesa Community College) jacobsen@mail.mc.maricopa.edu |
college(s) |
Mesa Community College |
discipline(s) |
All |
summary |
This project seeks to develop a course model that allows traditional, online, and hybrid students to enroll, interact and collaborate within one section of the same course. Unlike a hybrid course, which blends elements of traditional and online courses to create the hybrid, a chimera course would allow traditional, online and hybrid models to coexist. |
details |
(Abstract) The chimera class model developed from a desire to reduce the number of courses cancelled due to low enrollment. The most troubling of them are the classes that draw moderate numbers of students—just enough to justify keeping them open in hopes that more will enroll, only to have to cancel them just before the semester's start. This situation leaves students and faculty scrambling to reconstruct their schedules when the fewest options are available. Students can be left struggling to find classes that fit their scheduling and educational needs. Residential faculty can be forced to take classes from adjunct faculty who have prepared for the classes. Such cancellations have long term effects as well. Repeatedly cancelled classes are less likely to be offered, as faculty become understandably reluctant to gamble, preferring to schedule more sections of the courses most likely to fill. Students with less popular interests or educational needs won't find the less popular courses offered. The low enrollment problem isn't simply an issue of limited interest in particular courses. A department can offer sections of the same course on campus in the morning, afternoon and evening, see all of them enroll moderate numbers, and have to cancel all three sections when no single class attracts enough students. Though a department can try to consolidate the three courses into one of sufficient size, our students often have non-academic responsibilities that limit them to being either morning, afternoon or evening students, and three near-miss sections might not translate into one viable section. While we struggle to fill some classes in face-to-face sections, online sections of the same course fill quickly. While this may be an alternative for instructors who are willing to teach online, it doesn't solve the problem of students who want to take these courses but recognize that online instruction isn't for them. Note! As a professional courtesy to the owner of this package, if you use some aspect of this package or have some thoughts about it, please share your feedback via the comments form below. |
web links |
http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/mil/ http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/mil/fellows.php?what=bio&yr=5&id=2 |
supplements |
Final Report (document) Note! As a professional courtesy to the owner of this package, if you use some aspect of this package or have some thoughts about it, please share your feedback below. |
shareback |
A "Shareback" cites the places on the web that mention, reference, or use this MLX package, and "shares" that information back here (more about shareback...) Sharebacks can be generated automatically by weblog tools. |
extra |
Last modified: Oct-28-2005 Date created: Oct-28-2005 Visitor count: 3796 Dublin Core Metadata record  This package is included in the Maricopa Institute for Learning Final Reports special collection. |
Maricopa Learning eXchange
http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/mlx/slip.php?item=1776
