HyFlex Summary

Hybrid flexible (or HyFlex) instruction is a model of instruction that combines in-person traditional instruction, synchronous online learning, and asynchronous online learning components in a flexible course format. The key selling point of HyFlex instruction is that unlike synchronous, asynchronous, or hybrid online courses, students can choose their preferred mode of course delivery for each class session, instead of being locked to a singular format for the entire course duration. In a HyFlex course, students may choose to attend in-person lectures, attend remote lectures synchronously, view recorded lectures asynchronously, or some combination of the three modes of delivery.

Evaluation studies on the efficacy of HyFlex courses with regards to academic outcomes has focused on two major streams of research:

1. comparisons between HyFlex courses and their equivalent courses delivered in traditional or online formats, and
2. comparisons between student choices in course modality within a HyFlex course.

HyFlex instruction versus other course formats:

• Across multiple studies, researchers found no significant differences in academic outcomes between HyFlex and traditional course formats. Some studies suggest that students perform better under HyFlex instruction than under regular online instruction.
• Lightner & Lightner Laws (2016) found that shifting course formats from traditional instruction to a HyFlex model results in no significant changes in rates of course completion in MBA Sciences and Statistics course in a large public university setting with a majority non-traditional student population. Shifting course formats from online instruction to the HyFlex model in the same course resulted in an increase in course pass rates and an elimination of the historical achievement gap in pass rates between traditional and online courses.
• Donovan (2018) examined the impact of Fit, a variation of HyFLex, on academic outcomes for a sample of undergraduate students enrolled in a health program. The researchers found no statistically significant differences in end of course GPAs between Fit and non-Fit courses. Students in Fit courses reported perceiving the Fit course format to have a positive impact on their GPA.
• Rhoads (2020) compared differences in final grade averages between undergraduate students who took a 16 week course delivered in a traditional format and those who took a 5 week HyFlex course. No statistically significant differences in final grade averages were found between the two groups of students.
• Snelgrove (2019) examined differences in academic outcomes between three modes of instruction: traditional face-to-face instruction, online instruction, and BlendFlex instruction. BlendFlex is a variation of HyFlex in which certain class dates are designated for in-person instruction while the rest are open to student choice of modality. Course success rates and final course grades were higher in both traditional and BlendFlex courses than in online instruction, especially for female students, early adult students, and midlife students.

Course modalities within HyFlex instruction

• Generally, there are limited to no differences in academic outcomes between choice of course modality within the HyFlex classroom. Studies in this stream of research typically divide students in a HyFlex course into groups based on their most prevalent choice of instruction: mostly classroom, mostly synchronous online, mostly asynchronous online, or a mix of the three.
• Lahkal & Pascot (2014) investigated differences in students’ academic performance between modes of course delivery in HyFlex information systems course.  No statistically significant differences were found on multiple choice tests and written examinations between students who chose different course delivery modes. Online synchronous students performed better on homework assignments than online asynchronous students did.
• Miller, Risser, & Griffiths (2013) examined differences in academic and learning outcomes for students enrolled in a HyFlex statistics course. The researchers found no negative impact of HyFlex on both student grades and learning measured on an external standardized test. No differences in homework grades, midterm scores, or final course grades were found between students who attended the course face-to-face and those who attended the course online synchronously.

The progenitor of the HyFlex model, Brian J. Beatty, has compiled an extensive list of relevant evaluation studies here. Many of the evaluation studies of HyFlex have been published in the past 3 years. HyFlex has also been evaluated in some recently completed dissertations. Given the current world situation, as more universities are considering piloting HyFlex courses, it is expected that more and more evaluation studies of HyFlex will be conducted in the near future.

 

Citations

Donovan, S. A. (2018). Mixed methods study of the fit instructional model on attributes of student success. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.

Lakhal, S., Khechine, H., & Pascot, D. (2014). Academic students’ satisfaction and learning outcomes in a HyFlex course: Do delivery modes matter?. In T. Bastiaens (Ed.), Proceedings of World Conference on E-Learning (pp. 1075-1083). New Orleans, LA, USA: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/148994/.

Lightner, C. A. & Lightner-Laws, C. A. (2016). A blended model: Simultaneously teaching a quantitative course traditionally, online, and remotely. Interactive Learning Environments, 24(1), 224-238, https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2013.841262

Liu, C. A. & Rodriguez, R.C. (2019). Evaluation of the impact of the Hyflex learning model. International Journal of Innovation and Learning, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, 25(4), 393-411. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJIL.2019.10016648

Miller J. B., Risser M. D., & Griffiths R. P. (2013) Student choice, instructor flexibility: Moving beyond the blended instructional model. Issues and Trends in Learning Technologies 1(1). https://doi.org/10.2458/azu_itet_v1i1_16464

Rhoads, D. (2020). Traditional, online or both? A comparative study of university student learning and satisfaction between traditional and Hyflex delivery modalities. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.

Snelgrove, B. (2019). Examining the effectiveness of BlendFlex instruction in relation to student academic outcomes and perceptions at a two-year technical college in the southeastern United States. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.