Best Practice Guide for Designing and Delivering EPICUR courses

Guidance and resources to support EPICUR course development, cc-by-sa

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Hybrid Courses

Hybrid Courses

Why Hybrid Courses?

Hybrid courses consist mainly of regular synchronous sessions that can be simultaneously attended by one or several cohorts of on-campus students in different locations and/or online attendees. In international teaching and learning contexts in particular, this course format offers a range of benefits, including:

Accessibility:
A hybrid course can include students at different locations e.g. university campuses, hospitals, placements, work, at home.

Global engagement:
A hybrid course format facilitates participation from international students who may not be able to attend in person.

Continuity of education:
A hybrid course format ensures that learning can continue uninterrupted during unforeseen events like pandemics or natural disasters.

Resource optimization:
A hybrid course format optimizes access to expert teachers and maximizes the use of institutional resources, including physical space and technology.

Motivation:
A hybrid course can be motivating to teach because of the in-class and remote student participation.  

8 key points about Hybrid Courses in-person or online

  1. Technology integration
    It is important to ensure seamless integration of technology to facilitate interaction between on-campus students (located in one or more hybrid classrooms) and remote students as well as teaching staff located on-campus and/or remote.
    A hybrid course setup requires reliable conferencing tools and local hybrid classrooms with high-quality audio-visual equipment. 

  2. Engagement strategies
    It is crucial to keep both on-campus and online students engaged, e.g. by deploying interactive activities, such as polls, breakout rooms, and regular check-ins with on-campus and remote students. Encourage collaboration between students including collaborative projects that involve all participants.

  3. Inclusivity and accessibility
    Ensure all students have equal access to course materials (provided through a Learning Management System, in accessible formats) and participation opportunities via inclusive teaching practices. Technical support must be available for all participating students and staff.

  4. Assessment adaptation
    In the case of coursework to be assessed (e.g. group projects or presentations), assessment methods need to be adapted to suit both online and in-person students. 

  5. Communication and support
    Clear communication and robust support systems are essential for the success of hybrid courses. Establish communication channels, share clear expectations for engagement and communication, provide detailed course guides, and offer technical and academic support. 

  6. Technological competence
    Both teachers and students need the necessary technological skills to participate in hybrid teaching. For example, being able to use video conferencing tools (such as Zoom or Teams) and – especially for teachers – digital presentation tools. Training should be provided to both students and staff to ensure effective engagement and delivery.

  7. Evaluation and feedback
    In hybrid teaching, it is important to have effective methods of evaluation and feedback. 
    For example, formative evaluations, summative evaluations, peer feedback, and self-reflection.

  8. Support for teachers
    To keep the teacher’s focus on the content and the topic, support from either student assistant or an IT-department is recommended, especially in the beginning of class, to make sure the technical parts are up and running. Encourage the use of microphone instead of the chat function – and supplement with either question-breaks and/or use assistive digital tools (cf. the presentation “Epicur_hybrid_teaching_AMN”.

Hybrid Courses in practice

Beyond the Technology podcast: Hybrid teaching – learning from staff and student experiences: https://www.jisc.ac.uk/podcasts/beyond-the-technology-podcast-hybrid-teaching-learning-from-staff-and-student-experiences

Presentation developed for a workshop targeted at SDU clinical associated professors: https://learn.epicur.education/goto_epicur_file_2064_download.html

Links to resources for hybrid courses.

References

DIGI HE Survey Report, Digitally Enhanced Learning and Teaching in European Higher Education Institutions, https://eua.eu/resources/publications/954:digitally-enhanced-learning-and-teaching-in-european-higher-education-institutions.html

Inclusive Course Design and Modes of Delivery

Author(s)

This resource sheet has been co-written or written by

  • Dorthe Hutz-Nierhoff (UFR)
  • Anne Mølgaard Nielsen (SDU)

Related Resource Sheets

Next steps

If you need further support with developing your course, please contact your local teaching support unit.
If you need further information on offering your course for EPICUR, please contact your EPICUR institutional coordinator.

Local teaching support units

EPICUR Institutional Coordinators

Adam Mickiewicz University
Karolina Choczaj
karmench@amu.edu.pl

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Nikos Kouloussis
nikoul@agro.auth.gr

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
Michael Zacherle
zacherle@kit.edu

University of Amsterdam
Tiffany Boersma
t.a.boersma@uva.nl

Universität Freiburg
Charlotte Langowski
charlotte.langowski@zv.uni-freiburg.de

Université de Haute-Alsace
Léa Ziri
lea.ziri@uha.fr

Universität für Bodenkultur Wien
Nicolas Fries
nicolas.fries@boku.ac.at

University of Southern Denmark
Ida Thøstesen
ilt@sdu.dk

University of Strasbourg
Pascale Nachez
pnachez@unistra.fr

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Further use as OER explicitly permitted:
This Resource Sheet within the Best Practice Guide for Designing and Delivering EPICUR Courses was created by Dorthe Hutz-Nierhoff (University of Freiburg) and Anne Mølgaard Nielsen (University of Southern Denmark).
Please attribute according to TASLL rule as follows: Hybrid Courses (Best Practice Guide for Designing and Delivering EPICUR Courses), by Dorthe Hutz-Nierhoff, University of Freiburg, and Anne Mølgaard Nielsen, University of Southern Denmark. Any icons included are protected by copyright, © The Noun Project, used with permission.
License: This work and its contents are – unless otherwise stated – licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 . 

Last edited: 23. Jun 2025, 09:05, Hutz-Nierhoff, Dorthe [dh1076@rz.uni-freiburg.de]