Hybrid Learning: The solution to binary thinking

The recent DLC blog post by Kim Loomis struck a chord for me, because I deeply believe that hybrid learning is THE path forward for education as it embraces the power and potential of both humans and our digital/AI partners. Over last the 14 years in building flexible learning environments powered by humans and multiplied by digital resources, I have found that people tend to vilify or deify the human element over the digital options, or vice-versa. You may have heard this in the overly simple debate of “traditional” schools vs online/hybrid schools. The reality is that this type of “binary opposition” creates winners and losers in a game where we need to create win/win solutions.

Here, the term binary opposition refers to the opposition of using digital/AI resources as tools for learning, but more importantly it also refers to the oversimplified solution to our complex issues facing education. There are very few instances where binary oppositions adequately answer any real complex questions, and education might one of most complex issues when you consider all the variables involved. So, if for a moment we can stop oversimplifying our educational issues and consider the power and potential of humans AND the power and potential of digital/AI; and not some arbitrary opposition to one or the other, then we might get to what I feel is the best solution; hybrid learning, and I would like to offer some concrete steps to moving in that direction.  

I recommend starting with your instructional model and/or your profile of a learner/graduate/educator if you have one. With that model/profile in place, take your school colors and code all areas as places where humans will be impacting and building those skills with students and the situations where the digital/AI content will be supporting the learning. In the case of Valor Preparatory Academy in Arizona, an intentionally hybrid school, our instructional model shows that humans will be doing the work in blue and our digital content will be doing the work in red. For us, humans will support students as they develop their skills in communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creative problem solving (4Cs). They will use our empowerments (think dispositions) to use the 4Cs skills via personalized learning as we get to know each student. In red, our digital content will set the knowledge foundation, provide the modern tools for adaptive practice, and offer us the flexibility we need to support our students goals and offer tutoring outside of our “direct instruction” hours.

Finally, I offer these tenets of hybrid learning to help guide the conversation and implementation of hybrid learning. Hybrid can be a school unto itself like Valor, a school-within-a-school, a micro-school or even exist in your homeschool environment. The key is to approach the learning environment with the intentionality to offer to digital what digital does well and give to our incredible teachers, admin, and staff what we do well which is building learning through relationships, depth of knowledge, and adaptability. We will use digital/AI to multiply the efforts of our amazing staff and NEVER do what online does which is set foundational learning and offer practice to our students with immediate feedback. You will always be second best at someone else’s game and trying to beat digital content and AI at what it does best will immediately make you the second place finisher in a two horse race. 

So, when the oversimplified solutions start to come out like “just let digital/AI take the wheel” or its counter argument “get back to basics/traditional learning,” I ask that you resist the binary oppositions and embrace the power and potential of both humans and our digital resources to build the best blend for our students and families: hybrid learning.