This is a case study written on the learning outcomes of a hybrid summer program that Fairmont Private Schools ran in the summer of 2010. It shows that students learning outcomes had improved over the traditional bricks and mortar model of previous years.

1. HYBRID COU
URSES FO COLLEG PREPA
OR GE ARATORY STUDENT
Y TS
Sep
ptember 20 | thesys
010 sintl.com
ABSTRACT OF EFFECTIVE PRACTIC
E E CE
Every sc chool must continually improve academic q
y quality at a lower cost/student w while
offering a full rang of cours
ge ses. The hy ybrid mode is increa
el asingly dem monstrating the
g
ability to meet this range of needs. Hy ybrid or “bl ended” co urses combine classr room
experien nces with online resources. During July an August 2
o nd 2010, stude ents met in the
n
classroo for key lectures, sm group or individu work ac
om mall ual ctivities, lab and rev
bs, views
two day per week. This clas time was integrate with a fu online course inclu
ys ss s ed ull uding
reading materials, interactiv learning tools, dis
ve g scussion b boards, ass signments, and
other reesources, th student used during the re
hat ts emainder o f the week Teachers and
k. s
students provided conclusions about their ex perience a
s d t along with measures to
h
determine learning effective
g eness and best pract tices. Sixte
een hybrid courses w
d were
complet ted by 156 students utilizing a Learning Maanagement System (L
t LMS) in cou
urses
develop ped by Thesys Internaational. Results indicat compara
te able to imp proved lear
rning
outcomes at a lo ower cost per student compar red to traditional classroom-based
courses.
DESCRIPTION OF EFFECT
TIVE PRAC
CTICE
Introducction
Hybrid or “blendeed” learning empowers student s to becom independent learners,
g me
the kind of stude
d ent they will need to become upon en
w t e ntering college. Fairmmont
Preparatory Academy, locat ted in Anaheim, Calif
fornia, offe
ered the fo
ollowing hy ybrid
courses during the 2010 Sum
e mmer Schoo term: Alg
ol gebra I CP, Algebra II/Trigonommetry
CP, Biology CP & Honors, Chemistry CP & Hono rs, Econom
C mics CP, En
nglish I/II/II CP,
Geomet CP, Hea
try alth, Pre-Ca
alculus CP, US Govern
nment CP, U History CP, and W
US World
History CP.
This pap identifie the results obtained from thes hybrid c
per es d se courses ask
king:
1. Are learning outcomes in hybrid courses co
A g s omparable better, or worse relative
e, r
to the tradit
o tional classroom settin
ng?
2. What are ch
W haracteristic of succe
cs essful stude
ents in a hy
ybrid course?
3. What additi
W ional best practices can teache rs use in hybrid cour
c rses to imp
prove
outcomes?
o
4. What do stu
W udents say are their ke behavio for onlin learning?
ey ors ne ?
5. What is an effective mix of classr
W e room and o online time??
6. What type of conte
W ent should be learn
d ned in the classroo
e om and online
environments?
7. Can student LMS usage behavior differenti
C t rs iate betwee student outcomes?
en
8. Can a hybrid course structure lower th cost pe student in secon
C e e he er t ndary
education?
Learning Outcome
g es
Conclus
sions of lear
rning outco
omes stated by teach ers are sum
d mmarized b
below:
Pa
age 1

2. 1. Students ha the opp
ave portunity to learn just as much, a
o and probab more, in the
bly n
hybrid cour rse compar red to a fu
ully classro
oom-based course. Th hybrid class
he
eaches res
te sponsibility and time manage ment in a
y e addition to the requ
o uired
curriculum.
2. The hybrid course wa better. The studen who we taking the course for
T as T nts ere e
advancement were ve ery motivaated to do well, and easily kep up with the
o pt h
outside wor
o rk.
3. If the student is motiv
f vated, their learning w
r was compa arable with the classr
h room
le
earning.
4. The hybrid course is somewhat the same as the cla
T assroom-on course, and
nly
soomewhat worse beca
w ause some students tr to shortc the mat
s ry cut terial.
5. The student were able to answer the que stions and get reinforcement of the
T ts
concepts. I believe the hybrid course did en
e nhance the learning as a whole but
eir e
it depends on the stud
t o dent.
6. The hybrid was a little worse fo my inte rnational s
T or students du to langu
ue uage
barriers. It would be more succe
b m essful with better voccabulary as
ssistance w
within
th passage (e.g., pop
he es p-up windo ows with wo definiti
ord ions).
83% of remediatio students earned a higher pa ssing grade taking a hybrid course,
on s
after receiving the failing gr
e rade in a prior classr
p room-base course (
ed (versus 80 in
0%
2009 an 78% in 2008 for remediation students in traditiona classes).
nd 2 n al
88% of students taking cou urses for advanceme
a ent earned passing g
grades in 2010
compared to traditional class
sroom (sam course in 2009 at 93% and 2008 at 88%.
me) es d
brid advanc
The hyb cement stu udent grad distribut
de tions are c
comparable to classro
e oom-
based course outcomes, with a high ratio of A/B p
h performanc (see Figu 1 below
ce ure w).
Figure 1
F
Pa
age 2

3. During Fairmont’s summer program, th Geomet class w
p he try was held bo as a hy
oth ybrid
course and as classroom-only course. Overall, stud
a y O dents perfo
ormed better in the hy
ybrid
course (see Figure 2 below).
( e
Figure 2
F
Success sful Studen Characte
nt eristics/Behhaviors
Success sful students are no different in the hybri d environm
d n ment than the classrooom-
only environment. Teachers commente that stu
ed udents who were successful in the
n
hybrid program ex
p xhibited the following traits:
e
1. Self-directed learner, already high motivat
d a hly ted
2. Mature enou
M ugh to stay motivated and direc
y d cted with th online co
he omponent
3. Organized; completed the assignments in a timely manner
O c
4. Participated consistently in discussion board
P d ds
5. Took excelle notes during class and from readings at home
T ent d s
6. Asked ques
A stions, took all necess
k sary quizze and test followed the dead
es ts, d dlines
fo each cha
or apter, and excelled in the classro
e oom
7. Took the tim to do th reading, submitted assignmen before o
T me he nts other stude
ents
8. Averaged at least 2 ho
A ours per noon-classroo day on the LMS; lo
om ogged in to the
o
syystem ever day
ry
9. Viewed the course as a 24 hour/day, 7 d ay/week c
V s class; benef
fited from self-
motivation and parent involveme
m a ent
10. Thrives with less struct
T h ture
Teacher expresse a primary concern that many students a not as c
rs ed are computer savvy
as expec
cted.
Teacher Hybrid Best Practic
rs B ces
Teacher described the follow
rs d wing metho to enha
ods ance and mmanage the hybrid cou
e urse:
1. Schedule tim in the co
me omputer la once per week to m
ab r make sure t
that studen
nts
are able to access the online com
a mponents o f the cours properly; do some o
se of
th online work during the computer lab tim in order to see issu that
he w g me ues
st
tudents ma be havin
ay ng
Pa
age 3

4. 2. During classroom time, present an overview of major topics and have students
do a couple practice problems; after major concepts are presented and
practiced, follow-up with additional readings and assignments online
3. Do as much hands-on, real-life activities during classroom time
4. Give the final exam online through the Learning Management System (LMS)
5. To keep students at the same pace and motivated to log-in to the LMS, post
announcements each morning that highlight the daily assignment
6. Use synchronous communication tools for direct dialogue with students as
needed
7. Devote the first half-hour of classroom time to questions from the online
material
8. Don't "hide" future units from students--keep the course "wide-open" to
encourage exploration of the content
9. Determine attendance by a meaningful interaction between the student and
the teacher (for example, synchronous communications, daily email Q&A,
discussion boards, chat sessions, etc)
10. Foster virtual collaboration by providing group assignments during classroom
time to help students get to know each other/learn how to work together
11. To increase student accountability, set regular virtual office hours for students
to contact the teacher with questions or homework issues
12. Begin the course (and/or course units) by setting clear expectations and giving
clear instructions about the use of the LMS
13. Structure wet science labs with two days of classroom activities and a third
day of in-class lab activity
Student Best Practices
Students were surveyed at the end of the term for their ideas on best practices for
students and teachers. They mostly recognized the importance of time management
and self-motivation, stating:
For students
1. Stay on time with the homework; do not procrastinate
2. Manage your time well so that you do not fall behind
3. Study when you have time, and do the work before classroom sessions
4. Set aside sufficient time during the day to complete unfinished tasks
5. Choose a better work schedule than working at night--for example, do not
waste a free day and expect to catch up on the online assignments the night
before your classroom session
6. Do the homework assigned online on that same day rather than waiting
7. Review coursework as much as possible with your teacher and ask a lot of
questions (during class or through email)
8. Review materials and progress everyday to make sure you are not falling
behind
For teachers
1. Place all course materials online so that students can access them whenever
needed
2. Use presentations in class, and be sure to upload them to the LMS so that
students can review them later
3. Assign some of the labs online, if understandable
Page 4

5. 4. Scheduling classroom sessions a few days apart (such as Mondays &
Thursdays, or Tuesdays and Fridays) helps keep the online workload more
manageable
5. The more practice questions the better
Mix of Classroom and Online Time
Teachers recommended a mix of classroom and online time that varied by subject
level (see Table 1 below).
Table 1: Time Distribution
Actual Used Recommended
Subject % Time in % Time in
Classroom/Online Classroom/Online
Sciences 40% / 60% 60% / 40%
Math 40% / 60% 40% / 60%
English 40% / 60% 40% / 60%
Social Sciences 20% / 80% 40% / 60%
Content by Learning Environment
The mix of classroom and online time provided teachers the opportunity to focus
teaching methods on the best targeted environment. Knowing that the online content
covered all of the necessary material for a course, teachers were able to spend
classroom time on more complex, critical concepts and/or go into more depth on key
topics. Table 2 (below) shows the recommended activities for both environments in a
hybrid course.
Table 2: Recommended Activities
CLASSROOM ONLINE
– Discussion of abstract content – Reading, viewing and listening, followed by
– Brainstorming and planning independent reflection
– Practicing interpersonal skills, presentations – Asynchronous discussion
– Discussion of new concepts and beginning to – Team project developed online
apply learning with guidance – Video and text-based cases
– Demonstration of practices and processes – Repeated practice with concepts and skills
– Review of assignments using tools that allow students to work at
– Group discussions, role play, debate, practice their own pace, including interactive
speaking skills manipulative, games and simulations
– Providing practice and feedback to students on – Working on multi-media projects and
complex or ill-defined tasks sharing them with a wide audience
– Hands-on learning requiring use of specialized – Individual tutoring with synchronous
materials that are difficult to obtain or use communications, cyber-study groups
without teacher supervision – Knowledge checks using practice quizzes
with automated feedback
– Peer review of student work
Page 5

6. LMS Usa age and Le
earning Out tcomes
Final grades of stuudents wer compare to key measures of students’ usage of the
re ed
LMS, teesting for statistical correlation The go
ns. oal is not to fully e
explain all that
determines a stud dent’s grad but to understan the lev of activ
de, nd vel vity needed to
increase the likelihood of earning a higher grad Table 3 below s
e e h de. summarizes six
s
measure that we
es ere tested, and the resulting co orrelation t the fina grade. T
to al These
measureements support wha teachers already k
at s know, but can now be monit tored
during classroom-t
c time and vi the LMS prior to as sessments.
ia
Table 3: Measures of Student Behavior
Cost Per Student
Increasingly, schoo are disc
ols covering th technol
hat logy-based programs can lower the
d s
cost pe student, driven by effectiv
er b vely suppo orting more students per teac
s cher.
Generally, a hybrid course can be provided a a lower cost than a traditional
p at r
classroo for the following re
om f easons:
– Students ar more ind
re dependent learners w which thus frees up t
teacher tim to
me
effectively handle moore studen nts and/or multiple sections (i.e., impro
r oved
productivity Allocatio of existin resourc es can then be re-targ
p y). on ng n geted.
– Fewer textb
F books and less printing is nece
essary, as c
course matterials are built
in the LMS
nto S
Pa
age 6

7. Table 4 below summarizes the Fairmont Prep 2010 Summer School program and
other programs which have reported reductions in cost per student (in university and
high school programs) utilizing a hybrid model.
Table 4: Hybrid Cost Reduction
% Cost
School
Reduction
Fairmont Prep, CA 33%
University of Dayton, OH 44%
Rio Salado College, AZ 37%
Penn State, PA 30%
Walled Lake High School, MI 57%
SUMMARY
Today, every school must continually improve academic quality at a lower cost per
student while offering a full range of courses. The hybrid education model
increasingly meets this range of school needs. A hybrid course structure can:
– Increase Access
– Schedule flexibility enables students to take significant parts of a class 24x7.
One teacher reported a student-athlete was more alert during the
classroom (than previously experienced) because the student had more
independent study at a convenient time that fit the athletic schedule, and
was thus able to get more rest.
– The courses in this hybrid program were made available to students
throughout Orange and Los Angeles counties (in California) to meet their
summer school needs (due to the state budget crisis, many local schools in
these counties were cutting summer programs during the 2010 school
term).
– Percentage of enrollees from Fairmont Prep 69%
– Percentage of enrollees from other schools 31%
– Improve Teacher Satisfaction
– During the term, teachers taught on-campus two days per week instead of
five, providing them with schedule flexibility and resulting in reduced need
for day care or urban commuting.
– 12 of 15 teachers expressed they were pleased with teaching in a hybrid
format. The lower satisfaction from three other teachers was due to a desire
to increase the rigor of the content, or due to a predominance of English
Language Learners in the student make-up, who lacked language
proficiency to fully comprehend the material.
– Teachers learned new skills that are transferable to classroom instruction
with an LMS.
– Improve Learning Effectiveness
Page 7

8. – Hybrid courses capture the best of classroom and online capabilities. In the
classroom, teachers can focus on the most critical elements of the subject
matter or go deeper into key material. They can do so because they know
that the online portion addresses all the material needed by the student.
The result is additional learning time and instructional elements with fewer
distractions for students while preserving teacher face-time with students.
– Provide Student Satisfaction
– Students were asked “Would you take a hybrid course again?”
– Yes 72%
– Maybe 14% (depends on course schedule)
– No 14%
REFERENCES
Bonk, C. J., & Graham, C. R. (2006). The handbook of blended learning: Global
perspectives, local designs.
Pfeiffer essential resources for training and HR professionals. San Francisco: Pfeiffer.
Cavanaugh, C. (2010). Blended education for primary and secondary pupils. Better:
Evidence-Based Education 5(Autumn), 16-17.
Cavanaugh, C. (2009). Getting students more learning time online. Washington, DC:
Center for American Progress.
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/05/distance_learning.html
<http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/05/distance_learning.html>
Cavanaugh, C., Barbour, M., Brown, R., Diamond, D., Lowes, S., Powell, A., Rose, R.,
Scheick, A., Scribner, D. & Van der Molen, J. (2009). Examining Communication and
Interaction in Online Teaching. Vienna, VA: iNACOL.
Means, B., Toyama, Y., Murphy, R., Bakia, M., &Jones, K. (2009). Evaluation of
Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online
Learning Studies. Washington, D.C. Available at:
http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/tech/evidence-based-practices/finalreport.pdf
<http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/tech/evidence-based-practices/finalreport.pdf>
Wang, F. L., Fong, J., & Kwan, R. (2010). Handbook of research on hybrid learning
models: Advanced tools, technologies, and applications. Hershey, PA: Information
Science Reference.
Watson, J, (2008). Blended Learning: The Convergence of Online and Face-to-Face
Education, iNACOL Promising Practices in Online Learning, Vienna, VA: International
Association for K-12 Online Learning.
Harwood, J., (2002). Mixed Delivery Model Proves Cost-Effective. Sloan-Consortium.
Scarafiotti C., (2010). Redesign Lowers Cost per Student. Sloan-Consortium.
Page 8

9. Bishop T., (2010). Mixed Model Course Redesign for Introductory Psychology. Sloan-
Consortium.
MDR/EDNet Webinar (2010). Improving Outcomes and Cutting Costs with
Technology.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors wish to acknowledge the Headmaster and the summer hybrid teacher
team for their hard work and great support: Mr. Bobby Mendoza (Headmaster), Dr.
Cathleen Rauterkus, Mr. Nathan Silver, Ms. Holly Wilson, Ms. Kelly May, Mr. Mark
Hassoun, Ms. Michelle Paraiso, Ms. Deborah Terra, Ms. Virginia Phipps, Mr. Ken Logan,
Mr. Remy Demont, Ms. Lola Coleman, Dr. Bob Varnold, Ms. Jackie Saldamando, Mrs.
Carrissa Montenegro, Mr. Steven Duxbury, and Mr. Ivan Ortiz.
AUTHORS
Dr. Cathy Cavanaugh – Associate Professor of Education, University of Florida
Rajeshri Gandhi – Dean of Education, Fairmont Preparatory Academy
Dr. Rebecca Wood – Dean of Advanced Studies, Fairmont Preparatory Academy
Holly Wilson – English Teacher, Fairmont Preparatory Academy
Michael Payne – Program Architect, Thesys International
Page 9