The joys and woes of hybrid learning setup

by Rose Eunice Gacutan, Carl Daniel Reyes

During the first week of hybrid classes at the University of Santo Tomas (UST), Wednesday Pascual, a 20-year-old political science junior, was one of the only three students present for her online session before her block's afternoon onsite session.

Many of her classmates forgo the class in favor of getting an early start on their preparation and commute to the university, especially with only an hour gap between the sessions.

"Hindi naman lahat kami naka-dorm and mahirap yung ganoon na hindi makakapasok online dahil sa pagco-commute," Pascual said in an exclusive interview with the Six Stars Capitol.

Her classmate Paul Mamaradlo, 21, agreed, adding that the students were significantly inconvenienced by the scheduling clash.

“Kailangan namin pilitin makapag travel, makapag prepare. Kailangan pa talaga namin ng kanya-kanyang paraan to prepare,” he said.

A few kilometers away from UST, a student at San Beda University (SBU) faces the same challenges.

Hillary Danganan, 21, bemoans the mixed learning modalities in her class schedule, especially on Wednesdays.

"No time gap was delegated for us, and this was a reach for us students as the transition to onsite then the online class is abrupt. You don’t have time to process it," she said.

The Commission on Higher Education (ChED) issued Memorandum Order No. 16 on Nov. 11 last year mandating full-time, on-campus instruction or hybrid learning for all undergraduate students starting with the second semester of the 2022-2023 school year.

The ChED directive said that "following a full evaluation of institutional capacities, analysis of learner requirements and preferences, and conduct of stakeholder consultations, HEIs (higher education institutions) may opt to develop and deliver their degree programs using onsite learning or hybrid learning modality beginning in the second semester of the school year 2022 to 2023."

In this learning setup, fifty percent of face-to-face classes shall be held and the same applies to online classes. Laboratory and practicum courses must be delivered in a face-to-face setting, while consultations on research subjects may be undertaken online or in person.

Excitements and hesitations

Students' reactions and perspectives varied after the ChED issued its bulletin on the introduction of hybrid learning environments at educational institutions.

Some students felt uplifted and motivated by this announcement knowing that they will be back in a physical classroom setup.

Janela Grande, a third-year psychology major from De La Salle University-Manila (DLSU), felt excited about the shift to hybrid learning.

“I was ecstatic and excited upon knowing we will shift to hybrid class,” the 21-year-old Lasallian said.

But she only felt this during the first week of the hybrid setup. “Honestly, It slowly began to feel tiring because I needed to wake up early, and go home late,” she added.

Mamaradlo, who has attended UST since 2020, concurs with Grande that there is an air of anticipation of attending classes onsite.

“Of course, for the first time in I think almost three years or lagpas three years, we will finally experience that college life or that Thomasian culture na mayroon si UST,” he said.

Danganan, however, felt the exact opposite of what the two students said.

“Initially, I found it challenging to adapt to the sudden change, especially since we started our college year during the height of the pandemic,” she said.

Joys

Students who had spent the previous three years learning online could hardly contain their delight at the prospect of making genuine and physical interactions with their professors and classmates for the first time.

Mamaradlo compared the students’ interactions with their professors during online and face-to-face classes. “Mas may quality sa akin iyong face-to-face set up kasi doon I can have genuine interaction with my professors,” he said

“If I have questions, I can raise my questions unlike sa Zoom na pag tinanong ‘Do you have any question?’ Walang magsasalita or ‘None, sir,’” he added.

According to him, this face-to-face engagement with the professor not only benefits one student but also engages the whole class in dialogue.

Danganan, majoring in legal management, also shared the same views as Mamaradlo.

“A face-to-face session would give students more access to richer information and knowledge through the teacher and other students' body language and voice,” she said.

Following the ChED Memorandum Order, San Beda University's Faculty of Arts and Sciences issued its learning modes and guidelines for the second semester in Nov. 22, stating that students and faculty must hold courses on-site and supervise attendance.

Woes

The hybrid learning setup, though, is not always a bed of roses. The students also confronted difficulties and obstacles that served as a reality check as they study in this environment.

For Mamaradlo, the most time-consuming aspect of this arrangement is the commute.

Coming from Quezon City, his drive to school takes at least an hour.

"What more sa mga blockmates ko or sa mga students na from other parts pa of Luzon like from Rizal, from Cavite? Hindi ko rin alam kung paano gagawin iyon just in case na ako iyong nandoon sa situation so mas okay na onsite kasi andyan na ako the whole day," he said.

Being on campus the whole day, however, does not guarantee a smooth-sailing online class.

Pascual remarked, "Sariling diskarte na lang," referring that they had to use their own pocket Internet since the school's WiFi wasn't strong enough for an online class to be conducted effectively while on campus.

Aside from the weak internet connection, Pascual believes that there are no conducive learning spaces inside the campus that they can go to when attending online classes.

"Although pwede ka mag-stay sa library, paano kung kailangan mong magsalita, like for a recitation?" she said.

She has also found that the designated classrooms for their online sessions are useless since other blocks have been utilizing them for their onsite session.

"Sana meron framework or guidelines kung ano i-eexpect ng mga students sa setup na ito," Pascual said. "Hindi yung kaming students na lang ang gagawa ng sariling diskarte at kami mag a-adjust sa ibinigay nilang sistema."

The Office of the Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs at UST has allocated to academic units the responsibility of implementing face-to-face classrooms for their various programs and courses. This incorporates the safeguards used to guarantee the efficient and secure execution of hybrid courses.

Danganan, meanwhile, expresses struggles with the budget, believing that the setup is costly.

"The cost of traveling, living in a dorm, and paying for fares and meals to attend face-to-face classes resulted in additional expenses, which I believe is not student-friendly," she said.

Mamaradlo agrees, "In a day, sa class na from 8 AM to 6 PM, siguro more or less 200 na parking fee ko, and not only that, may gas expenses, lunch, dinner, and breakfast.”

Adjustments

Professors have to make adjustments to class schedules as a result of the difficulties and conflicts experienced by students in this setting.

“Our teachers took the liberty of converting it to online classes. The schedule before was that Monday and Tuesday were fully face-to-face classes, and on Wednesdays, we had a face-to-face class from 6:10 PM to 7:40 PM and an online class from 7:40 PM to 9:00 PM,” Danganan said.

At the moment, her weekly schedule is composed of three onsite classes and two consecutive online classes.

Mamaradlo and Pascual also shared instances wherein their professors altered their schedules.

“Iyong initial na schedule namin ay isang professor lang sa amin ang nag-apply ng face-to-face classes,” Pascual said.

They have three school days in a week, with Fridays and Saturdays scheduled as their onsite classes.

“Sa Friday and Saturday classes namin dati may naka-schedule na face-to-face classes for one subject. Kaso, tuwing Friday, mayroon kaming two consecutive online sessions from 7 AM to 12 AM, tapos 1 PM to 4 PM ang onsite. Kapag Saturday naman, may 9 AM to 12 PM onsite, then 1 PM to 4 PM online,” she added.

Abrupt transition

Both Pascual and Danganan mentioned that their universities made an "abrupt transition" from an online to a hybrid learning environment.

"Late na naglabas [yung admin] ng announcement na face-to-face na, you have to look for dorms, buy your uniforms," Pascual said. "January na nung ina-announce yoon when supposedly, dapat before the enrollment alam na natin yoon."

It was a similar scenario for Danganan, who said that some students in SBU still do not have their uniforms due to the sudden increase in orders.

The universities nonetheless made adjustments as a result of the sudden change. To allow students more time to move into their dormitories and purchase uniforms, the UST said in a memorandum that online courses will continue until the end of February.

Meanwhile, SBU allows students who still do not have their uniforms to come to school in decent civilian wear.

What now?

As students adapt to the new normal, the question of hybrid learning and its sustainability in the long run arises.

Pascual believes that the hybrid learning setup will continue indefinitely, as time calls for a new normal.

"We cannot really go back to full face-to-face for everything," she said. "Having this kind of setup makes it more convenient and parang nahihimay yung pagod mo for academics.”

She continued by saying that the College of Fine Arts and Design at UST has a structure where students spend alternating weeks in class on campus and online that is effective.

"Kapag one week kayong F2F, yung attention mo na sa classes, then pag one week online, you have more time to recuperate, pero you are still working on your requirements asynchronously.I think mas better if ganon yung system compared dun sa isang araw may online kayo, then the next F2F, kasi ang gulo," she explained.

Students like Mamaradlo, on the other hand, see this arrangement as just temporary until a more optimal system can be put in place.

"We are in the transition period. We are doing this because we’re trying to test if F2F classes are feasible na or sustainable na sa setup natin,” he said.

Ang point niya talaga is to really see in a much real perspective, hindi lang basta assume but to really see kung would it be effective," he added.

Yet, these students believe that they should not stop for this sort of setup and that they should move away from the pandemic mindset and while this situation is still in place, individuals responsible for developing a much better setup should think about their long-term goals for a better course of action for all stakeholders.