Last July 10, 2022 (Saturday), the Don Bosco School of Theology held a “Hyflex Learning Seminar for professors.” Various professors who will be teaching in the upcoming school year attended the seminar. Ms. Stella Maria Fulgencio, the safety and health officer of the school, started the seminar by discussing the health and safety protocols of the school for the upcoming school year. The health and safety protocols that will be implemented this school year will ensure that everyone on campus has a safe learning environment.
After the discussion of the health and safety protocols, Ms. Stella turned the talk over to the main facilitator of the seminar, Ms. Michelle Flores. Ms. Michelle Flores is currently a full-time faculty member at Assumption College, Makati City. Ms. Michelle started the seminar by discussing several points in the similarities and differences between learning modes during the pre-pandemic era and the current pandemic era. During the first year of the pandemic, many schools and universities shifted to online or distance learning, thus ensuring students from different schools would still be able to complete their studies despite the pandemic.
Different strategies for hybrid classes were presented by Ms. Michelle. Ms. Michelle focused on five key points that a teacher or professor can do in a hybrid mode of teaching. Here are the following strategies presented by Ms. Michelle 1) Flip the lesson, 2) Assign Roles, 3) Distribute the Agenda, 4) Emphasize Engagement, and 5) Establish connections through breakout rooms. These strategies are vital in starting a hyflex class to ensure that even in the non-traditional learning mode of a normal classroom, the students will still be able to understand the lessons being presented to them clearly and effectively. Ms. Michelle also encouraged the professors undergoing the seminar to require their students to use and open their cameras during classes. This is to ensure that the students are really focused on the class that they are attending.
The seminar has been a successful event for the Don Bosco School of Theology. It helped the school and its professors to be well equipped in the upcoming school year, in the third year and hopefully the last year of the pandemic. We thank Ms. Michelle Flores for sharing her expertise and knowledge with her fellow educators.
