Before we talk about roles, I want to take a minute to talk about one of my favorite pieces of literature by Frank Pajares (1992). The article, titled Teachers’ Beliefs and Educational Research: Cleaning Up a Messy Construct, explores how individual beliefs affect teaching styles. This theory explains why two instructors teaching the same topic may approach their teaching differently. For example, if you believe that students need structure and rigor, you might take on the role of a strict disciplinarian with a no-nonsense approach to teaching. All of your instructional choices stem from this initial belief related to your role as a teacher. More importantly, this work also explains that we form our instructional beliefs from our experiences as students. Our third-grade teacher, that really awesome high school biology teacher, and your college professors all influence your belief about what a teacher looks like.
Maybe you’re thinking, yeah, so what? So that just explains how I teach. What does that have to do with hybrid teaching?
Numerous studies show that in online and hybrid learning environments, instructors need to adopt different instructional approaches to support student learning (Linder, 2017). Specifically, the literature recommends using learner-centered activities that encourage student autonomy and independent learning (Linder).
