Changing Course: Hybrid Opportunities for Students in French, Hispanic, and Italian Language Programs

TitleChanging Course: Hybrid Opportunities for Students in French, Hispanic, and Italian Language Programs
Faculty/College/UnitArts
StatusActive
Duration2 Year
Initiation04/01/2023
Funding Details
Year 1: Project YearYear 1
Year 1: Funding Year2023/2024
Year 1: Project TypeLarge TLEF
Year 1: Principal InvestigatorLuisa Canuto
Year 1: Funded Amount78,548
Year 1: Team Members

Luisa Canuto, Associate Professor of Teaching, French, Hispanic and Italian Studies (FHIS), Faculty of Arts
Brianne Orr-Álvarez, Associate Professor of Teaching, FHIS, Faculty of Arts
Caroline Lebrec, Assistant Professor of Teaching, FHIS, Faculty of Arts

Year 1: Summary

*Special Call: Hybrid and Multi-Access Course Redesign Project*

The Department of French, Hispanic, and Italian Studies (FHIS) plans to develop a new model for hybrid language teaching and learning, and implement it in twelve first-and-second year language courses across three language programs (French, Italian, Spanish), over a two-year period. The model will leverage the critical feedback and experience from FHIS students and faculty, as well as the findings from research and discussions of FHIS’s Online Curriculum Committee, and build on the pedagogical considerations, innovations, structures, and materials developed in the last years of remote language teaching.

The model will increase accessibility and flexibility, incorporate asynchronous online activities and collaborative in-person interactions in weekly small-group discussions, and involve students as content developers. The enrolment numbers in these hybrid courses (between 35 and 110) reflect both FHIS departmental norms for language courses as well as the Modern Language Association’s recommendations for optimal language learning practice in smaller class sizes.

Year 2: Project YearYear 2
Year 2: Funding Year2024/2025
Year 2: Project TypeLarge TLEF
Year 2: Principal InvestigatorLuisa Canuto
Year 2: Funded Amount72,279
Year 2: Team Members

Co-Principal Investigators:

Luisa Canuto, Associate Professor of Teaching, FHIS, Faculty of Arts
Brianne Orr-Álvarez, Associate Professor of Teaching, FHIS, Faculty of Arts

Project Team Members:

Magali Blanc, Lecturer, FHIS, Faculty of Arts
Nicholas Bartlett, PhD Candidate, FHIS, Faculty of Arts
Jennifer Nagtegaal, PhD Candidate, FHIS, Faculty of Arts
Iris Escuer-Riera, Lecturer, FHIS, Faculty of Arts
Makafui Amouzouvi, Undergraduate Student / UAA, FHIS, Faculty of Arts
Mengxiong Jiang, Undergraduate Student / UAA, FHIS, Faculty of Arts
Charles-Olivier Dufresne-Camaro, PhD Candidate, Computer Science, UBC Okanagan / SoTL Specialist

Year 2: Summary

The Department of French, Hispanic, and Italian Studies (FHIS) is in the process of developing and implementing twelve first- and second-year language courses across three language programs (French, Italian, Spanish) as a new model for sustainable hybrid language teaching and learning.

The model leverages the findings from research and discussions of FHIS’s Online Curriculum Committee (2020-2021), critical feedback and experience from FHIS students and faculty and an Advisory Committee of Arts educators with hybrid teaching experience, and builds on the pedagogical considerations, innovations, structures, and materials developed for remote language teaching.

The model combines asynchronous (online) and synchronous (in-person) learning to increase accessibility and flexibility in sections of 35 or 55 students with instructor and TA support for larger sections. The design team works with teaching teams to develop, implement, and update course structures and content and provides ongoing training to move toward sustainability of the hybrid model.