Rising from Covid-19: Hybrid Teaching Experiences of University Teachers

Abstract

COVID-19 pandemic has affected higher education all over the globe. The unprecedented situation has brought changes in teaching at universities. Universities across the world decided to teach online. By the time, teachers’ hone online teaching Skills Universities resorted to hybrid teaching. Teachers are oblivious to hybrid teaching and had situational anxiety. In spite of all teachers started their hybrid classes. The present study assumes transtheoretical model for hybrid learning derived from ecosystem theory. Recent research is yet to capture the hybrid teaching experiences of university teachers amid COVID-19. The present study employed qualitative research method to capture in-depth understanding of hybrid teaching experiences. Study interviewed eight University teachers to understand the hybrid teaching experiences and applied interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to interpret the interview data. The findings of the study emerged with themes and sub-themes describing hybrid-teaching experiences and listed major challenges faced by them. Few of the challenges are handling online and offline students’ group simultaneously, technology integration to classes, technological barriers, and COVID-19 anxiety. Study recommends more research in the area for broader understanding of nuances of hybrid teaching. Nevertheless, to find solution to the challenges faced by the teachers while conducting hybrid classes.