The COVID-19 pandemic pushed educational institutions to quickly redefine the traditional understanding and experience of teaching and learning which has resulted in the adoption of innovative and flexible pedagogical approaches. The rapid shift to online education and the gradual return to campus offered new ways of thinking about education, grounded in technology and adaptability. These experiences have highlighted the importance of reimagining learning environments to be inclusive, accessible, and responsive to diverse needs (Barnett, 2014). As Brock reflects on these transformative experiences through its 2023-2028 Academic Plan, flexibility is an important component of Brock’s vision for a future that supports meaningful educational experiences for all to meet the needs of a digital society.
The purpose of this resource is to provide instructors with an understanding of flexible teaching and learning so that they can empower students to actively participate in their learning journey while breaking down barriers that can create a more accessible and inclusive educational experience. Offering learning alternatives to students can help address challenges such as attending in-person lectures during adverse weather or lacking personal access to technology for online sessions. Without this flexibility, students might otherwise miss out on valuable learning opportunities (Beatty, 2019).
The ideas and strategies presented here are not intended as universal and prescriptive approaches to every course or even every lesson, but rather as adaptable approaches that can meet most of the needs of diverse learners. In the end, the degree of flexibility is informed by your course context.
Flexible teaching and learning can empower students to take greater control over their education by deciding what, when, where, and how they learn. Flexible learning aims to adapt to diverse learner needs using technology to enable learning beyond the traditional classroom. Flexible learning, as an approach, fosters independent study, promotes engagement, and supports learning at a personalized pace (Müller and Mildenberger, 2021). For instructors, this approach offers the benefit of reaching a wider range of students and the opportunity to accommodate student learning needs more effectively.
Flexible Learning
Flexible learning offers students choices (Gordon, 2014):
| Category | Options |
|---|---|
| Pace | Accelerated, Deaccelerated, Part-time, Full-time |
| Place | Physical classroom, Online classroom, At home, During commute |
| Mode | In-person, Online, Blended (a mix of both online and in-person) |
HyFlex combines both hybrid and flexible learning offering students the choice to participate in classes in-person, online synchronously, or asynchronously. Different from traditional hybrid courses, HyFlex allows students to have a choice and switch between these modes based on their needs while still meeting the same learning objectives. HyFlex is a model that provides different learning alternatives for all course materials and sessions so that they are accessible regardless of participation mode that students decide to engage and participate in (Columbia Center for Teaching and Learning, 2020).
Effective HyFlex course implementation involves careful planning, inclusive engagement, and interactive activities in-person, asynchronously and synchronously. Instructors should design each session with clear objectives and share their lesson plans in advance. It is also recommended that instructors familiarize themselves with the classroom technology and prepare backup plans in case of technical issues. In addition, it is suggested to create participation norms and expectations that give equal attention to in-person and remote students to foster inclusivity. Providing accessible materials and follow-up engagement opportunities is key in HyFlex Teaching. Additionally, instructors should ensure that audio quality and communication between in-person and online participants are optimized, as poor sound and lack of interaction can create barriers to effective learning. Finally, interactive elements such as icebreakers, live polls, and collaborative tasks promote a strong sense of community among all learners (Beatty, 2019).
Flexible pedagogy emphasizes teaching and learning strategies that give students control over the pace, location, and mode of their education. This approach allows learners to decide when, where, and how they engage with their studies, with e-learning playing a key role in supporting both on-campus and remote learning, whether at home or in the workplace (Gordon, 2014).
Ryan and Tilbury (2014) propose six pedagogical ideas that can inform and guide the notion of flexible learning and help shape innovative educational outcomes in a rapid-changing educational era:
1. Learner Empowerment: With learners at the center of this framework, students are seen as active collaborators and co-creators of knowledge. It promotes participatory and transformative pedagogies, positioning students as valuable contributors to curriculum design and teaching strategies.
2. Future-Facing Education: Students are encouraged to think creatively about future possibilities and develop solutions to complex, changing problems. It focuses on building confidence, adaptability, and critical thinking to pursue positive change.
3. Decolonizing Education: This involves diversifying curricula, fostering intercultural understanding, and developing globally sensitive perspectives. It aims to connect students’ experiences with global issues related to justice and equity.
4. Transformative Capabilities: Learning is approached holistically, considering cognitive, emotional, and spiritual dimensions. Through transformative learning and critical reflection, students challenge assumptions, adapt to complexity, and engage meaningfully with the world.
5. Crossing Boundaries: This focuses on interdisciplinary and inter-professional learning, integrating knowledge from various fields. It addresses societal, economic, and industry challenges by fostering collaboration across academic and professional domains.
6. Social Learning: Learning extends beyond formal curricula into both physical and virtual spaces. It emphasizes co-curricular activities, informal learning, and collaborative technology-driven interactions.
Flexible assessments allow students choice in how they can demonstrate their learning. This can be achieved through varying assessment weightings, self/peer-assessment, or alternative formats. Flexible assessments emphasize competency over method to provide students with different alternatives to meet clear learning criteria in ways that match their strengths. Flexibility in assessments can be supportive of learners in different and meaningful ways. Additionally, assessments can increase authenticity and can better prepare students for various career paths beyond university while promoting equal opportunities (Irwin and Hepplestone, 2012).
Implementation of Flexible Assessments
Irwin and Hepplestone (2012, p. 18) suggest the following recommendations for implementing flexible assessment formats:
- Determine the degree of flexibility in format choice to build into assessments across the course.
- Refine assessment criteria to ensure they are directed at demonstrating the desired learning outcomes instead of incidental learning outcomes that are specifically linked to the assessment format used previously.
- Have an open an honest enquiry into any preconceptions of the worth of different assessment formats.
- Agree marking strategies ahead of time.
- Consider the role of technology in supporting student use of different assessment formats.
- Ensure support for staff and students with any assessment formats that will be allowed.
- Discuss with students why you are introducing assessment format choice and what the implications are for them.
| Category | Not Flexible | Medium | Very Flexible |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time | |||
| Start/End of the Course | Once an academic year | Every term or semester | Any time |
| Assignment Submission | Fixed deadlines | Within a period of time | Negotiated with students |
| Tempo and Pace | Materials and activities revealed every week | Materials and activities available from the beginning | Up to students |
| Assessment Times | Fixed | Adjustable | Negotiated with students |
| Content | |||
| Topics of the Course | Fixed | Some choices | Negotiated with students |
| Sequence of the Content | Fixed | Some choices | Content can be completed in any sequence |
| Assessment Standards | Fixed | Some choices | Negotiated with students |
| Delivery and Logistics | |||
| Time and Place of Instruction | Fixed | Some choices and flexibility | Course can be completed without visiting the institution or meeting a tutor |
| Types of Help and Communication | Face-to-face mode and print | Online and specified mode of support | Everything with additional support |
| Location and Technology | Fixed (In-person) | Blended (Face-to-face and online) | Negotiated with students |
| Delivery Channels for Course Information | Fixed—noticeboards, in department and lectures | Mixture of face-to-face and online | Negotiated with students |
More Ideas on Flexible Learning
- If you generally have a class break, consider allowing students to leave class early instead of having a break to help reduce traffic flow on campus and to provide more time for entering and exiting class.
- Consider using the Brightspace Assignments tool instead of having student submit paper-based assignment to minimize student’s need for printing, being on campus, and handling shared resources.
- There are many legitimate reasons students may be unable to attend class. Here are some strategies to support students off-campus to continue to engage:
- Ask one of the students to take notes and connect with that student to provide the notes.
- Create an MS Teams meeting and allow one or more of the students to connect to the off-campus student(s) so that they are able to virtually attend lecture. Students can also create MS Teams sessions themselves on their laptops or phones to share with their peers who are away.
- Share recordings from lectures that you might have made previously.
- If a student misses a test or quiz, use the online quiz tool to provide them with the opportunity to complete the test/quiz.
- Instructors are welcome to hold their office hours online through the MS Teams.
CPI provides a course outline template for graduate and undergraduate courses that includes suggested language for policy around academic integrity and accommodations.
Putting course resources on a website or in Brock University’s Learning Management System (Brightspace) means that students can access course documents, complete assignments, take quizzes, and post on discussion forums electronically.
Online modules can also be created with the easy-to-use Brightspace Content tool.
- Incorporate online documentaries or films licensed by the Brock University Library
- Clear copyright and include a scanned chapter by the Brock University Library and ARES
- Upload resources to share with students in the Brightspace Content tool
Your entire lecture does not need to be a video. Research shows that videos less than 10 minutes are ideal (Guo, Kim, & Rubin, 2014). See the section on using Lessons on how you can incorporate static text and images to provide context to short lectures or “lecture-ettes”.
To prerecord video on a local computer for distribution online via the LMS or other platforms, instructors may wish to use one of the following asynchronous video solutions:
Microsoft PowerPoint has built-in audio and timing recording functionality which allows instructors to narrate their own power points. Instructors can use the same slides they already use, record audio, export them as a video, and upload video recordings to Brightspace See office.com for detailed instructions.
Depending on the type of assessment, it may be possible to keep the existing format in place with small tweaks to have students submit online.
Assignments
Paper-based assignments can be easily adapted to the Brightspace Assignments tool. Students can also submit videos recorded on their phone, webcam, or record a presentation in PowerPoint, export it as a video, and upload the video to the Assignments tool.
There are many ways to create videos. Instructors are encouraged to give students opportunities to practice submitting digital assignments in a low-stakes context before requiring high-stakes submissions.
Quizzes
Brightspace can be used to create and deliver quizzes. Accommodations and exceptions can be created for students per quiz or across the course. Once a quiz has been released to students, modifications and exceptions are not practical.
This can allow for remote, synchronous or in-person classes to take quizzes in “real time” (at the same time). This feature offers less flexibility and accommodation than standard quizzing, where students can take a quiz in their own time (asynchronous).
As per a 2020 Provostial directive, there is no central supports for online proctoring tools. Instructors are reminded that “All software should meet the University’s privacy, accessibility and security policies and standards.” (FHB III.A 3.10.4.2).
We have guides for Creating Accessible Classroom Resources that can help guide you through the process.
Discussions can be a good way to engage in meaningful discussions either in text, audio, or video. They can be useful for frequently asked questions or topic-based conversations. The Discussion tool in Brightspace can be used to automatically create discussion spaces for Seminars and Labs.
Instructors are responsible for adding their TAs to Brightspace. The Classlist or Sections tool can be used to Add a TAs to specific “Sections” (Seminars).
Contact [email protected] to schedule a consult to best address your pedagogical needs for achieving your courses’ learning outcomes.
The Faculty Handbook section 3 C. General Academic Policies and Regulations 6. Policy on Protecting Students as a Result of a Disruption of Academic Activities includes sections on:
Information about the Student Absence Self-Declaration Form (less than 72 hours)
Instructors can find more information about the Student Absence Self-Declaration Form
When should this form be used?
- If you (a student) are experiencing an unexpected acute illness (e.g., stomach flu) that has led to physical or psychological impairment of sufficient severity that you feel you are temporarily unable to meet required academic requirements.
- If you (a student) are experiencing a mental health concern or a personal events or circumstance (e.g., housing insecurity, food insecurity, gender-based and sexual violence) that has led to physical or psychological impairment of sufficient severity that you feel you are temporarily unable to meet required academic requirements.
- This is for brief absences when you expect to return to full academic functioning within 72 hours.
- Submit this form no later than 24 hours after the end of your brief absence. Submit to your instructor and/or supervisor directly (or via Brightspace if configured for the course). When should this form not be used?
- If you become ill during an exam. In this instance, you must submit a Brock University Medical Verification Form.
- If your brief absence is not associated with any loss of marks.
- If your brief absence is not related to an unexpected acute medical condition or personal events or circumstances beyond your control and which seriously impair your ability to meet academic obligations.
- If you have a personal or family event (e.g., vacation, wedding) to attend or other competing commitments that you are aware of in advance of your academic commitments. In such cases, you should consult directly with your instructor and/or graduate supervisor.
Under what circumstances may instructors deny the use of this form?
- If your absence exceeds 72 hours (3 days).
- If you fail to submit this form within 24 hours of the end of your 3-day brief absence.
- If you become ill during an exam.
- If you have a personal or family event (e.g., vacation, wedding) to attend or other competing commitments.
- If you are seeking academic accommodation due to participation in an approved student activity such as a conference, performance or competition.
- If you are seeking academic accommodation on religious grounds.
- If you have already used this process once in the given term for the course. If your request has been denied, but you have met the Student Absence Self-Declaration Form criteria, please reach out to the Office of the Student Ombuds for guidance.
If a class is canceled due to inclement weather or any other emergencies, please consider the following recommendations:,
Barnett, R. (2014). Conditions of flexibility. York: Higher Education Academy, 10.
Beatty, B. J. (2019). Designing a Hybrid-Flexible Course: Creating an Effective Learning Environment for All Students. In B. J. Beatty, Hybrid-Flexible Course Design: Implementing student-directed hybrid classes. EdTech Books. Retrieved from https://edtechbooks.org/hyflex/hyflex_design
Casey, J. and Wilson, P. (2005). A practical guide to providing flexible learning in further and higher education. Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education. Retrieved from: https://trustdr.digitalinsite.co.uk/outputs/Flex_Delivery_Guide.pdf
Columbia Center for Teaching and Learning (2020). Hybrid/HyFlex Teaching & Learning. Columbia University. Retrieved [Feb, 2025] from: https://ctl.columbia.edu/resources-and-technology/teaching-with-technology/teaching-online/hyflex/
Gordon, N. (2014). Flexible pedagogies: Technology-enhanced learning. The Higher Education Academy, 1(2), 2-14.
Müller, C., & Mildenberger, T. (2021). Facilitating flexible learning by replacing classroom time with an online learning environment: A systematic review of blended learning in higher education. Educational Research Review, 34, 100394.
Irwin, B. and Hepplestone, S. (2012). Examining increased flexibility in assessment formats. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 37 (7), 773-785. Retrieved [Feb, 2025] from: https://shura.shu.ac.uk/6529/1/Irwin%20Flexible_assessment_formats_FINAL.pdf
Ryan, A., & Tilbury, D. (2014). Flexible pedagogies: New pedagogical ideas. Advance HE. https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/flexible-pedagogies-new-pedagogical-ideas
Schwartz, M., et al. (n.d.). Flexible learning resource. Toronto Metropolitan University. https://www.torontomu.ca/content/dam/learning-teaching/teaching-resources/teach-a-course/flexible-learning.pdf