Example of module delivery hours
The model below can be adapted for short, long, undergraduate, postgraduate and ‘non-standard’ modules, part time or block teaching.
|
Number of scheduled teaching hours |
Teaching and learning activities per week, for 12 weeks of the semester (short fat or long thin) |
|
12 |
Week 1: 1hr asynchronous activity Week 2: 1hr synchronous activity |
|
15 |
Week 1: 1hr asynchronous activity Week 2: 1.5hr synchronous activity |
|
18 |
Week 1: 1.5hr asynchronous activity Week 2: 1.5hr synchronous activity |
|
24 |
1hr asynchronous activity 1hr synchronous activity |
|
30 |
1hr asynchronous activity 1.5hr synchronous activity |
|
36 |
1hr asynchronous activity 2hr synchronous activity |
|
48 |
2hr asynchronous activity 2hr synchronous activity |
It is critical that there is a relationship between asynchronous and synchronous activity.
‘1 hour’ of lecture/presentation does not mean recording 1 hour of speaking to slides. See Flipped learning guidance re: recording ‘bite-sized’ 15 minute or less (guidance subject to updates). Most 1 hour lectures should be able to be condensed into two or at the most three 15 minute screencasts or podcasts. You should also set follow up work for students.
Examples of structure for undergraduate delivery in a semester
|
Asynchronous online |
e.g. lecture/presentation, including follow up work |
|
Synchronous online |
e.g. interactive lecture / presentation, seminar, group critique, presentations |
|
Synchronous face to face |
e.g. seminar, workshop activity, group critique, presentations |
Example course structure for delivery in a semester
|
Module |
Asynchronous online |
Synchronous online |
Synchronous on-campus face-to-face teaching |
|
A – 48 hours |
1 hour |
1 hour |
2 hours |
|
B – 36 hours |
1 hour |
1 hour |
1 hour |
|
C – 24 hours |
1 hour |
|
1 hour |
|
Totals (week, Semester 1) |
3 hours asynchronous online |
2 hours synchronous online |
4 hours face to face on-campus delivery |
Example block delivery structure for delivery in a semester (12 weeks, 3×4 week blocks)
|
Module |
Asynchronous online |
Synchronous online |
Synchronous on-campus face-to-face teaching |
Total per week, for 4 weeks |
|
Module A |
1 hour |
1 hour |
4 hours |
1 hour asynchronous 5 hours synchronous |
|
Module B |
2.5 hours |
2.5 hours |
4 hours |
2.5 hour asynchronous 6.5 hours synchronous |
|
Module C |
4 hours |
4 hours |
4 hours |
4 hour asynchronous 8 hours synchronous |
Making it work
Below are some considerations which are helpful when considering how to group students for timetabling purposes:
- Students should, where possible, be grouped into “Learning Groups” that are the same for all core module teaching activities. Local decisions will be required for elective modules, which may include online-only delivery or mixing groups. Read more about Learning Groups.
- Consider rotation of seminar groups (i.e. only a portion of the seminar groups are taught on-campus whilst others are taught online and they rotate for subsequent weeks). This may result in fewer than 4 sessions on campus every week, but this should not compromise the 6 weekly hours of synchronous teaching.
- Aim to deliver on-campus sessions consecutively in half or one day blocks in specified spaces. Such blocks would normally involve teaching from several modules. Course teams will have freedom in how time within these blocks is allocated. Read more about teaching blocks.