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Hybrid Flipped Learning Series Article 2: Designing Online Self-Paced Learning

Design Strategies 2.1-2.3

Overview

After you create a repeatable and continuous learning cycle and establish the rhythm of learning in your hybrid and flipped class, the next step is to work on designing online self-paced learning.  The online self-paced learning is the first stop where students are exposed to instructional materials and activities. It serves a role to initiate students’ learning and lays the fundamentals of upcoming class activities. The success of online self-paced learning not only can increase students’ motivation but also allow them to move onto the next learning level smoothly.  In this article we will explore design principles for self-paced learning that supports students’ initial mental model development and the strategies to design the self-paced learning experiences.  

The main purpose of online self-paced learning is to support students to build fundamental understanding of the subject. The design strategies that guide the development of the self-paced learning model include the following.

2.1 Support Initial Mental Model Development

To get started, you need to define your Hybrid Flipped Learning Cycles, specifically, you need to determine the structure of your learning cycles inOnline learning materials and activities should incorporate the Activation, Demonstration, and Application principles (Merrill, 2013) to help students develop their initial mental model of the new knowledge and skill.

  • Activation: Activate students’ prior knowledge to help them integrate the new knowledge with what they already know. You may use diagrams, concept maps, or well-defined problems as the context for activation. 
  • Demonstration: Demonstrate ways of applying the new knowledge and skills. For example, you can use screencast video to walk students through solving a well-defined problem. This type of demonstration helps students see how an expert would apply the knowledge or skills they just learned step-by-step, while also showing them the value of what they are learning (Jones, 2018).  
  • Application: Give students opportunities to apply the new knowledge and skills through structured problem-solving practice. Meanwhile, it is critical to provide students immediate feedback on students’ application performance, so that they are able to identify their knowledge gap, and seek help or support to clarify their confusion or misunderstanding. 

Examples

Function Rubric Lecture – from CSC 111 Introduction to Programming

  • Activation
    • Function Rubric Video (0:08-2:45): Instructor first activates students’ prior knowledge about the algorithm concept model that also applies to function, and then introduces new knowledge about function based off of the algorithm concept.
  • Demonstration
    • Function Rubric Video (2:45-5:53): Instructor demonstrates the application of new knowledge to a well-structured function problem.
  • Application
    • Students work on quiz questions to check their understanding and solve problems similar to the demonstration.

Excel Formulas and Functions Lecture – from BAE 200 Computer Methods in Biological Engineering

  • Activation
  • Demonstration:
  • Application
    • Students follow along the Soybean Yield and Revenue Video to perform the same analysis on their own computer.

Fundamental Accounting Equation Lecture – from ACC 210 Concepts of Financial Reporting

Students work on before-class exercise problems that involve the accounting equation. They have access to the solution after submitting their responses.

Activation

Fundamental Accounting Equation Video (1:07-4:44): Instructor uses a diagram to activate students’ knowledge about the high-level equation and expands the diagram to show a more detailed equation.

Demonstration

Example Problem Video (1:17-4:25): Instructor demonstrates applying the detailed accounting equation to an example problem.

Application

2.2 Apply Multimedia Learning Principles

An effective HFL cycle supports cogWith the above mentioned design principles in mind, we design the learning materials by using all sorts of multimedia (such as image, text, audio and video) content).  Mayer’s (2001) multimedia learning principles offer guidance on designing multimedia content. Below is a brief list of selected principles that can benefit online learning in a hybrid and flipped setting. 

Example: In a psychology lecture video, the instructor speaks directly to students in a warm, conversational tone: “Now, let’s think about how you might apply this theory in your own life.” The narration is delivered in the instructor’s own voice rather than by a narrator or text-to-speech program. Seeing slides paired with hearing their instructor’s familiar voice helps students feel that the message is personal and authentic, strengthening their sense of connection to the course and motivating them to actively engage with the content.

  • Coherence principle: Only present online materials relevant to the learning goals. It takes extra time for learners to process the unnecessary information and sometimes it can even confuse learners.
    • Example: In an online biology module on cell division, the video explains mitosis using labeled diagrams and narration. Extraneous background music, decorative clip art of animals, or fun facts unrelated to mitosis are excluded. The material stays focused on essential steps—prophase through cytokinesis—so students can concentrate on understanding the process without distraction.
  • Pre-training principle: pre-training is a way to help students get familiar with new terminologies or basic concepts before they move on to the more complex learning materials. By doing so, the course instructor can reduce students’ frustration and increase students’ confidence in learning difficult materials.
    • Example: In a lecture video on the cardiovascular system, the instructor begins with a short introductory segment reviewing the names and basic functions of the heart’s chambers, valves, and vessels. Simple labeled diagrams appear on screen while the instructor narrates. Once these key terms are familiar, the lecture transitions into a more detailed explanation of blood flow, enabling students to focus on how the system works rather than struggling to decode new terminology during the main explanation.
  • Signaling principle: When designing content, use verbal or visual cues (e.g., color, outlines, concept maps) to draw students’ attention to critical content elements or relationships among the concepts.
    • Example: In a lecture video on human anatomy, the instructor begins by showing a labeled outline of the digestive system. As each organ is discussed, the corresponding part of the diagram is highlighted in color while the rest is grayed out. The instructor also uses verbal cues such as “Next, let’s move from the stomach to the small intestine.” These visual and verbal signals help students follow the sequence of organs and focus on the most relevant structures.
  • Segmenting principle: When designing content (e.g. video or written content), students will learn better if the content is divided into meaningful sequential segments, students are able to control the pace of navigating the content so that they have the needed time to understand the segment material before they move onto the next one.
    • Example: A lecture on statistical regression is designed as a series of short videos, each around 10 minutes. The sequence covers: introduction, simple regression, multiple regression, assumptions, and applications. Students can pause, replay, or move between segments at their own pace. Each 10-minute lecture video is structured around one clear subgoal, giving students enough time to process the material without overload while still keeping the lesson manageable and focused.
  • Modality, Multimedia, and Redundancy principles: Students will learn better when presented with visual and audial content than presented with either graphic or audio narration alone.  On the other hand, if presented with unnecessarily repeated information (e.g. graphic, audio and text), students can be overwhelmed with the information. Thus, when you design your online content, be mindful of what modality components you are including in the materials.
    • Example: In an engineering lecture video, the instructor explains how stress affects a beam using a static diagram. As the diagram is displayed, the instructor narrates the explanation, pointing out where tensile and compressive forces occur. Concise labels such as “tensile” and “compressive” appear next to the relevant sections of the diagram, but full explanatory sentences are not included on screen. By combining narration with the diagram and minimal labeling, the lecture balances visual and auditory channels, helping students focus on essential ideas without cognitive overload.
  • Personalization and Voice principles: Students learn better from online lecture videos in conversational style narrated by their real instructor.

2.3 Provide Dialogue-based Learning Support

Learners within the online environment mainly rely on email or chat to communicate with faculty and peers, this text-based communication makes the communication cold and losing facial cues. Although web conference communication remedy the facial cues yet it is very task oriented.  This type of online environment usually make learners feel isolated and lack sense of community (Song, Singleton, Hill, & Koh, 2004)  

Dialogue-based learning support can take place in different ways. Online tools like discussion forums are useful for asynchronous Q&A, while in-person or synchronous conversations can happen during office hours, study groups, or at the start of class. Moreover, with the advent of AI, chatbots trained with course content and pedagogies can be used to provide immediate support during online learning.

To help students join these conversations, instructors should clearly explain what learning support is available and connect them to each step of the learning process. For example, after students have completed online learning materials and activities, they could be encouraged to post their questions in a discussion forum, where they can get responses from the instructor, TA, or peers, or be directed to interact with the course AI assistant to clarify their questions.

Examples

ACC 210 Concepts of Financial Reporting

  • Use the Problem Exercise Assistant after attempting the exercises. 
  • Post content related questions in discussion forums monitored by TAs.
  • Ask questions during Problem Sessions.
  • Go to the instructor’s office hours.
  • Go to the Accounting Tutorial Center.

BCH 451 Principles of Biochemistry

  • Get immediate help using the Content Learning Assistant.
  • Ask questions on the Student Help Forum monitored by the instructor and TAs.
  • Ask questions during TA-led recitation sessions. 
  • Go to the instructor’s office hours.

E 101 Introduction to Engineering & Problem Solving

  • Use the Learn and Reflect Assistant.
  • Ask questions on the Student Help Forum monitored by the instructor and TAs.
  • Ask questions in person during class.
  • Go to instructor office hours.

In summary, designing online self-paced learning is about more than just delivering content! It is about preparing students for deeper engagement. By helping students build their initial mental models, presenting content through well-designed multimedia, and providing dialogue-based support, you create an online learning environment that motivates, connects, and equips students for success.

As you design your hybrid flipped course, remember: the online phase lays the groundwork. When students come to class, they should arrive with a foundation strong enough to engage in meaningful problem-solving, collaboration, and integration of new knowledge.

References

  • Jones, B. D. (2018). Motivating students by design: Practical strategies for professors (2nd ed). Charleston, SC: CreateSpace.
  • Song, L., Singleton, E. S., Hill, J. R., & Koh, M. H. (2004). Improving online learning: Student perceptions of useful and challenging characteristics. The internet and higher education, 7(1), 59-70.
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