TDSB says most high schools will make use of the hybrid model of in-class and virtual learning

With thousands of high school students opting to move to next term, the Toronto Distict School Board says most schools will be turning to hybrid learning — with teachers teaching online and in person at the same time — to ensure students can get all the courses they need.

Last month, the Toronto District School Board , and that if any students opted to move online, individual schools would have to determine how to accommodate those students.

At the board meeting this week, trustees were told that 8,500 students were planning to move to virtual schooling for the next quadmester, which begins Nov. 23. There are already about 18,000 secondary students learning online. The additional 8,500 would bring the total to 26,500.

“Delivering virtual learning at the local level will look different depending on the unique circumstances of each school,” said TDSB spokesperson Ryan Bird. “It could include combining students from another school to make a viable class … or simultaneous learning, which would see a teacher teaching both in-person and virtual students at the same time,” he said.

“It has become clear that most secondary schools will have some level of simultaneous learning so that we can keep current course offerings at in-person schools and/or enable students to access courses virtually,” said Bird. “Without it, program sustainability at some schools would be at risk and a significant reorganization of secondary school staff, students and classes would be required.”

The TDSB is one of many school boards taking the hybrid learning route, despite concerns from experts and teachers around the difficulty of teaching in two ways at the same time. The York Catholic District School Board and the Dufferin-Peel Catholic School Board opted to move both elementary and high school students to a hybrid model — prompting concerns from parents and teachers about the quality of education for those following a class from home.

Leslie Wolfe, president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation, said the fact that the TDSB is “being forced to consider high school classes that will be taught both in person and online simultaneously should be of concern to every parent.”

“Teachers are worried, and stressed,” said Wolfe. “How can a teacher split their attention between the students on a 17-inch, stationary screen, and the students who are in their classroom?” she said.

“Engaging students in learning means building relationships and trust with students. Doing that online and in person requires two very different approaches. There may be ways to do this — large screens and/or projectors along with multiple cameras so that everyone can see everyone else — but the TDSB simply doesn’t have the equipment or technology to do it right.”

High school teacher Seth Bernstein said his school hasn’t finalized which teaching mode it will pursue, but “as a teacher I have real concerns about any plan that will involve hybridization.”

“Instead of the Ford government funding a plan that gives virtual students a teacher whose sole focus is on them at home,” he said, “what they are doing is essentially deciding that teacher interaction is a frill, or something that is nice to have. I can’t accept that.

“Now you have boards cobbling together different set-ups,” he said. “And now you will have students, both in person or online, who will have a teacher who is not fully focused on them.”

Bird said schools are still finalizing the model they will choose, and are expected to update students, staff and families next week.

Correction — Nov. 12, 2010: This story has been updated to clarify that there are currently about 18,000 secondary students studying online in the TDSB.

Noor Javed is a Toronto-based reporter covering current affairs in the York region for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: