The implementation of hybrid active learning classrooms transforms education at the University of Barcelona

As the Vice-Rector for Teaching Policy, Concepció Amat, states, “the modification of learning spaces and the incorporation of new technologies at the University broaden the possibilities: mainly, the assumption of active learning methodologies that stimulate interaction between student and teacher”. “In no case are we talking about replacing the lecturer or implementing online teaching; it is a question of complementing face-to-face teaching at the university with digital tools that introduce new forms of learning”, Amat points out. 

In this sense, hybrid active learning classrooms (HALC) represent a turning point in university teaching: they allow for more collaborative learning between teachers and students, they make it possible for the students not to be physically in the classroom, which is especially useful in international programmes shared with other universities  — as would be the case of CHARM-EU —, and they are an ideal space for the incorporation of new teaching methodologies based on artificial intelligence or virtual reality, among others. 

With funding of more than 600,000 euros, the Digapren project has been a milestone in the University’s digital transformation process. Marga Bonmatí, Deputy General Manager for Digital Transformation, Data and ICT at the University of Barcelona, notes that “the results are extremely satisfactory. New technologies allow us to go beyond traditional one-way teaching, from lecturers to students, and move towards more team-based and cross-disciplinary learning”. 

The impact of hybrid classrooms at the UB 

The nine hybrid classrooms are installed in the faculties of Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics and Computer Science, Law, Information and Audiovisual Media, Pharmacy and Food Sciences, Psychology, Education and Medicine and Health Sciences on the Bellvitge Campus. It is estimated that around 5,000 students will use these hybrid teaching rooms each year. As for the subjects that can be adapted to this new learning method, Vice Rector Amat highlights the following typologies: “The range of possibilities is wide: the hybrid classroom is a very useful resource for subjects in master’s degrees and international programmes, where the curriculum is distributed among different universities, as well as in subjects that form part of Erasmus+ programmes”. However, Amat points out that the hybrid classroom can be applied to more conventional subjects “where all students are in the same physical space”. In this case, “it is the didactic aspects that take centre stage in the classroom”, she adds. 

Training is an essential aspect for the success of digitization processes, such as the adoption of digital classrooms. As Vice-Rector Amat points out, support for teaching staff has been a constant feature at the UB for some time: “The Institute for Professional Development organises training courses for our teaching and research staff so that they can make the most of new digital technologies for their application to teaching methodologies, as does the Technical Office for Teaching Projects and Services, which plays a guiding role in teaching innovation”.