Education during Covid-19 and beyond

Hybrid Schooling: at Institut Montana you do not miss a single day of school

Since the first days of Institut Montana, the school has been striving to use the best modern technology and the most progressive teaching methods. That is why during the challenging times of COVID-19, the school management invested a lot of resources into software, hardware and professional development for teachers to introduce an addition to a traditional teaching model called hybrid schooling. 

What is Hybrid Schooling?

Hybrid Schooling is a combination of traditional classroom experience and online lesson delivery.

Institut Montana has been developing Hybrid Schooling even before the pandemic outbreak and managed to create the best distance learning environment for the students, who have to take classes this way.

Students on hybrid learning are able to keep their normal school timetables, including art classes and extra-curricular activities. As they are still virtually present in class, they have to concentrate on the assignments, as well as exchange with the teacher and the class. This hybrid interaction boosts their productivity level compared to standard online learning.

Furthermore, small class sizes of averagely 10 and maximum 15 students allow teachers at Institut Montana to pay a very close attention to each and every student, no matter if he or she is present at the class or virtually attending.

When is Hybrid Schooling beneficial?

At Institut Montana, we believe that, Hybrid Schooling is beneficial, when used for:

• students who should be on quarantine during the Coronavirus,
• for international students coming from abroad, while waiting for their visas and permits,
• for families, who travel a lot and wish to have their children with them for some time,
• for teachers, who may be delivering lessons remotely from their home, which is sometimes the case during the current pandemic.

Even if a student is not able to come to the classroom, he or she is always virtually present and can interact with the classmates and the teacher during the whole lesson.

Institut Montana even offers “Hybrid Trial days”, which allow interested students to get to know the faculty, possible classmates and have a glance at the academics from their home, in case they are not able to visit in person. This allows the school to assess the student, as a part of a new digital admission process.

So far the school is proud of the positive parents’ feedback:

“Thank you for organizing Anna’s Hybrid Trial Day.  She “came home” from school very excited and energized.  As parents, we get great satisfaction out of seeing this love of learning and participation in our daughter. The technology worked smoother than expected for a day without training.  I think the full classroom experience can be closely approximated through the setup you demonstrated today. Anna even had something to say about her classmates with the enthusiasm of having met them in person. She is also adamant that she will record her voice for ¨Stay¨ in Choir”.

Full implementation of hybrid schooling into the daily school life helped Institut Montana to ensure safety of all the students and staff members, as well as efficient learning off the campus.  Both students and teachers have quickly adapted to the new schooling methods and already take advantage of its benefits during the mentioned curcumstances.

Future Plans: Hybrid Schooling as an excellent additional service

Institut Montana believes, that schooling on campus offers the biggest advantages for all the students. It cannot be substituted, especially for younger students, who need full attention and close human interaction with their teachers and friends.

The  school is remaining open, even during official holidays to ensure a second home for the boarding students who need it . At the moment hybrid classes are held regularly due to the coronavirus quarantine and visa restrictions, either with some students or a teacher not physically present in class.

Institut Montana believes, that Hybrid Schooling will never substitute the in-person education students need, as well as its secluded paradise of healthy living on the Zugerberg at 1000 meters above the sea level, with fresh mountain air and its own spring water. Hybrid Schooling can only enrich this experience. 

Nevertheless, the plan is to keep on investing more resources to develop Hybrid Schooling even further to provide families and students with an additional service that can be used in any situation, where a student would be missing precious days of education. It is important to note, that hybrid schooling can only take place, while the student is predominantly on campus.