Hybrid Courses and Online Policy Dialogues: A Transborder Distance Learning Collaboration - read online free

Oct 15, 2026

This essay describes a blended (hybrid) course collaboration designed to facilitate policy dialogues among graduate students at two institutions—one in Canada and one in the United States. The course content and design draw on three trends: increased policy borrowing across jurisdictions, calls to democratize policy-making (especially in education), and developments in online teaching and learning. Based on students’ informal feedback and instructors’ reflections, the authors argue that policy dialogues effectively support learning about education policy.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

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Pages12

Reading Time30 min

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Abstract

Theoretical Framework

Policy Dialogues and Teaching About Education Policy

The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning | Volume 2 | Issue 1 | Article 7 | | --- | --- | | 9-7-2011
Hybrid Courses and Online Policy Dialogues: ATransborder Distance Learning Collaboration
Katina E. Pollock
The University of Western Ontario, kpolloc7@uwo.ca
SueM. Winton
York University, [SWinton@edu.yorku.ca](SWinton@edu.yorku.ca)
Follow this and additional works at: [http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/cjsotl_rcacea](http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/cjsotl_rcacea)
[http://dx.doi.org/10.5206/cjsotl-rcacea.2011.1.7](http://dx.doi.org/10.5206/cjsotl-rcacea.2011.1.7) | | Recommended Citation Pollock, Katina E. and Winton, Sue M. (2011) "Hybrid Courses and Online Policy Dialogues: A Transborder Distance Learning Collaboration," The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: Vol. 2: Iss. 1, Article 7. DOI: [http://dx.doi.org/10.5206/cjsotl-rcacea.2011.1.7](http://dx.doi.org/10.5206/cjsotl-rcacea.2011.1.7) Available at: [http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/cjsotl_rcacea/vol2/iss1/7](http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/cjsotl_rcacea/vol2/iss1/7) Hybrid Courses and Online Policy Dialogues: A Transborder Distance Learning Collaboration Abstract This essay describes a blended (hybrid) course collaboration used to facilitate policy dialogues between graduate students at two institutions (one in Canada and the other in the US) as a way to teach about policy. The course content and design is informed by three trends in research and practice: increased policy borrowing across boundaries and jurisdictions; calls to democratize policy making in general and in education policy in particular; and developments in teaching and learning online. Drawing on students’ informal feedback in combination with reflections on instructors’ experiences, we suggest that policy dialogues are a promising strategy for promoting students’ learning about education policy. We also illustrate how professors can use a hybrid course structure between two institutions. Cet essai décrit la démarche de collaboration lors d’un cours hybride visant à faciliter les dialogues politiques entre les étudiants de troisième cycle de deux établissements (un au Canada et l’autre aux États-Unis). Cette collaboration est une façon de former les étudiants au sujet de la politique. Le contenu et la forme du cours reposent sur trois tendances en matière de recherche et de pratique : accroissement de l’emprunt des politiques au-delà des frontières et des juridictions; appels à la démocratisation de l’élaboration de politiques en général et de celles relatives à l’éducation en particulier; et évolution de l’enseignement et de l’apprentissage en ligne. En nous basant sur les commentaires informels des étudiants et sur les réflexions des enseignants à propos de leurs expériences, nous suggérons que les dialogues politiques constituent une stratégie prometteuse pour promouvoir l’apprentissage des étudiants en matière de politiques sur l’éducation. Nous illustrons aussi la façon dont les enseignants peuvent utiliser une structure de cours hybride entre deux établissements d’enseignement. Keywords blended course, hybrid course, online, policy, transborder Cover Page Footnote This collaborative cross-border course was made possible through the support of the Transborder Research University Network (TRUN) at The University of Western Ontario and the Canadian-American Studies Committee at University at Buffalo-SUNY. This other/autre is available in The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/cjsotl_rcacea/ vol2/iss1/7 Pollock and Winton: Hybrid Courses and Online Policy Dialogues How should professors teach education policy? While many universities offer coursesand degrees in the field of education policy studies, little is known about how professors teach education policy and the effectiveness of these methods. Research on methods for teaching policy analysis is limited to using case studies in undergraduate e

FAQs

What collaboration model does the essay describe?

The essay describes a blended (hybrid) course collaboration between two graduate-level courses at institutions in Canada and the United States.

Which trends inform the course content and design?

The course is informed by three trends: increased policy borrowing across jurisdictions, efforts to democratize policy-making, and developments in online teaching and learning.

How does the essay explain the purpose of policy dialogues?

Policy dialogues are presented as discussions about policy that can occur in face-to-face or online settings and can promote students’ understanding of policy issues and development.

Oct 15, 2026

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