Choreography and improvisation in hybrid teaching

Ideas of space within higher education are changing, influenced by pedagogical innovation, emerging technologies, and the experiences of the Covid-19 pandemic. This is most obvious in the expansion of hybrid education, where teaching happens simultaneously both online and on the physical campus. Hybrid learning spaces emerge from dynamic, sociomaterial entanglements that include a range of stakeholders, contextual elements, teaching methods, infrastructure, and more. In this article, we use reflections from our own practice within three postgraduate courses at a UK university to illustrate some key challenges of hybrid teaching. Drawing on sociomaterial research, we propose that choreography and improvisation, as understood within the field of dance, offer valuable perspectives for understanding the dynamic interactions between human and material elements in hybrid learning. We argue that these concepts can complement more familiar understandings of design and orchestration, particularly in hybrid environments, by surfacing alternative considerations of objects, people, activities, and movement across online and in-room spaces.