New book by Mentzer, Koehler discusses Interactive Synchronous HyFlex Method
Publication Title
Engaging Learners Everywhere: The Interactive Synchronous HyFlex Method
Purdue Authors
Nathan Mentzer, Adrie A. Koehler
Publisher
Purdue University Press
Publication Date
December 2025
About the Book
Initially conceived as a workaround related to the crisis precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting lockdown of 2020, Interactive Synchronous HyFlex reimagines an active-learning, team-based classroom, making it possible for any student to participate fully, whether they are seated in the back row or joining from elsewhere in the world. Developed and refined by the authors through five years of classroom experimentation and National Science Foundation–funded research, this forward-facing approach—which refers to online synchronous hybrid delivery and combines the terms “hybrid” and “flexible”—brings together learners in a single classroom who have the daily option of meeting face-to-face or synchronously online.
About the Purdue Authors
Nathan Mentzer is a professor of technology and engineering education at Purdue University, where his primary focus is preparing future teachers for the classroom. He has more than twenty years of experience as an educator in the secondary and postsecondary public school systems. He is recognized by the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association (ITEEA) as a Distinguished Technology Educator and National Teacher Effectiveness Coach. With National Science Foundation grant funding, Mentzer’s team has published sixteen papers related to HyFlex and received nine awards for their work related to the topic, including the QS Reimagine Education North America Gold Award.
Adrie A. Koehler is an associate professor in the Learning Design and Technology program in Purdue’s College of Education, where she focuses on preparing undergraduate and graduate students to design educational experiences in blended and online environments. Prior to pursuing a career in higher education, she worked as a high school business teacher. Koehler is using what she has learned from implementing, observing, and researching the Interactive Synchronous HyFlex model to prepare preservice instructors for the realities they will encounter in the classroom.