In regional communities across South Australia, equity of participation and parity of access to initial teacher education (ITE) courses has been a long-standing issue. For regional students, online engagement is often considered from a utilitarianism perspective to maximize engagement to conquer the tyranny of distance.

In a post-pandemic context, a unique approach emerged in the shape of a caring HyFlex pedagogy. The inclusion of care as an intentional strategy highlights the significance of interpersonal connections throughout the teaching and learning process. This innovative approach places human interaction above technology in external courses, effectively surmounting geographical obstacles and presenting a novel method for delivering ITE courses. Considered through the application of a Community of Inquiry framework, our case study, strategies and approaches, represent a fresh perspective that integrates autonomous and authentic connections for student engagement in the educational process.

This example of practice provides the perspective of a tutor and a student to illustrate the role of care and technology in building a student learning journey and offers practical insights into the how and why of embracing a caring HyFlex pedagogy and student impact. This presentation and demonstration highlights the student experience of this innovative ITE delivery model from a regional context and offers student agency as a driver for active engagement.

This HERDSA Special Interest Group, Online Engagement in Higher Education, will discuss the concept of care as it has been included in the HyFlex model and demonstrate strategies of how a caring HyFlex model promotes and improves student engagement when considering the role of student agency as the driver in the learning process and teacher student relationship. This event will provide insights for those looking to adopt a caring HyFlex pedagogy to better facilitate student engagement and learning in course delivery.