#Take5 #120 What can we learn from our pandemic teaching experiences?

Coulda – Woulda – Shoulda

This blog post is brought to you from Nilay Balkan and is designed to be a part of an active discussion, making conscious what we have – or what we could have – learned from our pandemic practice. It is based on a talk Nilay gave at the 9th International Conference on Entrepreneurship (original slides can be viewed at this link here) , where one of the key topics at the conference was what post-pandemic higher education should look like.

Don’t look now!!

You might not want to hear the P word (pandemic) or C word (covid) again. However, now that normal activities have resumed for most of us, this is a good time to reflect on our experiences and consider how to best move forward. There is a growing demand on higher education institutions from different fronts: students (Jisc 2021; Child et al, 2023), staff (Watermyer et al. 2021) and  industry (ISE, 2021). Here is a chance to improve the way things are through a collective discussion rather than go back to the status quo. 

In this blog, I will be discussing the main challenges and successes of delivery during the pandemic and, in light of these experiences, consider what the next steps for higher education could be. 

Challenges 

Where to start? There were many, many challenges and everyone had  different experiences.  Ewing (2021) broadly summarises these challenges into two categories. The first is the delivery of education.  The online only delivery exacerbated digital inequality, whether in digital skill or access (Gourley, 2021), and some students had difficulties with attention span in online delivery (Choksi et al. 2023; Yi, 2021). Further, a Jisc (2021) study found students struggled with the structure of the online learning which suggests online self-efficacy – that is, the individual’s perception of their ability to learn in an online environment (Lim et al, 2021)- may have also negatively impacted delivery of education. The online delivery was additionally affected by the students’ reduced sense of community with the loss of the campus interactions as these factors support integration into the educational system and create a sense of academic community (Nandy et al., 2021). Communications between staff and peers were often harder for students during the pandemic (Jisc, 2021) which may explain why some discussion forums were underused or why some students struggled to communicate with tutors and lecturers (Jisc, 2022). The underused discussion forums and activities may also be related to the lack of classroom bonds, but may be symptomatic of other problems such as lack of confidence or self-efficacy in using technology. All of these contributed to feeling of isolation and loneliness  (Jisc, 2021), further impacting students’ learning experience and efficacy and, consequently, the delivery of education. 

Management of studies is Ewing’s (2021) second category of challenges. This refers to the managing and organising of the university and its education. While this involves a great many elements, for the purpose of this blog topic we will focus on the challenges affecting education delivery. The main impact was the roles for teaching staff and students becoming less clear due to the quick transition to online learning (Neuwirth et al, 2021). The roles in a traditional classroom were known and explicit but students and staff experienced blurred boundaries in the transition to online learning. This meant expectations were not always clarified and online interactions differed to previous expectations of classroom learning, causing ‘‘frustration, confusion and tension” (Neurwith et al., 2021 p26). Student needs increased beyond academic support, with students needing more pastoral care (Watermeryer et al., 2021) and support for burnout due to the cognitive overload from online learning (Salmela-Aro et al., 2022).

It is essential that resources are managed adequately for effective management of studies. However, resource management is not just about the technology available for online delivery but is also about staff; are staff using the appropriate technology to deliver education? Do staff have the right support? (Ewing, 2020). How well staff is supported impacts online delivery (Kibaru, 2018; Quezada et al., 2020 ) and, yet, staff in UK higher education institutions found the support for online teaching and assessments varying, with some finding the transition very difficult because of limited time to learn the technology and apply it to their studies in the way they would like to (Watermeyer et al., 2021).  Moreover, the increase in workloads – another resource management tissue- made it difficult for staff to produce the quality of delivery they wanted to and causing even more frustration for staff (Watermeyer et al., 2021). 

Student sitting at a desk and focused as they work on the laptop. 

Successes 

Yes, there were positives during this difficult time! And these shouldn’t be forgotten. For example, a Jisc (2021) study notes that the control afforded to students with lecture recordings was regarded by students as positive element pandemic learning. Students could control the pace of their learning, giving them flexibility and ownership of their of learning. Having all the class materials in one place and an easy access to resources were also considered positives (Bączek et al., 2021) . 

Other benefits of online learning include the variety in which students could engage (such as discussion forums, activities with peers, asking questions) meant students could interact in a way that was most comfortable to them (Jisc, 2021). Again, this gave students more control over their learning. Further, the diversity of mediums available (such as quizzes, videos and other different formats) created a more enjoyable online experience. More enjoyment contributed to student engagement and increased overall confidence in the students’ online learning (Jisc, 2022). Students who had the opportunity to interact with peers and lecturers indicated this as a benefit of online learning as well(Jisc, 2022). This could be because the interaction built the missed sense of belonging or perhaps such interactions facilitated learning process.  

Looking to the future 

What should higher education focus on as the next steps? What experiences, positive and negative, do we want to learn from? The previous discussion points towards three key areas: 

Changed expectations

With the introduction of more technology in our teaching, it is expected that digital will remain an important part of our delivery (Jisc, 2022). This creates expectations on the necessary digital skills students must have but the students may not have developed (Jisc 2022). Digital skill expectations are also extended to staff. Staff are expected to create materials that are more interactive, “pedagogically sound and inclusive” with appropriate learning pacing and produced to a good quality (Jisc, 2021 p11). These place a great many responsibilities onto the lecturer to understand how to use the technology or have the time to produce a quality output. Additionally, the pandemic has demonstrated how quickly the environment can change so expectations of graduates include having the skills to cope with uncertain future or adaptability (PA consulting, 2021).  Universities are expected to offer more than just knowledge; graduates are expected to be work-ready (PA Consulting, 2021) so we need to rethink what is taught at curriculum level.  This includes practical and technical skills (ISE, 2021) as well the necessary soft skills necessary (Singh et al., 2020). 

A curriculum redesign 

The increasing demand for graduates to enter the workforce work-ready suggests a review of the curriculum. Being work-ready refers graduates’ ability to use the necessary technology and their level of digital skills (ISE, 2021).  Answering which of these skills should be included in a curriculum is not an easy task as this will be guided by the subject and industry needs but it does raise the importance of ensuring skills development, and not just subject understanding, should remain in a curriculum redesign. It also raises various questions about how to deliver work-ready skills in our teaching. What should be taught? How should we develop students’ practical skills without losing depth in their theoretical learning? Moreover, the workforce must engage in lifelong learning to remain adaptable to changes in the environment (Lupi et al., 2021) and soft skills are also recognized as integral to being work-ready (ISE, 2021).   Soft skills and self-efficacy are essential in building awareness and ability to engage in professional development ( Thompson and Dale, 2022). This is the difference between training and education (Davensport et al., 2019); the former is about developing technical skills, but the latter develops critical understanding of when to use the technical skills and how to further develop existing skills to meet future needs. There is a need for a collective discussion about the curriculum and how we may need to adapt it to meet the current and future needs.  

Such discussions should capture our experiences during the pandemic. For example, our pandemic teaching showcased how learning can be made varied and enjoyable with the use of technology (Jisc, 2022), which has created an interest in blended learning approaches in our post-pandemic teaching (Ewing, 2021). While technology enhanced learning has been shown to benefit student engagement and information literacy (Adekola et al., 2017), adding more technology is not enough. It should be noted that digital must work in alignment with other aspects of the delivery and not seen as something sperate (Gourley, 2021). Including more technology should additionally consider factors such as cognitive load in online learning (Yi, 2021) and digital barriers (Jisc, 2022) in the curriculum redesign. 

A couple of students studying together. 

Supporting staff and student needs 

Finally, but certainly not least, is the importance of supporting students and staff. Merely focusing on academic requirements will not address the growing needs experienced by students and staff. For example, it is essential that the digital divide should be addressed if online or technology enhanced learning is to be embedded into the curriculum as the digital divide impacts on the student learning experience and outcome (Jisc, 2021). Jisc’s (2022) study found only 33% of students had their digital needs assessed and the study does not mention if these students were offered IT or digital support to address any gaps. With an increased interest in adding blended learning into the curriculum (Ewing, 2021), digital and IT support should be easily available and accessible to ensure students are able to get the most out of their university learning. 

Universities could provide simple measures such as checklists of what digital skills or needs students should have at the start of the academic year. Students can use this checklist to identify where they will need support and be guided towards them. The digital divide could be addressed by various means such as ensuring students can access technological needs like Wi-Fi access and devices. Digital skills training, for instance using the university software platforms or basic IT skills, should be made available as well (Jisc, 2022).

Furthermore,the effects of the pandemic are still being felt by many students (Liverpool et al., 2023). The importance of student well-being for a positive learning experience is increasingly being acknowledged  (Salmela-Arlo  et al, 2022). Universities should consider how to support mental well-being as we aim to build an improved post-pandemic higher education. In doing so, staff should not be forgotten. Staff play a crucial role in higher education and their mental well-being and workloads should be acknowledged and support offered (Watermeyer et al., 2021). furthermore, staff support such as training for new technology and support with online or technology enhanced curriculum design are essential for developing good quality delivery (Quezada et al., 2020) and a positive learning environment for both staff and student.  Workloads should be manageable and make time for reflection (Watermeyer et al., 2022) and professional development in the resources or skills required of staff (Jisc, 2022). 

A lecturer and students interacting looking at a sheet of paper. 

Conclusion 

This blog post summarised some of our key challenges as educators during the pandemic and issues such as digital inequality in access and skills and limited support for staff were discussed.  The blog also reflected on the positives of the pandemic education, including students feeling more in control of learning.  Tempting as it may be to forget our pandemic experiences, reflecting on these can assist a continued conversation of how to adapt higher education to suit our growing post-pandemic needs. This blog suggested three areas higher education can drive efforts toward; addressing changed expectations, curriculum redesign and holistically supporting the needs of staff and students. 

About Nilay Balkan

A profile picture of Nilay 

I am a lecturer in Marketing at the University of Glasgow, and previously worked as a Business Advisor before joining the University of Glasgow in 2020. I’m interested in scholarship in marketing and management subjects, and particularly interested in developing students’ industry skills.  My current research is about students’ perception of blended learning in supporting their learning experience. If you would like to reach out, please feel free to email at nilay.balkan@glasgow.ac.uk.

References

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