A retrospective snapshot of academic staff preparation at the onset of COVID
Abstract
The abrupt emergence and spread of the COVID-19 virus compelled institutions worldwide to swiftly suspend their face-to-face instruction in favor of a remote teaching mode. This extraordinary shift of instructional delivery created one of the biggest infrastructural, pedagogical and operational challenges for universities in recent history. As institutions that have traditionally been slow to respond to sudden external influences, universities have struggled to respond effectively to COVID-19. Using the Human Systems Dynamics approach as conceptual framework, this paper retrospectively explores how academic staff adapted their Emergency Remote Teaching strategies and became more learning-agile to respond to such challenges in the future. This exploratory case-study article summarizes the results of a survey of teaching staff’s readiness, experience and struggles with Emergency Remote Teaching during COVID-19 in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, at the height of the pandemic. A total of 73 usable responses were received between July 17 and August 7, 2020. The results were classified into four categories: (1) Preparation and training; (2) Faculty impressions of own teaching; (3) Faculty experience; and (4) Faculty impressions of student experience.
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Aizpurua, A., Migueles, M., & Aranberri, A. (2021). Prospective memory and positivity bias in the COVID-19 health crisis: the effects of aging. Frontiers in Psychology, 2532. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.666977
Barnett, R. (2000). University knowledge in an age of supercomplexity. Higher Education, 40(4), 409-422. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1004159513741
Bozkurt, A., & Sharma, R.C. (2020). Emergency remote teaching in a time of global crisis due to Corona Virus pandemic. Asian Journal of Distance Education, 15(1), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3778083
Burke, W. (2016). Burke learning agility inventory technical report. Bridgeton, MO.
Burke, W. W., & Noumair, D. A. (2015). Organization development (Paperback): a process of learning and changing. New Jersey, USA: FT Press.
Callard, A. (2020). What Do the Humanities Do in a Crisis? Retrieved from https://www.newyorker.com/culture/annals-of-inquiry/what-do-the-humanities-do-in-a-crisis
Can, I. & Silman-Karanfil, L. (2021). Insights Into Emergency Remote Teaching in EFL. ELT Journal, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccab073
Calonge, D. S., Aguerrebere, P. M., Hultberg, P., & Connor, M. (2021). Were Higher Education Institutions Communication Strategies Well Suited for the COVID-19 Pandemic?. Journal of Education and Learning, 10(4), 1-14. https://doi:10.5539/jel.v10n4p1
Calonge, D. S., Connor, M., Hultberg, P., Shah, M. A., Aguerrebere, P. M. (2022). Contactless higher education: a SWOT analysis of emergency remote teaching and learning during COVID-19. Journal of Educational Studies and Multidisciplinary Approaches, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.51383/jesma.2022.22
Calonge, D. S., & Grando, D. (2013). Reality-based learning: outbreak, an engaging introductory course in public health and epidemiology. Health Education Journal, 72(5), 584-600. https://doi.org/10.1177/0017896912452072
Cauchemez, S., Van Kerkhove, M. D., Archer, B. N., Cetron, M., Cowling, B. J., Grove, P., Hunt, D., Kojouharova, M., Kon, P., Ungchusak, K; Oshitani, H; Pugliese, A; Rizzo, C; Saour, G; Sunagawa, T; Uzicanin, A; Wachtel, C; Weisfuse, I; Yu, H; & Nicoll, A. (2014). School closures during the 2009 influenza pandemic: national and local experiences. BMC Infectious Diseases, 14(1), 207. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2334-14-207
Cesco, S., Zara, V., De Toni, A. F., Lugli, P., Betta, G., Evans, A. C., & Orzes, G. (2021). Higher education in the first year of COVID-19: thoughts and perspectives for the future. International Journal of Higher Education, 10(3), 285-294. https://doi.org/10.5430/ijhe.v10n3p285
Chuah, K. M., & Mohamad, F. S. (2020). Emergency remote teaching scenarios, struggles and soundboxes: a case study on Malaysian teachers. IxD&A, 46, 13-28. https://doi.org/10.55612/s-5002-046-001
Devlin, M., & McKay, J. (2021). Guest editorial: student success in a global pandemic. Student Success, 12(3). https://doi.org/10.5204/ssj.2058
Devlin, M., & Samarawickrema, G. (2022). A commentary on the criteria of effective teaching in post-COVID higher education. Higher Education Research & Development, 41(1), 21-32. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2021.2002828
Eoyang, G. H. (2006). Human systems dynamics: Complexity-based approach to a complex evaluation. In Williams, Bob (ed), Systems Concepts in Evaluation: An expert anthology, (123-139). Dubai: Edge Press.
Ferri, F., Grifoni, P., & Guzzo, T. (2020). Online learning and emergency remote teaching: Opportunities and challenges in emergency situations. Societies, 10(4), 86. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc10040086
Flores, M.A., & Gago, M. (2020). Teacher education in times of COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal: national, institutional and pedagogical responses. Journal of Education for Teaching, 46 (4), 507-516. https://doi.org/10.1080/02607476.2020.1799709
Gkougkoura, C., Paida, S., Vitsou, M., & Palaiologou, N. (2022). Emergency remote teaching (ERT) in multilingual contexts: A mixed methods case study. International Journal of Modern Education Studies, 6(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.51383/ijonmes.2022.115
Greene, J. (2020, March 17). Keep calm and keep teaching. Retrieved from https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2020/03/17/shifting-unexpectedly-remote-instruction-requires-many-human-solutions-tech
Hartman, A; Barnet, B; Pfeifer-Luckett, R; Mann, P; & Wong, L. (2014). Faculty & Staff survey on online teaching, learning and support report - 2014. Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin.
Hodges, C., Moore, S., Lockee, B., Trust, T., & Bond, A. (2020). The difference between emergency remote teaching and online learning. EDUCAUSE Review, 3.
Juhary, J. (2020, December 17). Emergency remote teaching during COVID-19 pandemic: Roles of educators in Malaysia, Intech Open. Retrieved from https://www.intechopen.com/online-first/emergency-remote-teaching-during-covid-19-pandemic-roles-of-educators-in-malaysia
Kamenetz, A. (2020, March 26). The biggest distance-learning experiment in history: week One. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2020/03/26/821921575/the-biggest-distance-learning-experiment-in-history-week-one
Karakaya, K. (2021). Design considerations in emergency remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic: a human-centered approach. Educational Technology Research and Development, 69(1), 295-299. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-020-09884-0
Langford, M., & Damsa, C. (2020, April 17). Online teaching in the time of Covid 19 – Academic teachers experiences in Norway. Retrieved from https://www.jus.uio.no/cell/digitaldugnad/report-university-teachers-16-april-2020.pdf
M, V. (2020, April 21). On challenges and opportunities: emergency remote teaching. Neo Blog. Retrieved from https://blog.neolms.com/on-challenges-and-opportunities-emergency-remote-teaching
Manca, S., & Delfino, M. (2021). Adapting educational practices in emergency remote Education: continuity and change from a student perspective. British Journal of Educational Technology, 52(4), 1394–1413. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.13098
Marinoni, G., Van’t Land, H., & Jensen, T. (2020). The impact of Covid-19 on higher education around the world. IAU Global Survey Report, 23. Retrieved from https://www.iau-aiu.net/IMG/pdf/iau_covid19_and_he_survey_report_final_may_2020.pdf
Mohmmed, A.O., Khidhir, B.A., Nazeer, A., & Vijayan, V. (2020). Emergency remote teaching during Coronavirus pandemic: the current trend and future directive at Middle East College Oman. Innovative. Infrastructure. Solutions. 5 (72). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41062-020-00326-7
Nae, N. (2020). Online learning during the pandemic: Where does Japan stand?. Euromentor Journal, 11(2), 7-24. Retrieved from https://pesquisa.bvsalud.org/global-literature-on-novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov/resource/pt/covidwho-1374924
Nissim, Y., & Simon, E. (2020). Agility in teacher training: distance learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic. International Education Studies, 13(12), 11-26. https://doi.org/10.5539/ies.v13n12p11
Rovai, A. P. (2002). Development of an instrument to measure classroom community. The Internet and higher Education, 5(3), 197-211. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1096-7516(02)00102-1
Shah, M. A. (2021). Moocs without borders. Investigating the dynamics of a contextualised approach to scalable online learning, inclusion of displaced populations and conditions of poverty. Lancaster, UK: Lancaster University.
Shah, M. A., & Santandreu Calonge, D. (2019). Frugal MOOCs: an adaptable contextualized approach to MOOC designs for refugees. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 20(5), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v20i4.3350
Shisley, S. (2020, May 20). Emergency remote learning compared to online learning. Learning Solutions Mag. Retrieved from https://learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/emergency-remote-learning-compared-to-online-learning
Solow, L., & Fake, B. (2010). What Works for GE May Not Work for You: Using Human Systems Dynamics to Build a Culture of Process Improvement. New York: CRC Press.
SUMS Consulting. (2020). Rapid response briefing paper: the impact of Covid 19 on learning and teaching & assessment. Retrieved from https://sums.org.uk/app/uploads/2020/05/SUMS-Briefing-Paper-The-impact-of-C-19-on-Teaching-Learning-and-Assessment-May-2020.pdf
Talidong, K. J. B. (2020). Implementation of emergency remote teaching (ERT) among philippine teachers in Xi’an, China. Asian Journal of Distance Education, 15(1), 196–201. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3881825
The Lancet. (2020). Research and higher education in the time of COVID-19. The Lancet, 396(10251), 583. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31818-3
Toquero, C. M. (2021). Emergency remote education experiment amid COVID-19 pandemic. IJERI: International Journal of Educational Research and Innovation, (15), 162-176. https://doi.org/10.46661/ijeri.5113
Trotter, H., Huang, C. W., & Czerniewicz, L. (2022). Seeking equity, agility, and sustainability in the provision of emergency remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic: a center for teaching and learning takes an expanded role. Higher Learning Research Communications, 12, 1. https://doi.org/10.5590/10.18870/hlrc.v12i0.1280
Trust, T. & Whalen, J. (2020). Should teachers be trained in emergency remote teaching? Lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 28(2), 189-199. Retrieved from https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/215995/
UNESCO. (2020, March 26). UNESCO rallies international organizations, civil society and private sector partners in a broad Coalition to ensure #LearningNeverStops. Retrieved from https://en.unesco.org/news/unesco-rallies-international-organizations-civil-society-and-private-sector-partners-broad
Vlachopoulos, D. (2020). COVID-19: Threat or opportunity for online education? Higher Learning Research Communications, 10 (1), 16-19. http://dx.doi.org/10.18870/hlrc.v10i1.1179
Watermayer, R., Crick, T., Knight, C., & Goodall, J. (2020). Forced shift to online teaching in coronavirus pandemic unleashes educators’ deepest job fears. Nature Index. Retrieved from https://www.natureindex.com/news-blog/forced-shift-to-online-teaching-in-coronavirus-pandemic-unleashes-educators-deepest-job-fears
Williams, M. (2018). Harvard T.H Chan School of Public Health. Featured News. Preparing for future pandemics by learning from the past. Retrieved from https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/preparing-for-future-pandemics-by-learning-from-the-past
Zapata-Garibay, R., González-Fagoaga, J. E., González-Fagoaga, C. J., Cauich-García, J. R., & Plascencia-López, I. (2021). Higher education teaching practices experience in Mexico, during the emergency remote teaching implementation due to COVID-19. Frontiers in Education, 6, 43. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2021.628158
DOI: https://doi.org/10.51383/ijonmes.2022.172
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c) 2022 International Journal of Modern Education Studies
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.