University teachers' profiles based on digital innovativeness and instructional adaptation to COVID-19: Association with learning patterns and teacher demographics.

The purpose of this study was to understand the factors behind university teachers' ability to implement instructional changes during the COVID-19 pandemic. An online questionnaire comprised of open-ended and Likert-scale questions was administered to teachers at a Finnish university in April 2020. The sample consisted of 378 university teachers who were categorised into four groups based on their digital innovativeness and the extent to which they implemented changes to adapt their teaching practices to COVID-19 restrictions: Avoider Survival Adapters, Avoider Ambitious Adapters, Embracer Survival Adapters, and Embracer Ambitious Adapters. We examined the association between the teacher groups and their learning patterns and background characteristics. The findings showed that Embracer Ambitious Adapters have significantly more meaning-oriented and application-oriented learning patterns than Embracer Survival Adapters, though Avoider Survival Adapters have more problematic learning patterns. Furthermore, the results indicated that pedagogical training and having more teaching experience helped innovative teachers embrace more changes in their teaching practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. In terms of discipline, the results showed that teachers working in hard disciplines (e.g., physics) were more likely to belong to the Embracer Survival Adapters group, while teachers working in soft disciplines (e.g., history) were more likely to belong to the Embracer Ambitious Adapters group. Possible interpretations of these findings and perspectives for further research are discussed.

Higher Education during Lockdown: Literature Review and Implications on Technology Design

Countries globally reacted to the COVID-19 pandemic by imposing lockdowns, and as a consequence, higher education institutions were forced to rapidly transition into distance learning. Here, technology played a paramount role as the enabler of remote learning and shaping teaching practices. The aim of this study is to understand the broad trends in higher education during the early lockdown transitions and the role of technology in this process through a literature review approach. After searching for literature and applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 61 relevant publications were discovered, which were sorted into three clusters using co-word analysis: (1) teaching and learning;(2) policy and managerial issues;and (3) students’ psychological well-being. Each theme was further divided into subthemes based on a thematic clustering approach. Based on this review, implications on learning technology design during the time of a pandemic were derived. First, due to the lack of social contacts resulting from isolation measures, emphasis is needed on interstudent interaction. Second, mobile distance learning technologies and teaching methods could be designed to enable students to move or exercise while learning. Third, diverse pedagogical approaches should be looked into to bring variety into students’ lives.