Blended learning for teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic

The authors share their online teaching experiences in a private university in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic and offer recommendations for fostering dynamic learning in synchronous online classrooms and further research. Over 60% of the world's student population has been affected by nationwide closure, and 1.2 million university students were displaced from the classroom in Canada (UNESCO, 2020). Educators who have embraced the transition to online teaching-learning try various teaching and assessment methodologies that suit their classes (Lage et al., 2000;Luthra & MacKenzie, 2020). Recent studies (Burgess & Sievertsen, 2020) have investigated the impact of the COVID-19 on educators and students' performance. However, few have reviewed technology-based instruments that could facilitate online teaching and learning at the time of a pandemic or offered recommendations for online teaching and learning improvements. This chapter reviews digital tools utilized in online synchronous classes in the Bachelor of Business Administration program at a Canadian university of 8000 to 10,000 students to address this gap. It offers educators, researchers, and educational institutions recommendations to enhance the learning experiences and foster engagement in online classrooms. This chapter first reviews research on blended learning (BL), which refers to synchronous teaching/learning classes, as well as online asynchronous resources and assignments. Then, the faculty members' online teaching experiences and challenges are presented. Finally, recommendations are considered to facilitate online teaching and advance research. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021. All rights reserved.

A global ethics and values framework for remote learning during crisis

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, distance and online learning were possible or partial options for learning for many individuals and communities. However, they were not always accepted or accredited by many international regulatory bodies. During this current global COVID-19 dilemma, it became evident that this lack of support for online education would never be the case anymore. In contrast, online learning might represent a core or a new normal in many ways. A general risk most nations experience today is that world conflicts, wars, and pandemics may lead to educational ignorance or deprivation from learning due to these world crises. Another more specific risk is the lack of an ethical values framework for remote and distance learning programs and value-aligned instruction (DeRosa, 2020), as well as the challenges related to the emergency change in the educational environment. Those challenges could lead to major ethical dilemmas and results, such as neglect, cheating, selfishness, loss of self-confidence, despair, anxiety, or frustration. This chapter offers a framework for remote learning ethical values in crisis times. It identifies some of the possible ethical values classified according to three main domains and four dimensions and representing all possible stakeholders. It aims to facilitate access to quality education with equal rates of participation, levels, and rights. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021. All rights reserved.

Doubling down on best practices: reflecting on teaching physiology during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As we pass the third anniversary of the World Health Organization's declaration of the SARS-CoV-2 global pandemic, it is beneficial to reflect upon how physiology education adapted to the challenges of the pandemic. At the initial stages of the pandemic, many educators were faced with the challenge of quickly transitioning to emergency remote teaching (ERT), requiring shifts in teaching methodology and laboratory structure to adapt to the pandemic normal. In this review, we provide a broad overview of the efforts made by the community of educators associated with the American Physiological Society during the pandemic to encourage best practices in teaching, maintain course and program goals during ERT, and innovate in physiology education. We also highlight diversity, equality, and inclusion work that was produced as the scientific community recommitted to tackling systemic and structural inequalities exacerbated by the pandemic and brought to the forefront by the Black Lives Matter movement. Finally, we examine the potentially long-lasting effects of the pandemic on education from both the student and faculty standpoints and how doubling down on what we learned can be beneficial to the future of physiology education.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This literature review examines and categorizes the repository of publications in physiology education that occurred during and related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

TEACHING-LEARNING RELATIONSHIPS IN THE CONTEXT OF POST-COVID-19 HYBRID EDUCATION

Purposes: This article seeks to understand the perception of the hybrid teaching system in the post-covid 19 context of the teachers of the National Polytechnic Institute. Theoretical reference: the research problematizes the hybrid teaching-learning relationship in the current context, taking as a reference the worsening of the educational crisis caused by the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. Method: From a qualitative approach, a survey was carried out seeking to know the perception of some teachers about hybrid teaching in the context of higher education of the Higher School of Computing of the National Polytechnic Institute. Results and conclusion: The results point to the difficulties encountered in this process, as well as the challenge to strengthen the hybrid skills of the teachers, and the use of teaching methodologies, as well as technologies to design better experiences based on the development of skills of both face-to-face students how much online. The Covid-19 pandemic highlights our educational weaknesses in terms of our study plans, pedagogical projects and didactic strategies for what we find ourselves in face of the need for a curriculum and didactic strategies that prioritize the reality of everyday life, reconozcan and face social and digital inequalities. Therefore, hybrid teaching-learning brings with it a change of paradigms for the teacher. Research implications: The research contributes from its theoretical review with reflections so that we reassess and plan other ways of teaching and learning in the post-covid19 world. Originality/value: The results obtained in this study are unprecedented, innovative and relevant to the scientific community, contributing mainly to the training of educators, especially environmental educators in crisis contexts. © 2023 ANPAD - Associacao Nacional de Pos-Graduacao e Pesquisa em Administracao. All rights reserved.

‘You need to be flexible normally, and here, even more flexible': teaching academics' experiences and perceptions of Covid-19 disruptions to teaching, learning, and assessment

Alongside unprecedented shifts in health care, and widespread lockdowns and stay-at-home orders, the Covid-19 pandemic brought an almost immediate shift towards digitally supported remote delivery in higher education. This paper explores the experiences and perceptions of 15 teaching academics from five universities in Victoria, Australia during this time. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with academics after they had been delivering teaching, learning and assessment remotely for a six-month period. The analysis showed that while the remote delivery environment enhanced many aspects of teaching and learning, including agile and adaptable academic skill-sets, there were challenges. The academics' sophisticated teaching skills and experience, that were intuitively relied upon in the face-to-face setting, did not always translate to the online environment. In particular, this was noticed in terms of the relational approach to teaching and learning, including relationships, rapport, and connectedness within classes, and the absence of social formative assessment cues to evaluate learners' understandings. Students were not asking questions in class and required additional support from academics, which subsequently increased already overburdened workloads. After considering the findings of our work and others, we provide recommendations to support high quality teaching and learning in digitally supported remote delivery.

Assessing Acoustic Conditions in Hybrid Classrooms with COVID-19 Social Distancing at the University of Sharjah

In response to COVID-19 global pandemic, institutions are required to follow health protocols involving social distancing, which led to the need to redesign the teaching and learning spaces. The University of Sharjah (UOS), United Arab Emirates (UAE), has adopted a flexible hybrid teaching approach where the capacity of the classrooms is reduced to 50% and added the necessary audiovisual equipment to support the hybrid teaching model. As a result, the acoustic conditions are expected to be affected. The aim of this study is to assess the acoustic parameters in hybrid classrooms with a focus on reverberation time, sound clarity (C50), and strength (G). Measurements of the reverberation time, clarity, and strength were taken in six different classrooms were performed using a sound analyzer and ROOM EQ Wizard software in accordance with the guidelines set by ISO 3382. In addition, we compared the experimental data with the obtained from Sabine's diffuse-field theory and from a model developed by E. Nilsson, which considers that the absorption in classrooms is mainly due to an absorbing ceiling. Reverberation times results show that Leq (dBA) varies from 43.0-50.9 dBA. Results obtained from the theoretical model showed the same overall behavior over the investigated frequency range. Sound clarity and strength measurements indicated that the acoustic conditions in hybrid classrooms do not satisfy the international standards with the exception of one classroom, which was acoustically treated. © 2022 Internoise 2022 - 51st International Congress and Exposition on Noise Control Engineering. All rights reserved.

Reform and Practice of "Integrated” Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education Based on New Engineering

Build and practice innovation and entrepreneurship education reform combining the revision of training programs with experimental platform construction under the background of new engineering. The reform solves the problems of poor cognition, low positioning, and an imperfect practical teaching system. The reform also provides a coping strategy for the highly difficult situation of student employment in the context of COVID-19. Based on improving the experimental platform and following the OBE (Outcome Based Education) education concept, the "integrated” innovation and entrepreneurship education reform and practice plan appears. It builds a progressive, organic, scientific, and reasonable experimental teaching system. It forms a platform to consolidate primary practical teaching, improve professional practical ability, exercise innovation and entrepreneurship ability. Based on "course ideology and politics”, the reform enhances the quality of teachers and creates a good atmosphere for students to establish correct socialist core values. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

Examining staff burnout during the transition to teaching online due to COVID-19 implications

Orientation: COVID-19 generated the need for changes in the higher education sector, sparking a shift to online approaches ultimately increasing workload. This study assessed the prevalence of burnout symptoms among academics at an online university in South Africa. Research purpose: Assessing prevalence and severity of burnout symptoms among academics and its impact on work engagement. Motivation for research: Academics are central to the teaching and learning processes at higher education institutions. Health and wellness has an impact on institutional functionality. As academic workloads increase, so does the likelihood of burnout, which can influence academic functioning. Research approach/design and method: Cross-sectional design. Main Findings: High levels of burnout within open, distance and e-learning (ODeL) academic staff member population is evident with 75% of staff experiencing high or very high burnout. High levels of burnout were concentrated among senior lecturers, with teaching experience and have at least a PhD. The regression coefficient for work engagement (B = –0.364, p ≤ 0.001) indicated that for each point increase in work engagement, there was a decrease in burnout of 0.364. Practical implications: High levels of burnout include job dissatisfaction, reduced quality of work, and increased absenteeism. Addressing burnout contributes to retaining experienced staff, improved job satisfaction and quality output. This paper highlights the impact of teaching transitions on the academic workforce, contributing towards wellness interventions aiding burnout recovery. Contribution/value-add: This paper highlights the impact of teaching transitions on the academic workforce within South Africa, contributing towards wellness interventions aiding the recovery from burnout. © 2023. The Authors.

Transition to Effective Online Anatomical Sciences Teaching and Assessments in the Pandemic Era of COVID-19 Should be Evidence-Based.

The world has changed rapidly since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the education community has not been immune to these changes. With abrupt school closings and a rapid transition to online teaching and learning, the educational technologies have been stretched to their limits and pedagogic approaches blossomed. As the world strives to reestablish normalcy, it will be under the influence of the long-lasting impact of the pandemic. This manuscript provides recommendations for the online conversion of anatomical sciences curricula in health sciences programs. Strategic guidelines are emerging for building on these changes to enhance teaching and learning in the current pandemic era.

"Involve Me and I Learn": Active Learning in a Hybrid Medical Biochemistry First Year Course on an American-Style MD Program in the UAE.

Perceived as a subject with abstract jargon, requiring extensive memorization of complex metabolic pathways, chemical structures, and names, students lose sight of the significance of biochemistry on their MD journey (Afshar M, Han Z. Teaching and learning medical biochemistry: Perspectives from a student and an educator. Med Sci Educ. 2014;24:339-41.). A disconnect between what is taught in the classroom and its application to clinical settings arises through over emphasis on the need to pass board exams, documented to be a poor measure of core competencies. Employing active learning strategies with meaningful activities with clinical applications, centered around the curriculum, cognitively engages students and is a deviation from the didactic way in which biochemistry is traditionally taught.

When Lecturers have a Choice: Covid-19 Teaching Format Preferences in a Large-Scale Course of Freshmen Students in Switzerland

Covid-19 is increasingly forcing educational institutions to explore new avenues and weight the pros and cons between on-site instruction, online instruction, and mixed formats. Understanding teaching format preferences of lecturers may be helpful for creating meaningful solutions with educational technologies. The paper at hand documents and reflects on the organization and implementation of a large-scale first-semester course in Switzerland in the fall term 2020, where seminar lecturers were free to decide on their used course format (on-site, online, mixed). The format preferences of all 39 seminar lecturers were captured and evaluated. Our results indicate that seminar lecturers predominantly opted for mixed or online seminars;often they like to conduct the very first lesson on site for the purpose of becoming familiar with the students. © 2021 Gesellschaft fur Informatik (GI). All rights reserved.

Teaching during COVID-19: The decisions made in teaching

The emergency caused by COVID-19 and the transition to distance learning has made teachers face novel decision-making situations. As the teachers' pedagogical decisions have an impact on the students' learning experience, the aim of this study was to describe and explain what influenced the teachers' teaching-related decisions and how these decisions were reflected in the teaching process during distance learning. The study was based on semi-structured interviews with 16 Estonian basic school science teachers. The data were analyzed using qualitative thematic analysis. The results show that teachers' teaching-related decisions were influenced by factors that were related to the existence of digital tools as well as to the ability to use them purposefully in the home settings of teachers and students. Teachers' teaching decisions were mostly motivated by short-term goals, such as maintaining students' social interaction and supporting student motivation. The desire of teachers to keep students' and teachers' own workload affordable was also considered as a factor influencing teachers' teaching-related decisions. According to the interviews, the switch of focus to workload and well-being and valuing socialization and student motivation over subject matter competences seems to be unique for this new situation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Academics’ Narratives of Productive Learning Cultures During COVID-19 Emergency Remote Teaching in Australia

This research applies sociocultural learning theory to describe the learning cultures that academics at a small Australian university cultivated during synchronous emergency remote teaching (ERT) at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. We sought to understand how academics fostered learning when thrust into a new technological environment that required them to revise face-to-face teaching approaches while managing students’ stress, anxiety, and expectations. The research combined a focus group with three small-group interviews. While the prospect of ERT initially concerned many participants, it generated growth in their teaching knowledge and ability. Our findings indicate that the assumptions of sociocultural learning theory provide helpful bases and practical ideas upon which academics can plan and deliver teaching to cultivate productive learning cultures during crises that require remote teaching.

COVID-19: Quality, actions, and strategies in Higher Education

The objective of this study is to carry out an analysis of the actions and strategies implemented by institutions, agencies, and national governments of Latin America regarding the quality assurance of higher education in times of COVID-19. Among its implications, it is intended to leave an updated, systematized, and clearer panorama on the state and general effects caused by the pandemic in the field of regional higher education, to function as a trigger when it comes to theorizing about the future of quality in education. The methodology used was the documentary review of an argumentative exploratory type. From the findings, it can be evident that, despite the digital divide and little teacher training in the distance education modality, both teachers and students have managed to maintain assertive communication and adequate adaptability in the new "normality." However, quality has been variable since there exist different degrees.

Covid-19: Actions, strategies, and quality in Higher Education

The objective of this study establishes the analysis of the actions and strategies implemented by managers, authorities, agencies, and national governments around the quality assurance of higher education in times of Covid-19. The methodology used was the argumentative exploratory documentary review. From the findings found despite the digital divide and little teacher training in the distance education modality, both teachers and students have managed to maintain assertive communication and adequate adaptability in the new "normality".Alternate : El objetivo de este estudio establece el análisis de las acciones y estrategias implementadas por directivos, autoridades, organismos y gobiernos nacionales en torno al aseguramiento de la calidad de la educación superior en tiempos de Covid-19. La metodología empleada fue la revisión documental de tipo argumentativo exploratorio. De los hallazgos encontrados, se puede evidenciar que, a pesar de la brecha digital y la poca formación docente en la modalidad de educación a distancia, tanto docentes como estudiantes, han logrado mantener una comunicación asertiva y una adecuada adaptabilidad en la nueva “normalidad”.Alternate : O objetivo deste estudo consiste em analisar as ações e estratégias implementadas por gestores, autoridades, agências e governos nacionais em torno da garantia da qualidade do ensino superior na época da Covid-19. A metodologia utilizada foi a revisão documental exploratória argumentativa. Pelos achados encontrados, pode-se perceber que, apesar da exclusão digital e da pouca formação de professores na modalidade EAD, tanto professores quanto alunos têm conseguido manter uma comunicação assertiva e adequada adaptabilidade na nova “normalidade”.

Impacts of course type and student gender on distance learning performance: A case study in Taiwan.

The global outbreak of COVID-19 since January 2020 has forced the closure of schools and universities in over 180 countries to control the pandemic, affecting approximately 90% of students worldwide. Distance teaching has been adopted during school closures to suspend classes without suspending learning. Scholars have claimed that distance teaching is more effective than face-to-face teaching and can replace face-to-face courses. However, further investigation is required to confirm whether distance learning is suitable for all types of courses and all students. Thanks to the effective containment of COVID-19 outbreaks in Taiwan, universities in Taiwan face a less problematic situation than do those in other countries; however, plans and preparations remain essential. The present study recruited 18,085 students from a technology university in Taiwan and used the baseline data of the past three academic years before COVID-19 (2016-2018) to explore the influences of course type and gender on distance learning performance. The results revealed that compulsory courses are more suitable for distance learning courses, whereas face-to-face teaching is more suitable for elective and general education courses. The learning performance of males and females is also different: face-to-face courses are more suitable for males, whereas no significant difference between teaching methods was observed in females. This result suggests that not all courses offered by the university are suitable for distance learning courses, and not all students are adept at distance learning. Based on these results, it is recommended that a new teaching model be established for the post-COVID-19 era.