Inclusive Pedagogies in Digital Post-COVID-19 Higher Education

The COVID-19 pandemic has not only led to medical conundrums and uncharted scientific territories but has also engendered new educational challenges and opportunities that need to be considered in order to reconceptualise, recalibrate and reconfigure higher education in terms of its inclusive foundations and orientations. While current research has highlighted the role of digital teaching methodologies in creating the 'new normal' in higher education in the post-COVID-19 era, the 'new normal' must be concomitantly envisaged in terms of the role of higher education in fostering more inclusive e-learning spaces. This article discusses the ways in which the tenets of an inclusive pedagogical discourse can be conceptualized and enacted in virtual learning environments in terms of teaching methodologies, learner-centred content delivery and formative assessment implementation. The pedagogical triptych should be underpinned by an inclusive and equity-based 'cyberculture' that constitutes a "sine qua non" element in developing all students' sense of belonging and learning in higher education.

Reimagining Teacher Identity in the Post-COVID-19 University: Becoming Digitally Savvy, Reflective in Practice, Collaborative, and Relational

Objective: Through the crisis of COVID-19 university teachers have been pushed into the realm of emergency remote teaching (ERT), familiar ways of living, working and being, brought unprecedented additional uncertainty and vulnerability to an already highly complex context. The purpose of this narrative review was to look at how these transformations affected teacher identity and the ways relationality shifted during this time. The intention was to bring relationality, care, collaboration, and excellent teaching possibilities, into the centre of our thinking. Whilst recognising the pandemic as a traumatic experience for many, it is a hopeful paper. Method: An examination and thematic analysis of literature published from March 2020-November 2020 on ERT. Results: The crisis and corresponding shift to teaching online demanded faculty to overcome their bias against online delivery, reimagine teaching, resulting in increased innovation and unexpected positive experiences which continue to rise. Conclusion: Teachers already engaging with student-centred approaches, relational pedagogies, reflective practice, community networks, and/or digital technologies managed the transition to online teaching and learning more effectively. Future teacher training requires effective online education, how to design and deliver, how to collaborate, and how to make relational connections with others, and access to resources.

Experiences with Flipped Classroom Methodology in US High School Chemistry Courses: Lessons Learned from Action Research Projects

Especially since the Covid-19 pandemic when teachers might have found or created videos for students to watch, flipped classroom methodology has interested many secondary-level chemistry teachers. However, as the secondary coauthor teachers here found, most of the research on the effectiveness of flipped classroom methodology has been performed at the collegiate level. To help fill this gap, six high school teachers from different schools present their research and experience with flipped classroom methodologies in their classes. Taken as a collective, their research, aligning with previous research, suggests that there likely will not be gains on exam scores or course grades for high school students when a classroom is "flipped”, but there are other positive reasons that flipped classroom methodology might be a useful tool in the secondary-level chemistry classroom. © 2023 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.

Emerging Digital Practices Supporting Student-Centered Learning Environments in Higher Education: A Review of Literature and Lessons Learned from the Covid-19 Pandemic.

The aim of this paper is two-fold: firstly, to provide an overview of emerging digital practices that support collaborative learning, competency development, and digital literacy for student-centered learning environments in higher education during the rapid digital transition caused by pandemic-related lockdowns across the world, and secondly, to analyze and discuss how systematic reviews of generalized themes and trends can be combined with contextualized experiences and the lessons learned from the Covid-19 crisis to inform the digital transformation of higher education, with a particular focus on bridging the gap between campus-based teaching and online learning and on the identification of the digital competencies that teachers and students must acquire during the continuing shift into a 'new normal' for post-pandemic educational practices. This study was motivated by questions and findings emerging from an early reactive case study conducted by three of this paper's co-authors (Lyngdorf et al., 2021a). By reviewing the full texts of 18 articles, this study provides a systematic literature review which maps the general landscape of the online, hybrid, and blended digital practices applied in existing student-centered learning environments in higher education since the onset of the pandemic. Furthermore, this mapping is used to revisit data and findings from the earlier reactive study of emerging digital practices in a specific problem- and project-based learning (PBL) environment. This study's findings highlight critical factors and barriers related to emerging practices which support students' interactions with teachers, content, and each other, as well as the emerging competencies that these practices will require. The paper concludes with a discussion of the main findings and their implications for further research and practice.

Experiences with Flipped Classroom Methodology in US High School Chemistry Courses: Lessons Learned from Action Research Projects

Especially since the Covid-19 pandemic when teachers might have found or created videos for students to watch, flipped classroom methodology has interested many secondary-level chemistry teachers. However, as the secondary coauthor teachers here found, most of the research on the effectiveness of flipped classroom methodology has been performed at the collegiate level. To help fill this gap, six high school teachers from different schools present their research and experience with flipped classroom methodologies in their classes. Taken as a collective, their research, aligning with previous research, suggests that there likely will not be gains on exam scores or course grades for high school students when a classroom is "flipped", but there are other positive reasons that flipped classroom methodology might be a useful tool in the secondary-level chemistry classroom.

Perceptions of elementary school teachers towards the implementation of the independent curriculum during the COVID-19 pandemic

This research aims to explore elementary school teachers' perceptions of implementing an independent curriculum during the COVID-19 pandemic imposed by the Indonesian government as alternative learning to address the problem of learning loss. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with 38 teachers in primary schools across 13 different regions in Indonesia. Data analysis using thematic qualitative quasi-analysis. The analysis found four main themes: urgency, challenges, support and teaching strategies in implementing an independent curriculum. The research concludes that the success of the curriculum will be determined mainly by technological readiness, support and collaboration from all stakeholders, both central and local governments, educational quality assurance institutions, universities, schools, teachers, parents and the community. This research contributes to solve the problems faced by the Indonesian government due to the impact of online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic which results in low literacy. © 2023 by the authors;licensee Asian Online Journal Publishing Group.

Use of Student-Generated Technique Videos to Increase Laboratory Skills in an Online General Chemistry Laboratory

The goal of this study was to assess student's laboratory technique learning during online laboratories in response to the transition online caused by COVID-19. From Summer 2020 through Fall 2021 our General Chemistry 1 laboratories were completely online using at-home lab kits and 3 h weekly web conference sessions. Starting Spring 2021 select sections were given a practical final examination where they had to generate a video of themselves performing a series of basic laboratory techniques. Results from faculty coding analysis of these videos illustrated that there were gaps in student skills and an intervention was attempted in Summer and Fall 2021 by the introduction of student-generated video technique quizzes throughout the semester. After the intervention student's skills increased significantly in three key areas on the student generated final video exam: weighing solids using the balance, quantitative transfer of a solid, and creation of a solution by dilution of the solute. This study indicates that student's laboratory technique skills can be developed and improved even in a completely online laboratory environment with direct targeting using student-generated technique videos. © 2023 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.

Laboratory Skills Assignments as a Teaching Tool to Develop Undergraduate Chemistry Students' Conceptual Understanding of Practical Laboratory Skills

Laboratory skills assignments were developed as a novel approach to providing students with the opportunity to engage in hands-on laboratory skills development outside of the lab during the COVID-19 pandemic. Initially, the assignments were implemented within a second-year forensic chemistry course of 48 students and redesigned and modified to be implemented within a large in-person second-year analytical chemistry course of 208 students as a complement to the laboratory experiments. Five laboratory skills were chosen to coincide with those used within the laboratory experiments of the course: pipetting, quantitative transfer, serial dilutions, buret use within titrations, and weight-by-difference mass measurements. Each skills assignment consisted of two videos demonstrating the selected skill: one in which the skill was performed properly and one in which deliberate errors have been included. For each skills assignment, students were tasked with distinguishing between the two videos along with identifying the included errors and the consequences each error would have on either the accuracy and reproducibility of the collected data or the safety of the experimental procedure. Student feedback on the skills assignments is also reported. © 2023 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.

An impact of content delivery, equity, support and self-efficacy on student's learning during the COVID-19.

Due to the outbreak of Covid-19, the colleges and universities across the world have shifted to online classes in place of face-to-face classes. In the wake of this outbreak, the present study focuses on analyzing the impact of sudden shift to online classes, on the undergraduate and postgraduate student's overall learning. The PLS-SEM results concluded that the content delivery has been the most significant construct to impact both self-efficacy and overall learning. The self-efficacy partially mediates the support and equity relationship with the overall learning. The student with greater self-efficacy will have better overall learning from this e-synchronous teaching methodology. However, content delivery has a stronger role in impacting the overall learning even if there is absence of self-efficacy, thus concluding no mediation.

Chemistry Students as Science Journalists: Creating a Virtual Magazine about COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic is also an infodemic, which has brought scientists closer to the popular media, highlighting the need for training in public communication of science and technology. A virtual magazine environment based on this scenario was simulated during a science communication course attended by first-year undergraduate chemistry students, who assumed the role of science journalists. The instructor, in the role of editor, organized a special issue on chemistry and COVID-19 and structured the activities into science communication classes, agenda building, interviews with nonexperts, writing popular science texts, peer reviews, and online publishing. Fifty-eight popular science texts were produced on different topics of chemistry related to the pandemic. The activity contributed to improving communication, information literacy, and media and technology learning, which are among the 21st century skills for science education. © 2022 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.

Approaches to Promoting Student Engagement in Organic Chemistry Before, During, and After the COVID-19 Pandemic: Insights and Reflections

Active engagement is critical to student success in Organic Chemistry. In this paper, I trace the trajectory of student engagement in an introductory organic chemistry lecture series over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. I detail my approach to cultivating student engagement in an online environment, evaluate the success of these approaches and discuss modifications, and recount our efforts to combat the "learned disengagement” that students exhibited upon returning to an in-person class format. Although engagement gradually dwindled over the course of online instruction, multiple interventions succeeded in maintaining a sense of classroom community in students and encouraging active participation. By building opportunities for engagement into the course structure and rewarding students who partake in class activities, I hope to once again enjoy the level of engagement that we had prior to the pandemic. © 2022 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.

Reimagining student-centered learning: Accessible and inclusive syllabus design during and after the COVID-19 pandemic

This paper considers how the course syllabus, an often-overlooked document, can function as an instrument for naming and enacting more inclusive, accessible, and learner-centered classrooms. A syllabus is a powerful tool with the potential to make visible the practices and policies of an instructor's pedagogy, to facilitate trust between instructors and students, and to set the tone for a course. Despite the gravity of this document, however, the language and form of written syllabi have tended to be passed down, either institutionally or through generations of instructors, rather than revised and redesigned to meet the needs of students in a changing world. Observing renewed interest in inclusivity and accessibility in pedagogical conversations in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the authors conducted this study of twelve digital rhetoric syllabi to systematically and precisely analyze the ways language is used to create learner-centered syllabi in service of more just classrooms. The findings demonstrate the need for creating accessible learning experiences for students, showing empathy through various learner-centered tools, and using positive and inclusive language to promote diversity, equity, and social justice. © 2023 Elsevier Inc.

The Bentley Global Experience Initiative: An Application of Assessment Data towards Pedagogical Development

Since 2009, Bentley University has engaged in assessment of intercultural effectiveness in undergraduate students. The instrument used was the Intercultural Effectiveness Scale, which measures six dimensions using a self-report instrument. The longitudinal data analysis showing results in correlation and causation indicated that while international education experiences have a significant positive effective on Global Mindset, they do not indicate a positive significant effect on other dimensions of intercultural effectiveness (Berdrow, Woolford, Skaletsky, Bird, 2020). In 2018, Bentley University engaged in a curriculum design process to re-envision its undergraduate core curriculum. Taking the opportunity to apply lessons from the assessment of intercultural effectiveness, a component of the new design was the Global Experience. This paper briefly outlines the assessment initiative and the curriculum design outline, with an emphasis on the creation of the Bentley Global Experience Initiative, a comprehensive program supporting faculty and students.

Pods in Action: My Reflection Matters. A Virtual Village Where BIPOC Families "Unschool" Together

In 2020, twin forces inspired large numbers of U.S. families of color to look outside traditional schools for their children's education. First, as the COVID-19 pandemic caused schools to shift in and out of virtual or hybrid instruction, many parents looked for other options because they were concerned about keeping their children safe or were dissatisfied with the quality of instruction. At the same time, the racial reckoning that followed the murder of George Floyd sparked a national conversation about systemic racism. For many parents of color, this included questions about whether it would be healthier for their child to be educated outside a system they viewed as replicating injustices. The My Reflection Matters (MRM) Village provided the answer that some of those parents were seeking. MRM Village is a nationwide, virtual network of parents, students, and educators, formed with a mission to "cultivate a space that provides the supports, conversations, and healing required to decolonize adults' beliefs and practices around learning and parenting in order to raise free people." Initially an in-person, local organization, MRM launched its virtual "Village" platform in August 2020 to connect and support primarily Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) families. By summer 2021, MRM Village had amassed a membership of more than 600 parents, students, and educators across North America seeking a radically different, identity-affirming alternative to traditional schooling. This report provides an overview of MRM, which has provided an innovative unschooling environment that provides a safe, affirming space, allows for parents and students to take ownership over learning, and frees participants from systems rooted in systemic racism.

Innovative Language Teaching and Learning at University: Facilitating Transition from and to Higher Education

Modern languages have always been about transition -- as practitioners, we challenge our students constantly to move between their own cultural and linguistic reference points and those of others. Our dynamic, interactive teaching methodologies have had to adapt to the pandemic context, necessitating the interrogation of past practice and transition to new approaches. This volume presents case studies showcasing practical initiatives to promote creative, dialogic learning in the fluid contexts that modern foreign language students are currently experiencing as they transition to higher education post-COVID and to residence abroad post-Brexit, between online and face-to-face learning spaces and between machine- and person-centred learning. [This content is provided in the format of an e-book. Individual chapters are indexed in ERIC.]

Is It Teacher Leadership? Validation of the Five Features of Teacher Leadership Framework and Self-Determination Guide

When teachers have a practical, easy to use tool to self-assess acts of teacher leadership, they are better equipped to develop as leaders by self-determining to whom or what they are committed (relatedness), what they know and can do (competence), and when and how to act (autonomy). The purpose of this mixed methods study was to assess the validity of the Five Features of Teacher Leadership Framework and Self-Determination Guide (FFTL) through field testing by credentialed teacher leaders. Twenty-five credentialed teacher leaders representing all six regions of the United States participated in the study. The FFTL was favorably viewed by all 25 teacher leaders, revealing reasonably strong confidence in the tool's face, content, and construct validity. The findings suggest that participants considered the FFTL credible enough to trust as a guide for self-determining acts of teacher leadership. By describing an act of teacher leadership and using the FFTL to self-determine the degree to which the act accomplished the five core features of teacher leadership, the teacher leaders in this study were empowered to grow and develop as leaders privately, in their own way, and at their own pace. More research is needed.

Technology-Enhanced and Student-Centered Learning as a Method to Foster Students' ICT Competence and Problem Coping Skills

The aim of this research-to-practice full paper is to present the results of most recent analyses of the long-term school pilot project named "learning office approach". The learning office represents an alternative branch of a technology-oriented vocational secondary school in Europe encompassing the grades K9-K13 and has been implemented at the IT department in 2016. Students of a learning office cohort have flexible course schedules allowing them to choose between several subjects on a daily basis, which in turn enables differentiation and individualization: Students seeking help or striving to deepen their knowledge and skills may visit chosen subjects more often. Since learning office subjects do not rely on lectures and direct instruction, teachers become facilitative coaches helping students become self-responsible learners and study in a self-driven, self-directed way, which in turn fosters their 21st century skills.The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting emergency remote teaching strategies demonstrated the supreme importance of digital competences and self-efficacy: Students were abruptly required to work autonomously with digital systems and study at home in a self-driven way. Since the learning office heavily relies on students working with digital educational material and tools in a self-directed and student-centered way, the question arises if learners show indications of increased ICT competences and self-efficacy in the learning office.This paper evaluates the interplay of students' self-reported ICT skills, school-specific self-efficacy, and academic performance in the learning office approach and traditional classrooms. Based on an extensive literature review, a questionnaire was developed and distributed among all 552 students of the grades 9-13 and students' final grades of the winter term 2021/22 were analyzed. The results show a significant increase in self-perceived problem coping skills and ICT competences in the learning office approach, including the sub-scales "general ICT self-concept", "communication", "process and store", and "generate content". We conclude that technology-enhanced student-centered approaches, such as the learning office, are a viable method to foster students' 21st century digital skills. © 2022 IEEE.

Approaches to Promoting Student Engagement in Organic Chemistry Before, During, and After the COVID-19 Pandemic: Insights and Reflections

Active engagement is critical to student success in Organic Chemistry. In this paper, I trace the trajectory of student engagement in an introductory organic chemistry lecture series over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. I detail my approach to cultivating student engagement in an online environment, evaluate the success of these approaches and discuss modifications, and recount our efforts to combat the "learned disengagement" that students exhibited upon returning to an in-person class format. Although engagement gradually dwindled over the course of online instruction, multiple interventions succeeded in maintaining a sense of classroom community in students and encouraging active participation. By building opportunities for engagement into the course structure and rewarding students who partake in class activities, I hope to once again enjoy the level of engagement that we had prior to the pandemic.

Reimagining Student-Centered Learning: Accessible and Inclusive Syllabus Design during and after the COVID-19 Pandemic

This paper considers how the course syllabus, an often-overlooked document, can function as an instrument for naming and enacting more inclusive, accessible, and learner-centered classrooms. A syllabus is a powerful tool with the potential to make visible the practices and policies of an instructor's pedagogy, to facilitate trust between instructors and students, and to set the tone for a course. Despite the gravity of this document, however, the language and form of written syllabi have tended to be passed down, either institutionally or through generations of instructors, rather than revised and redesigned to meet the needs of students in a changing world. Observing renewed interest in inclusivity and accessibility in pedagogical conversations in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the authors conducted this study of twelve digital rhetoric syllabi to systematically and precisely analyze the ways language is used to create learner-centered syllabi in service of more just classrooms. The findings demonstrate the need for creating accessible learning experiences for students, showing empathy through various learner-centered tools, and using positive and inclusive language to promote diversity, equity, and social justice.

Agile in Higher Education: How Can Value-based Learning Be Implemented in Higher Education?

The corona pandemic has shown how important it is to be able to react quickly to changing conditions. In many organizations, agile process models and agile practices are used for this purpose. This paper examines how agility can be implemented in higher education. Using two case studies, we analyze how agile practices and agile values are implemented for knowledge and skills development. Our results present a student-centered approach where lecturers supported self-organized learning. In the student-centered approach, prior knowledge and experience of learners are taken into account, and the learning process is adjusted through continuous feedback. With the introduction of agility, a value shift towards value-based learning is taking place. Value-based learning supports competency-based teaching since the focus is less on imparting technical knowledge and more on imparting competencies. Copyright © 2022 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved.