ABSTRACT
Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the utilization of hybrid-online and fully-online instruction in health professional education. Physical (PT) and occupational therapy (OT) programs have become increasingly reliant upon this mode of instruction. Therefore, it is important to understand advising strategies for this educational environment. Faculty advisors may endorse specific learning strategies over others. However, advising strategies of faculty are not well represented in the scientific literature. Methods: A qualitative phenomenological design used a six-item, open-ended questionnaire to purposefully survey faculty members teaching and advising students in hybrid-online PT and OT graduate programs during COVID-19. Dedoose® v.9.4 qualitative software (Los Angeles, CA;2021) was used to perform coding and thematic analysis. Three investigators performed data analysis to reach consensus on the organization of emerging codes and themes. Results: A sample of N = 36 participants was collected from three states: Florida 14 (38.9%);Texas 12 (33.3%);California 10 (27.8%). Total N (%) of PT and OT faculty enrolled were 26 (72%) and 10 (28%), respectively. Years teaching in hybridonline programs N (%) was: 1e4 years 20 (55.6%);5e9 years 8 (22.2%);10e14 years 5 (13.9%);15þ years 4 (11.1%). Thematic analysis revealed three major themes: Self-regulated Behaviors, Student Engagement, and Studying Strategies. Self-regulated Behaviors and Student Engagement were most prevalent among participant narratives. Coded responses such as " ‘time management', ‘preparedness', ‘chunking study time', ‘daily engagement with learning material', ‘work/ life balance', and ‘peer-to-peer teaching'” were positively associated with perceived student success. Conversely, "'procrastination/cramming', ‘poor work ethic', ‘lack of engagement', ‘lack of preparedness', and ‘rote memorization'” were negatively associated with perceived student success. Discussion: This study identified faculty perceptions of student strategies for success in hybrid-online health professional learning. The self-regulated behaviors of time management, preparedness, work/life balance, and the engagement behaviors of daily engagement with course materials, content application, class participation, and peer collaboration strongly emerged. These findings may help guide novice faculty advisors as hybrid-online instruction becomes more frequently leveraged across health professional education programs. © 2023 Association of Medical Education in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (AMEEMR).
ABSTRACT
Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a behaviorally based framework that seeks to improve student outcomes in schools. This framework is implemented at differing levels of intensity within a school based on students' unique needs. Special education teachers and school psychologists are integral pieces of PBIS implementation. Within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, these service providers may face unique challenges in implementing PBIS principles in schools, particularly due to new or adapted role demands and increased feelings of burnout. The current study examined special education teachers' and school psychologists' perceptions of their schools' practices related to PBIS in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic within five dimensions of understanding and school-based support, as well as overall satisfaction with PBIS in their school. Opportunities for professional development and the presence of PBIS teams emerged as major contributors to faculty satisfaction; however, only about half of participants indicated access to these resources. Special education teachers indicated higher levels of satisfaction with their administrative support and school communication practices when compared to school psychologists. Best practices and reflections from interview participants are discussed.
ABSTRACT
At the onset of COVID-19 pandemic, all higher education institutions had to abruptly migrate from face-to-face mode of learning to virtual learning. Students and faculty members were thrown into the process of acquainting themselves with a fully virtual system. How prepared were institutions, faculty members, and students for the abrupt and massive transition to online learning? The study examined the faculty and students' perspective of online learning during COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the study examined the perceptions of faculty and students on the preparedness of higher education institutions for online teaching and learning. The study also determined the perceptions of staff and students towards online education, constraints, and opportunities. A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted at a public university in Kenya. A semi-structured interview was conducted on a total sample of 36 respondents;24 students and 12 faculty members to capture unique, idiosyncratic and whole individual viewpoints. A conventional Content Analysis was done to determine words or concepts within the transcripts. The findings showed that the study institution, faculty members, and students were unprepared for the immediate and massive shift to online teaching and learning and had challenges using virtual technologies for teaching and learning during the lockdown. These challenges ranged from insufficient or lack of internet bandwidth, training, increased teaching and learning workloads to limited time for interactions. Based on the findings, the study suggests significant implications for higher education institution leaders, policymakers, faculty, and students. The study contributes to the existing literature by analyzing the perceptions of faculty and students about the preparedness of institutions, faculty, and students on the abrupt shift to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. © The Author(s) 2023.
ABSTRACT
During the past decade, higher education in the United Arab Emirates has seen increased integration of the newest educational technologies to facilitate the learning process. This can be a costly endeavor, often-substantial training is required to use the technologies, and improvements to educational quality because of their implementation are not easily measured. Research has found higher education faculty lack technological knowledge and skills, but less is known about how faculty perceive specific technologies. Learning management systems, such as Blackboard Learn, have previously been used to support the teaching and learning process, but during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent move to online learning, such systems often became the platform for all teaching and learning activities. This study aimed to investigate how BlackBoard Learn was being utilised and the perceptions held by faculty during this time in a higher education institute in the United Arab Emirates. Faculty were asked to assess items on a five-point scale and to write detailed answers to open-ended questions via an online survey. The results were generally positive;faculty were able to continue many of their teaching and learning activities. Faculty also reported on obstacles faced, however these challenges often referred to the online learning mode, rather than specifically to BBL. Implications and recommendations are discussed. © 2023 International Conference on Multidisciplinary Research. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
During the past decade, higher education in the United Arab Emirates has seen increased integration of the newest educational technologies to facilitate the learning process. This can be a costly endeavor, often-substantial training is required to use the technologies, and improvements to educational quality because of their implementation are not easily measured. Research has found higher education faculty lack technological knowledge and skills, but less is known about how faculty perceive specific technologies. Learning management systems, such as Blackboard Learn (BBL), have previously been used to support the teaching and learning process, but during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent move to online learning, such systems often became the platform for all teaching and learning activities. This study aimed to investigate how BBL was being utilized and the perceptions held by faculty during this time in a higher education institute in the United Arab Emirates. Faculty were asked to assess items on a five-point scale and to write detailed answers to open-ended questions via an online survey. The results were generally positive;faculty were able to continue many of their teaching and learning activities. Faculty also reported on obstacles faced, however, these challenges often referred to the online learning mode, rather than specifically to BBL. Implications and recommendations are discussed. © 2022 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
COVID-19 is a continuing global pandemic causing significant changes and modifications in the ways we teach and learn here in the U.S as well as around the world. Most universities, faculty members, and students modified their learning system by incorporating significant online or mixed learning methods/modes to reduce in person contact time and to reduce the spread of the virus. Universities, faculty and students were challenged as they adapted to new learning modules, strategies and approaches. This adaption started in the Spring of 2020 and has continued to date through the Spring of 2022. The main objective of this project was to investigate faculty perception of STEM student experiences and behavior during the Fall 2020 semester as compared to the Spring 2020 semester as COVID-19 impacts were prolonged. Through a qualitative methodology of zoom interviews administered to 32 STEM faculty members across six U.S. Universities nationwide and a theming scheme, the opinion and narratives of these faculty members were garnered in a round one and round two sets of interviews, in Summer 2020 and then in Spring 2021 (following the semesters of interest). Some of the main new themes that were detected in faculty interviews during the Fall 2020 semester and which reflect faculty perceptions are represented as follow: COVID-19 impact on student and faculty motivation, COVID-19 impacts on labs and experiential learning, COVID-19 impact on mental health, COVID-19 impact on STEM students' involvement in STEM experiential learning opportunities and research. Other previous themes detected and which are revisited to analyze major differences with those themes obtained during the Spring 2020 are presented and not limited to: extra efforts from professors, student cheating behavior, cheating factors and prevention, student behavioral and performance changes, student struggles and challenges, University response and efforts to the COVID-19 pandemic. We explored the differences in these themes between the semesters to look at noticed adaptations and modifications. Presented will also be recommendations to improve student and faculty motivation along with strategies to enhance the student learning experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. We report on common findings and suggest future strategies. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2022.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented worldwide challenges to all levels of dental education, specifically teaching face-to-face preclinical content remotely. When students and educators were suddenly required to stay home and continue their studies, anxiety increased for all. Although a few studies exist on the impact this challenge has had on dental schools, none exist for dental assisting programs. This original study evaluated the perception of allied dental faculty as they transitioned to emergency remote teaching in the Spring of 2020, and the strategies they continued in a subsequent semester. The goal of the study is to share what was learned with others and continue collaborative efforts to improve future allied dental education. An anonymous, online survey was distributed to dental assisting and dental hygiene faculty in Pennsylvania institutions, focusing on their knowledge with alternative teaching methods before the pandemic, how they felt transitioning, and which new strategies they plan to continue moving forward. The survey targeted 70 full-time or adjunct faculty, of which 35 (50%) responded. Results indicated that most felt overwhelmed with the urgent need to continue instruction, many without support. After some adjusting to this shift, many reported they appreciated learning new alternative methods and resources to aid in presenting content, including take-home kits, creating original videos, and learning how to share content on screen. Most participants agreed that nothing equals in-person preclinical instruction, but they will continue to use some new strategies to supplement lessons. Planning workshops for educators to collaborate could improve allied dental education, which will increase the quality of care provided to patients. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
ABSTRACT
The recent outbreak of COVID-19, considered as being a lethal pandemic by the World Health Organization, has caused profound changes in the educational system within the U.S and across the world. Overnight, universities and their educators had to switch to a largely online teaching format, which challenged their capacity to deliver learning content effectively to STEM students. Students were forced to adapt to a new learning environment in the midst of challenges in their own lives due to the COVID-19 effects on society and professional expectations. The main purpose of this paper is to investigate faculty perceptions of STEM student experiences during COVID-19. Through a qualitative methodology consisting of one-hour zoom interviews administered to 32 STEM faculty members from six U.S. Universities nationwide, faculty narratives regarding student and faculty experiences during COVID-19 were obtained. The qualitative research approach involved identifying common themes across faculty experiences and views in these narratives. Some of the categories of emerging themes associated with faculty perceptions on student and faculty experiences included: student struggles and challenges, student cheating and the online environment, faculty and student adaptability, faculty and student needs and support, and university resources and support. Best practices to facilitate online teaching and learning employed by STEM faculty were also discussed. Key findings revealed that students and faculty had both positive and negative experiences during COVID-19. Additionally, there was a greater need for consistent policies to improve the online student learning experiences. Recommendations to improve STEM student experiences include increased institutional resources and collaboration between faculty and the university administrators to provide a coherent online learning environment. Preliminary findings also provide insights to enhance institutional adaptability and resilience for improving STEM student experiences during future pandemics. Future research should continue to explore institutional adaptation strategies that enhance STEM student learning during pandemics. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2021