Practices and perceptions at the COVID-19 transition in undergraduate animal science courses. (Special Issue: Natural sciences education in a COVID-19 world.)

ABSTRACT

In the midst of the 2020 global health crisis, universities have been forced to alter teaching modalities. Much of this alteration involves increased use of the internet as a teaching tool in a variety of capacities. The evolving higher education landscape has resulted in many university faculty members reevaluating basic teaching concepts such as content delivery formats. These include delivering content either synchronously or asynchronously. Although existing literature examines the effectiveness of both synchronous and asynchronous delivery, very little exists pertaining to the role of internet access in higher education, even as rural America falls behind in broadband access. This accessibility increases in importance as more courses are taught online, with the digital divide introducing barriers for many rural students. As faculty work to maintain their own personal teaching styles while being cognizant of student needs, it is important to evaluate content delivery as a function of rural broadband availability.