Post-Pandemic Teaching – Insights on Student Perspectives

Student Using Laptop

Inside HigherEd and College Pulse conducted a Student Voice survey of 2,000 undergraduate college students across the country. After more than a year of an increased focus on online education due to COVID-19, students around the country are returning to campus for in-person classes. As they prepare for their return, naturally people are asking what remains ahead for post-pandemic teaching and learning. While the survey focused on various student experiences from this past academic year (e.g., expected and satisfaction with COVID safety measures, online learning challenges, and time spent during COVID on academics, activities, and responsibilities) following is a summary of students’ learning desires post-pandemic.

Pandemic-Era Experiences Students Want Post COVID-19 

Almost half of the students surveyed (49.5%) reported that there are aspects about remote learning that worked well; however, they indicated their desire to get back to having all or mostly in-person classes. Nearly one-third (30.69%) indicated that they “never want to take another Zoom class again.” 

The following bar chart shows more specifically which experiences students want post-pandemic. 

 

pandemic area experiences graph

Out of all the pandemic-era experiences, 79% of the 2,000 students surveyed indicated that they want lectures to continue to be made available online for review later. Also, over one-third of students surveyed want to communicate with instructors via chat (37%), have virtual events or virtual access to live events (34%), and have online access to college support resources (33%).   

These data reflect the facts that the majority of students still want to have options for fully online or blended classes and online learning resources. The following experiences are some that you might want to consider keeping as we transition into a post-pandemic learning environment. 

Recording of Lectures 

During the pandemic, instructors recorded online classes and uploaded learning materials to online courses for students to read or review. Students had more control over the time and the place to learn. Students expect to continue benefiting from the convenience of online learning. 

Communication Via Chat 

Students liked the chat feature (e.g., in Zoom during a live session) because they were able to get their questions answered promptly. The chat feature also gave students who were more reluctant to speak up in class an opportunity to take part in the discussion. If in a large class, it may be difficult for Instructors to control the lecture flow and monitor the chat at the same time, instructors can ask a teaching assistant or assign a student to keep track of the chat or archive the questions for instructors to give answers later. The  chat feature of Canvas  can be enabled by instructors for use in face-to-face classes to function as a backchannel. 

Guest Lectures 

Web-conferencing technologies, such as Zoom, enable instructors to include guest lecturers in their classes. Instructors can invite guest speakers who are anywhere in the world and let them engage with students. This method exposes students to multiple points of view. These types of technologies also create an opportunity for students to attend and participate in live events or conferences remotely. 

Online Office Hours

Holding online office hours provide flexibility to the instructor and student in terms of time and location. Many instructors reported that the online office visits were preferred by students over the in-person meetings that were held pre-pandemic. Instructors might want to consider providing the option of both face-to-face and online office hours.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) 

In their article, What will Remain, Shigeru Miyagawa and Meghan Perdue discuss “educating the whole students” and “creating convenience and inclusiveness”. During the pandemic, instructors heard the challenges that students were coping with, such as a lack of quiet space to study, unstable Wi-Fi connections, and financial hardships due to job loss. The awareness of learner diversity and inequity has enabled educators to have more insight into the diverse needs that exist among students. It is hoped that this awareness will carry over into post-pandemic education and teachers can provide students with a more holistic, personalized learning experience.    

While as group students are feeling ambivalent about their college experience, consider these aspects of what they liked as food for thought as we move into the fall term and beyond. Not only have students developed new ways to learn this past year, but instructors have new insights about what worked and what didn’t. It’s a good time for all of us to reflect on what we learned and how we might use those experiences to improve our teaching practices. 

Reference:

Shigeru Miyagawa and Meghan Perdue (2021, June 9). What Will Remain?https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2021/06/09/survey-faculty-way-pandemic-has-permanently-transformed-teaching-opinion

Melissa Ezarik (2021, March 24). COVID-Era College: Are Students Satisfied?
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2021/03/24/student-experiences-during-covid-and-campus-reopening-concerns