August marks the start of a new academic year. However, this year is much different than years past. While the country is still enduring the COVID-19 pandemic, institutions must re-think their approach to student success to meet the new demands of students. Majority of institutions have announced their plans for the fall 2020 semester, between online, in-person, or hybrid models. A survey administered by the Chronicle of Higher Education and Davidson College shows approximately 23% of responding institutions plan to open in-person, or mostly in-person, in the fall, 30% plan to open online, or mostly online, and 14% plan to open with a hybrid model.
With the change in instruction style, institutions are doing everything they can to improve the experience, for both students and faculty. A report by the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment surveyed hundreds of college instructors and assessment professionals about how they approached academic matters in the spring and developed a list of “do’s” and “don’ts” for the fall semester:
- Do not forget that we are in a pandemic. Still. Do not forget that it is also an inequitable pandemic.
- Do not cause further harm. Do not support, enable, or endorse policies that perpetuate further inequities or fuel negative perceptions of students.
- Do not ask students for their approval of a decision that has already been made. Instead, engage with them in advance to help determine a solution.
- Do not require a higher-level of proof of learning in an online class than you would normally require in a face-to-face setting.
- Do not forget that this is not the educational experience students wanted or expected. Nor is this a test of online education.
- Do use learning outcomes as a guide and means to design and focus educational offerings.
- Do listen to student voices AND respond accordingly.
- Do modify assignments and assessments in ways that are flexible, utilize low-bandwidth, and are based in the principles of equitable assessment.
- Do be aware of and address systemic inequities.
- Do engage in trauma-informed and healing-centered pedagogy and assessment.
In addition to this list of “do’s” and “don’ts,” the report includes five changes that should continue to support innovations in learning and student success beyond the fall semester, including:
- Increased Flexibility – Increased Flexibility includes a focus on offering multiple learning options to attend class in multiple ways because “some problems are beyond student control and we shouldn’t cause harm because of that.”
- Empathy and Use of Student Voice – Respondents highlighted the benefits of using student voices to make decisions and engage in formative feedback about what is working for them and what is not. “The greater attention paid to individual students and personal factors that impacted their learning positioned students as experts of their own experience.”
- Alternative Measures – According to one respondent, the “remote learning experience helped get the conversations started about improving assessment practices to be about learning.”
- Addressing Inequities – The pandemic exposed inequities in student technology availability and economic circumstances.
- Planning for the Future – Respondents focused on planning for the future with the desire to never be unprepared for an experience like this pandemic again.
Sources:
InsideHigherEd: Grading in a Pandemic (Still)
Assessment During A Crisis: Responding to a Global Pandemic
The Chronicle: Here’s Our New List of Colleges’ Reopening Plans