T&L Modalities Pre/Post Pandemic

Many of us are beginning the academic term with a mixture of F2F, blended, online and others remote for the first several weeks. I thought I would share as recent of research as possible to assist in how we might navigate through highly fluid modalities. To that end, this week I will share Verde and Valero's (2021) paper published last week entitled, "Teaching and Learning Modalities in Higher Education During the Pandemic: Responses to Coronavirus Disease."

This study shares different types of teaching methodology before, during, and after the pandemic. The authors describe types of teaching (e.g., presence, blended [hybrid, mirror, online guide in the room] and online learning).

The sample consisted of 307 students divided into two groups and asked their perceptions of each modality. The first group (Nov 2020) was made up of 152 women; and the second (Feb 2021) of 146 students. Both groups were between 19 and 22 years of age. Three contexts were explored:

Pre-COVID face-to-face (F2F) in classrooms at the university;
2020 COVID with all restrictions, confinement situation in online environment at homes;
Current COVID with some restrictions, combination of online at the university and in homes.

Parameters studied include Accessibility, Satisfaction, Participation, Outcomes, Innovative value of teaching and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Knowledge. Results found that online received the highest scores in accessibility and ICT knowledge. All students considered the practice carried out to be excellent and highly beneficial; their satisfaction was NOT affected by having to change modalities during the course. The authors suggest that participation was lowest amongst online learners, however, literature suggests these deficiencies exist due to the weakness of infrastructure, inexperience of teachers, digital divide and complex home environments.

In conclusion, the authors support the idea that, working together with Centers for Teaching, hybrid or remote teaching are the best facilitators of learning.

References

Verde A. & Valero J. (2021). Teaching and Learning Modalities in Higher Education During the Pandemic: Responses to Coronavirus. Frontiers in Psychology, 12(4), 3370-3376.