Academic Continuity: Staying True to Teaching Values and Objectives in the Face of Course Interruptions

Abstract

Academic continuity planning is an emerging tool for dealing with class cancellation associated with natural disasters, acts of violence and the threat of pandemics. However, academic continuity can also be an issue with respect to less dramatic events, such as power outages, inclement weather, or the temporary unavailability of an instructor, especially if the problem is recurring. Many of the proposed alternative forms of delivery involve some form of web-based learning, but the extent to which these approaches work when students expect face-to-face delivery has not previously been examined. In one such interruption, web-based conferencing from home was undertaken. Based on average test scores, learning was unimpeded by web-based conferencing for one week, but there were some small gender effects that warrant further investigation. Many student comments reflected reduced engagement. The professor noted that students were more likely to respond to questions when the students could see the professor instead of the slides, but in general there were fewer student responses to questions than in face-to-face lectures. A number of comments made unsolicited comparisons with the traditional lecture format, suggesting that the context for teaching and learning, and students' previous experience of different teaching approaches may merit more discussion in online learning studies.

Were we ready? New Zealand high school students' experiences of online learning during school closures of Covid-19, 2020

“…Effective use of teaching resources, learning management systems and digital devices allowed students to continue learning during school closures of Covid-19 which aligns with previous studies by researchers such as Day (2015), Regehr et al (2016), Camille et al (2008), andSchWeber (2008) who all claim that online technology became a tool for students to continue their education during a crisis period. This indicates that schools need policies that enable the development of, and access to, learning management systems and teacher knowledge to use these effectively.…”

Compassionate Flexibility and Self-Discipline: Student Adaptation to Emergency Remote Teaching in an Integrated Engineering Energy Course during COVID-19

“…While student and university employee responses to pandemics such as H1N1 influenza virus (also known as "swine flu") have been studied [23], class cancellation has been advised [24] and academic continuity plans created which advise online teaching [23]; these outbreaks have not been as severe as COVID-19 in both the magnitude of people who are affected and how long the crisis has lasted. Crises with an extensive spatial and temporal extent inherently have more uncertainty as to when there can be a return to normalcy and thus can severely disrupt academic continuity [25]. While, in the past, pandemics such as H1N1 have only caused weeks of disruption on regional scales, the current global pandemic has affected entire nations for months with no clear end in sight [26] and have been accompanied by state-mandated transitions to online or remote learning.…”

“…Several themes have emerged within the literature about higher education responses to these disasters and their transition to online or remote learning. These include the rapid adaptation of e-learning/online learning [17,18], the importance of clear and transparent communication from the university to students [12,13,16,18,21], issues of equity and ethics [21], faculty care (e.g., emotional support) for students [12,15,21], and students showing empathy (i.e., compassion) for their instructors [16,25].…”

Supporting Postsecondary Faculty Transition to Rapid Online Teaching & Learning

“…Trending in the literature, academic continuity remains relevant compared to when it was first highlighted in research (Day, 2015;Regehr, et al, 2017). At the faculty level, specific plans for academic continuity was yet to be realized to the full extent possible.…”