Closing Research-Practice Gaps in the Delivery of Online Teaching and Learning

Abstract

In this article, the authors introduce four areas of practice—equity and inclusion, instructional design, assessment, and leadership—where the relationship between research and practice either fell out of step or was strained during the COVID-19 pandemic. Resonant with broader conversations about research-practice connections, neither research nor practice contexts are considered to bear the blame; the challenge emerges from the educational ecosystems we co-construct and co-inhabit. With the prevalence and complexity of online learning only growing with time (e.g., relating to OpenAI’s ChatGPT), the authors conclude by discussing inroads toward stronger research-practice connections in online teaching and learning.