Effects of COVID-19: Academic Fallout
I’m watching and learning from global reaction to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. There’s no doubt that some countries have handled it better than others. Some have also had some “nasty surprises” …
The time for “blame games” and recriminations will come later; let’s first learn from the different types of “fallout” we’ve seen. My first article was on “Social Fallout”. After that I wrote about “Supply Chain Fallout”. Travel & Tourism came next, followed by a closer look at the Garment Industry. Then Leadership & Administration, followed by IT and Security implications…. What has happened in the academic world?
For any parent and teacher, the fallout in the academic world has been plain. We’ve seen:
- Schools closed
- Exams cancelled
- Remote teaching and learning instituted
- University admissions criteria overhauled
Working in the education industry myself, I’ve seen a remarkable resilience in younger people who don’t want to compromise their future and have been prepared to “do what it takes” to make sure they stay up to date with their education.
Teachers unfamiliar (or indeed uncomfortable with) the role of IT in teaching have suddenly found themselves obliged to master new techniques to prepare and deliver classes online. They have delivered.
As schools now start to open, they’ve had to adopt new social distancing measures, including smaller classes, wider separation of students, “one-way” systems and staggered arrival and departure times. Given the circumstances, I would say the industry has shown itself amazingly resilient and adaptable in extremely challenging conditions.
That there are challenges is undeniable. For example, to engage in remote teaching and learning depends on availability of bandwidth, familiarity of teachers with remote teaching devices and systems, along with student access to PCs and a robust internet service. We’ve heard stories of overloaded systems unable to cope.
Schools have lost at least one full term of face-to-face teaching. Vital exams such as A-Levels and International Baccalaureate have been cancelled, forcing university admissions teams to rely on teachers’ assessments of student ability to decide whether to grant a place at university.
Some universities are receiving students on campus for their start in October, others are waiting until January 2021. Teaching will be a mixture of face-to-face (for small groups such as tutorials where there may be up to three present) and remote (for large lectures).
Some courses don’t lend themselves well to remote teaching: medical studies, for example, rely on students being able to dissect cadavers to learn the intricacies of the human body and to accompany qualified doctors on hospital rounds.
One advantage of remote learning as it has been practiced is that, assuming that students do have access to reliable broadband internet services, the excuse for not attending school due to being “snowed in” or otherwise physically prevented from coming to school may no longer be irrelevant. Every cloud has a silver lining…
On the potential downside, will school closures and the resulting “online education” change the way we educate our children? How much will it depend on access to technology and knowledge of specialist educational websites. Does this risk breeding a new class of “educationally disadvantaged” children who have no access to technology?
Will the interactive aspect of working and socialising with others also be compromised? This teaches vital social and teamworking skills for life.
Another consideration is whether universities in the UK, US Canada and Australia – all favourite destinations of international students – will be able to continue attracting them in the same numbers as before. There’s money to be made in having international students on campus, not only from the considerably higher fees they pay, but also from ancillary services such as accommodation, dining and catering, shopping, leisure activities to name a few. Will more international students choose to study at home?
Will online courses and lectures hold the same “prestige”, or will students still prefer face-to-face teaching, especially at “ivy league” institutions? Will some universities cease to teach as a result?
How will the teaching profession as we know it change to meet this challenge?
Labels: Crisis Management, Leadership, Strategy, Teamwork
posted by William Martin @ 09:16
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home