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First impressions from educators as NTNU transitions to an online only mode of learning

Authors:
Rune Hjelsvold at Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Rune Hjelsvold
Abdullah Bahmani at Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Abdullah Bahmani
Madeleine Lorås at Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Madeleine Lorås
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Abstract

After NTNU – and Norway in general – was locked down on March 12 because of the coronavirus crisis, all educators had to transition to online teaching in record speed. In the following week, the question of how this transition was impacting and affecting students and educators alike started to rise. Excited, the Center for Excellent IT Education at NTNU and NORD University, decided to run a study to shed some light on the question: “How are the students and educators experiencing the change from campus-based to online learning?” To shed some light on these questions two surveys were developed; one for educators and one for students. This report gives a first aggregation of the results of the educator survey.
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Online Teaching and Learning
First impressions from educators and students as NTNU transitions
to an online only mode of learning
Rune Hjelsvold & Madeleine Lorås & Abdullah Bahmani, Excited SFU
Shaun S. Nykvist & Andreas Krokan, NTNU Drive
“Jeg vet ikke om hvordan det kunne vært gjort annerledes for at det skulle blitt bedre. Til å
være i den situasjonen vi er i synes jeg det er et godt studietilbud! “ (Student)
“NTNU and the faculty have provided much support, such as webinars and guidelines, how to
manage. Colleagues are helpful. Students seem to have a positive attitude.” (Educator)
Background
The preliminary results presented here are based on an initial survey sent to students and educators
during the first few days of them needing to move from a face-to-face or blended mode of teaching
and learning to an online only mode of teaching and learning. The data includes responses from 303
students with over 50% of the responses coming from Computer Science and Engineering and the
remaining responses coming from a mix of faculties and departments. There were also 56 educators
from a large range of departments that responded to the survey. Key recommendations and
takeaway messages are provided here to support both educators and students in this transition to
an online mode of learning. These recommendations are based on a survey response that may not
be representative of all students and educators at NTNU. The intention of this survey is to enable
timely feedback to staff at NTNU, to better support student success, as the university moves to an
online only mode of study.
Key recommendations
For students
• Establish good structures and productive routines for your day. Plan activities for your best
performance, for example, write down a timetable that includes breaks, think about how
long you are sitting and standing, take breaks from continuously looking at your screen.
• Give constructive feedback to your teachers, and where possible, make use of the reference
groups and/or study program representatives.
• Take responsibility in discussion forums and conversations. Can you start a new discussion,
provide someone with answers, or upvote good responses?
• Keep in touch with your peers and friends and take initiative! This is important when we
have limited face-to-face social interaction.
• Make yourself available for, and actively participate in group work – perhaps use scheduling
and task management tools for your group.
For educators
• Communicate clearly and succinctly to students in a timely manner about plans, changes
and other subject related content.
• Provide a clear process for students to give you clear and constructive feedback, for
example, a Microsoft Form survey or by using the reference group.
• Ensure that information about where to get help is very clear for them and communicated in
the best possible way to reach all students. Many students are not aware of where and how
they can receive help.
• Set up and make active use of virtual spaces for students to interact with each other, for
example, a zoom or collaborate room with a compelling reason for students to participate.
Students have noted that spontaneous interaction is impacting them the most.
• Ensure that all information about exams are clearly and timely communicated to the
students. Exam uncertainty is causing undue stress.
• Help students to structure their work / study day. Remember that students are also in
“home offices” and may be sharing resources with other students and family members.
Some students lack a quiet study /workspace in the house.
• Be clear about your expectations for students, especially when it comes to group work and
formative and summative assessment. Students have expressed concern over group work
online – consider using asynchronous tools that support them to work at different times.
For leaders and administrators
• Communicate and coordinate messages for all students in a timely manner – avoid mixed
messages, especially with relation to exam regulations and guidelines, processes for student
support, illness and maintaining a social presence.
• Recognise the huge efforts and sacrifices staff are making to ensure student success.
• Recognise the increased time/workload needed to prepare for new pedagogical approaches
to teaching as well as learning new tools to support them.
• Ensure that the educators receive the support that they need – talk to the educators.
• Provide support to staff that promotes wellbeing e.g. some educators feel isolated and
lonely without the normal social interaction that they are familiar with.
• Provide a more collective approach to the coordination of activities and collaboration
between educators.
Concluding notes
A large majority of students and educators have needed to change their approaches to teaching and
learning. For instance, educators report using over 28 different tools to support online learning and
many educators have been positive to the change. Time and resources are mentioned as an
important barrier for change, however, this needs to be addressed as we move forward. Even
though educators report a lack of practice in online education, they are adopting fast. Perhaps
educators are more ready for change then we thought? Students generally show a positive attitude
towards the change, even though there are still challenges to resolve. Let’s keep moving forward
and keep up the good spirit!
... It was understandable that in some schools, the students and teachers were not novices to online-related learning and teaching, but the application of online teaching was limited prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Hjelsvold et al. [10], unavailable resources and lack of adequate practice in delivering online teaching and coping with the limited time constituted barriers to online learning. However, Hjelsvold et al. [10] found that both learners and teachers adapted to change fast. ...
... According to Hjelsvold et al. [10], unavailable resources and lack of adequate practice in delivering online teaching and coping with the limited time constituted barriers to online learning. However, Hjelsvold et al. [10] found that both learners and teachers adapted to change fast. The authors concluded that students started to have positive experiences of online learning within the first week of online teaching. ...
... From this analysis, it is suggested that switching classes to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic impacted positively on students' traditional normal learning plans. Similarly, Hjelsvold et al. [10] concluded that students adapted to change fast during online classes, leading them to realise the positive experience of online learning within a short time of their attending online classes. Figure 2 also indicated that just 30.8% of participants agreed or strongly agreed with the statement "online learning impacted traditional learning plans negatively". ...
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... According to O'Doherty et al. [23], the primary challenges to online learning include insufficient technical skills, time restrictions, a lack of institutional strategies and support, inadequate infrastructure, and unfavorable attitudes. Hjelsvold et al. [24] also examine instructors' perceptions of distance learning during the COVID-19 shutdown. It was discovered that a lack of time and readily available materials were significant hurdles to a fast change to distance learning. ...
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... The effect of the pandemic on practical subjects It has been established that the sudden switch from face-to-face to pure online learning in an emergency situation was challenging for both learners and educators, with some managing to adapt despite the exceptional situation (Sahu, 2019;Hjelsvold et al, 2020;Almendingen, 2021). However, notwithstanding that online learning proved to be successful for theoretical subjects, other studies have suggested that practical subjects were not as successful online (Mahdy, 2020;Chadwick et al, 2021;Dorn, 2021). ...
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... Even if this might be the case, many academic staff members have reported that it is quite stressful and challenging to develop effective flexible learning classes in a short amount of time. For instance, Hjelsvold, Bahmani, and Lorås (2020) found that a lack of ready resources and a lack of time were important barriers to a quick transition to distant learning. They surveyed 303 university students and 56 educators in Norway. ...
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The Covid-19 pandemic resulted in the closure of educational institutions around the world. Policies of social distancing and restrictive movement made it impossible to teach in the traditional way in the classroom, and forced higher education institutions to organize classes using digital technologies. The transition to online teach ing was a great challenge for both teaching staff and students, but it also paved the way for the introduction of digital teaching and learning. This research aims to evaluate and compare the success of those students who attended traditional classes before the pandemic and the success of the students who attended online classes during the pandemic. The data were collected for a group of students who attended the first part of the Foreign Language Course 1 in traditional classes in the period March - June 2019, as well as data on the same group of students who attended the Foreign Language Course 2 online in the period March - June 2020. The data were processed using the IBM SPSS Statistics statistical programme. In order to get the results, i.e. to answer the main research question of whether the way of conducting and monitoring classes affects the success of students, a T-test of paired samples was conducted. The obtained results show that there is a significant difference in the success of the students who attended classes in two different ways. Given the uncertain epidemiological situation, it is necessary to adequately prepare for the next academic year. The paper presents suggestions for improving online teaching and learning.
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Online Teaching in the Time of COVID-19: Academic Teachers' Experience in Norway
  • Jan 2020
  • M Langford
  • C Damsa
Langford, M. and Damsa, C. (2020). Online Teaching in the Time of COVID-19: Academic Teachers' Experience in Norway, Centre for Experiential Legal Learning (CELL), University of Oslo, 2020/2.
Online Teaching and Learning: First impressions from educators as NTNU transitions to an online only mode of learning
  • Apr 2020
  • 20
  • M Lorås
  • R Hjelsvold
  • A Bahmani
  • S S Nykvist
  • A Krokan
Lorås, M., Hjelsvold, R., Bahmani, A., Nykvist, S.S., and Krokan, A. (2020). Online Teaching and Learning: First impressions from educators as NTNU transitions to an online only mode of learning. Centre for Excellent IT Education (Excited), NTNU, 20. April 2020.