The Corona Crash Course: Covid-19 and digitalisation, implications for higher education teaching and learning : Slutrapport Fo 2020299

The Corona Crash Course: Covid-19 and

digitalisation, implications for higher

education teaching and learning

Link to project page: https://mau.se/en/research/projects/the-corona-crash-course/

Project members

Martin Stigmar, Tobias Olsson, Marie Leijon, David Rosenlund, Adrian Lundberg

Sub-studies’ data collection and preliminary results

Pre-pandemic Q methodological data collected in January 2020 revealed that university teachers at Malmö University could be grouped in at least four different viewpoints regarding characteristics of successful learning environments in the future: 1) traditionalists in activity-based learning environments, 2) facilitators in flexible learning environments with autonomous learners, 3) guardians of an inclusive, safe and supportive learning environment and 4) stimulators of creative and collaborative network environments. Interestingly enough, all four viewpoints were rather skeptical regarding distance and digital teaching. In a follow-up study conducted in November 2020, the four grofollow-ups merged into two larger ones, indicating that the forced shift from individually preferred teaching and learning settings to digital solutions has narrowed the diversity in viewpoints about what is perceived to be a successful learning environment (Lundberg & Stigmar, submitted).

In another pre-study, 140 university teachers from all faculties at Malmö University responded to a survey in early summer 2020. Most of them reported that teaching students online is more difficult than teaching face-to-face, in particular when the knowledge-content is more complex in nature and sessions included dialogic teaching and learning. Difficulties are further perceived to be intensified if students were asked to more deeply process the content of the teaching sequence. Finally, practical elements created at times insuperable challenges for university teachers in the beginning of the pandemic (Rosenlund, in preparation).

More qualitative data was collected through narratives (n=20) collected in spring 2020, and interviews (n=10) conducted in autumn 2020. Results show that teachers felt that they have managed the digital transition and are eager to keep some digitalized elements, like shorter lectures and tutoring. On the flipside. the biggest challenge is the loss of human encounters isolation, followed by stress, zoom fatigue and the lack of ergonomic workplaces. In sum, teachers voiced a clear need for educational development, which received a jump-start through pedagogical discussions due to the mandatory digitalization of teaching (Leijon, in preparation).

Combined data from the aforementioned pre-studies led to a further follow study, where 9 participants in the Lundberg & Stigmar pre-study were interviewed in February 2021 with regard to their individual change of perception during the first year of the pandemic. An

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important preliminary finding from that study is the fact that flipped classroom is more positively appreciated after the digital transformation. According to the respondents, they were forced to act in “survival mode” and be effective in their teaching during the first months of the pandemic. They therefore decided to provide the same lecture to various groups, ask them to be well-prepared and then conducted individualized feedback sessions. With more distance, they now see more benefits of the digital transformation in 2020 and illustrate the need for more longitudinal and participatory investigations (Stigmar & Lundberg, in preparation).

Dissemination

Publications

Lundberg, A. & Stigmar, M. University teachers’ shifting views of successful learning environments in the future. Submitted to Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, April 27, 2021

Lundberg, A. & Stigmar, M. Deliberative academic development with university teachers in times of crisis. Submitted to International Journal of Academic development, May 17, 2021

Presentations at academic conferences

Lundberg, A. & Stigmar, M. Paper presentation at the conference, Lärarlärdom, The Potential

Transformation of the Academic Profession due to Covid-19, August 19, 2020

Stigmar, M. & Leijon, M. Paper presentation at the conference, Forskning om högre utbildning,

Digitalisering av högre utbildning: Konsekvenser för lärare och studenter, May 19/20, 2020

Other

Lundberg, A. & Stigmar, M. Pod presentation, The Corona Crash Course: Om vad

digitaliseringen gör med lärarens yrkesroll, October 9, 2020. Link:

https://poddtoppen.se/podcast/1456103377/i-digitaliseringens-framkant/the-corona-crash-course-om-vad-digitaliseringen-gor-med-lararens-yrkesroll

Leijon, M. & Stigmar, M., Project presentation of The Corona Crash Course: Covid-19 and

digitalization, implications for higher education teaching and learning, at Department of

Natural Science, Mathematics and Society. March 10, 2021.

Leijon, M. & Stigmar, M., Project presentation of The Corona Crash Course: Covid-19 and

digitalization, implications for higher education teaching and learning, at Department of

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Grant applications

Forte application, Step 1, Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare,

Universitetslärarprofession i post-pandemiska hybrida lärandemiljöer. February, 4, 2021. (not

accepted for stage two, April, 19, 2021)

The Swedish Research Council, University teachers’ profession in post-pandemic hybrid higher

education teaching and learning environments. April, 9, 2021.

Collaborations

Webbinar, Thursday 10, September, 2020. CAKL seminar: Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. Research presentations in connection to the corona pandemic. Researchers from different departments at Malmö University. (Senior Lecturer Adrian Lundberg, Senior Lecturer David Rosenlund, Senior Lecturer Marie Leijon, Professor Martin Stigmar, Professor Susanna Hedenborg, Senior Lecturer Eva Wennås Brante, Policy Officer Ola Holmström, Associate Professor Anna-Lena Godhe).

Senior Lecturers Annette Johnsson and Natalia Auer (both at CAKL) were added to the research group in February 2021.

Future plans

Period slut: 2021-12

Rapporten skapades den 24 maj 2021 (kl 16:03)

30 - Lärande och samhälle

239107 - Corona crash course

Period start: 2010-01

Projektrapport, tkr

Period slut: 2021-12

Rapporten skapades den 24 maj 2021 (kl 16:03)

30 - Lärande och samhälle

739003 - Medfin Corona crash course

Period start: 2010-01

Projektrapport, tkr