Digital Commons Network^™

‘Bittersweet’ And ‘Alienating’: An Extreme Comparison Of Collaborative Autoethnographic Perspectives From Higher Education Students, Non-Teaching Staff And Faculty During The Pandemic In The Uk And Singapore, Jürgen Rudolph, Lena Itangata, Shannon Tan, Michelle Kane, Irving Thairo, Tammy Tan

Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice

This article, via collaborative autoethnographic reflections, provides an extreme comparison of intra-period responses in two countries (the UK and Singapore) to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in higher education. Taking autoethnographic examples from these countries from three pairs of stakeholders of higher education (HE) – students, non-teaching academic staff, and lecturers – we discuss contrasting experiences in pursuit of answering the research question: What were our experiences working/studying in HE during the COVID-19 global pandemic? Despite the pronounced differences of the higher education landscapes in the UK and in Singapore and the heterogeneous experiences of them, five common themes emerged …

Online Teaching Effectiveness In Higher Education: Faculty Perspectives In India, Lokanath Mishra, Roshan Lal Raina

Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice

The COVID-19 pandemic demanded the closure of education institutions abruptly in the middle of the academic term, disrupting regular teaching and learning activities throughout the world. The teaching fraternity immediately moved to online teaching to minimize learning damage and continue academic activities. With the sudden shift from traditional practices to online teaching, the key question arises about effectiveness of online teaching in higher education and how the teaching fraternity pursues academic activities, grouped under pre, during and post online teaching. This study aimed at examining the faculty perspective of online teaching in higher education without much experience and preparation. Data …

An Assessment Of Tutoring Performance, Challenges And Support During Covid-19: A Qualitative Study In A South African University, Chioma S. Okoro, Oliver Takawira, Peter Baur

Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice

The COVID-19 pandemic brought changes to the teaching and learning arena and posed challenges to efforts to support student performance. The study aims to identify challenges faced during online tutoring and ways to continue to support the tutoring function to teach and disseminate knowledge to students during lockdown. The study was conducted within a faculty in a higher education institution in South Africa using interviews of lecturers and tutors who were purposively selected. Thematic analysis was used to draw out themes on the challenges faced, support provided and suggestions to improve tutoring in online/blended learning. The study exposed several challenges, …

Facilitating A Supportive Learning Experience: The Lecturer's Role In Addressing Mental Health Issues Of University Students During Covid-19, Caroline Heim, Christian Heim

Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice

During Covid-19, rates of mental health issues, particularly anxiety, rose significantly in university students. In the scramble to adapt to online learning, university professors were overwhelmed with material aimed at facilitating a supportive learning experience and preserving student academic performance in online contexts yet were ill-equipped to cope with the increased volume of mental health issues encountered. Many studies attest to the association between poor mental health and academic performance. It has been shown that students often report their mental health issues to university professors who are called upon to cope with these issues as best they can. This paper …

Fostering Learners’ Involvement In The Assessment Process During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Perspectives Of University Language And Communication Teachers Across The Globe, Rita Koris, Ágnes Pál

Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice

With the transition to online teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for identifying effective methods of assessment has become paramount. The methods of traditional summative in-person, paper-and-pencil exams could not be adapted to the online environment. In case of unsupervised (non-proctored) exams it was impossible to ensure students’ academic honesty. Some universities have offered remotely supervised (proctored) examinations, which has been a rare exception. The pandemic prompted teachers to innovate their assessment practice and apply formative assessment methods as an alternative to traditional summative assessment. They have started using tasks such as e-portfolios, online learning journals, blogs, online …

The Switch To Online Teaching During The First Covid-19 Lockdown: A Comparative Study At Four European Universities, Tomas Kaqinari, Elena Makarova, Jacques Audran, Anna K. Döring, Kerstin Göbel, Dominique Kern

Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice

In 2020, for the first time in history, COVID-19 measures necessitated emergency online teaching to ensure continuity of education. Although institutional support was offered to lecturers, the situation posed an extraordinary challenge for university teaching. Using a comparative approach, this study surveys lecturers from different countries and their use of educational technology for emergency online teaching. Its focus lies on the relationships between use of educational technology, online teaching self-efficacy and attitudes towards educational technology. Overall and according to reports, the use of educational technology increased significantly compared to pre-pandemic conditions. The universities studied had different levels of digitalization, which …

Cross-Cultural Impacts Of Covid-19 On Higher Education Learning And Teaching Practices In Spain, Oman, Nigeria And Cambodia: A Cross-Cultural Study, Javier Cifuentes-Faura, Deborah Odu Obor, Loeurt To, Ishaq Al-Naabi

Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice

Adapting new learning and teaching practices during COVID-19 pandemic has impacted students’ learning in higher education. Using a cross-sectional research methodology, the study attempted to understand the cross-cultural impacts of COVID-19 on higher education students in Cambodia, Nigeria, Oman and Spain to determine the changes that COVID-19 has brought about in higher education students; examine how students' learning behaviour and attitudes have changed during COVID-19; identify the challenges they have experienced; and identify the changes that have taken place in learning and teaching in the selected countries. A total sample of 242 students was randomly selected from four higher education …

Digital Resilience In Higher Education In Response To Covid-19 Pandemic: Student Perceptions From Asia And Australia, Rajaraman Eri, Prasad Gudimetla, Shaun Star, Josh Rowlands, Anit Girgla, Loeurt To, Fan Li, Nhem Sochea, Umesh Bindal

Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice

COVID-19 has transformed higher education learning and teaching practices globally. Tertiary students, internationally face both opportunities and challenges in learning and adapting to this paradigm shift in the delivery of education. It remains unclear how students in international contexts are responding to these changes in digital learning during and post-COVID-19. This paper aims to compare student perceptions of digital competence, confidence, and resilience in present times using data from surveys of tertiary students from Australia, Cambodia, China, India, and Malaysia. There are disparities not only in the teaching and learning pedagogies amongst these countries but also in the levels of …

Students’ Practices Of 21st Century Skills Between Conventional Learning And Blended Learning, Hadiyanto Hadiyanto, Failasofah Failasofah, Armiwati Armiwati, Mukhlash Abrar, Yulhenli Thabran

Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice

The application of blended learning in higher education has practically increased through the years, this is however aimed to develop the students rare 21^st century skills. Furthermore, the present study investigates the differences in learning process across one semester, and the research design comprised of quasi experimental method without conducting any pre-test, particularly for the conventional and blended learning class. Therefore, self-evaluation questionnaire on 21^st century skills were distributed, and the experimental outcome revealed the significant skill practice performed by students in blended learning classes compared to the counterparts in conventional programmes. This learning method was assessed to …

During And Beyond A Pandemic: Publishing Learning And Teaching Research Through Covid-19, Joseph Crawford

Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice

The novel coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has been a prevailing topic in contemporary higher education literature over the past year. The initial and emerging responses will be ongoing sources of critical reflection and future research. This commentary seeks to reflect on three types of manuscripts we are reviewing frequently within the Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, and those published elsewhere. Despite our best efforts, many publications overemphasize the present context without contextualising previous insights, or retain previous knowledge without application to contemporary practice. This commentary provides a brief review of manuscripts with pre-COVID-19 data, COVID-19-specific data, and future focused …

A Study Of The Socio-Economic Implications Of The Covid-19 Pandemic, Shouvik Lahiri, Manish Sinha

Australasian Accounting, Business and Finance Journal

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic has raised concerns of an imminent economic crisis, feared to be much worse than the Great Depression. Although the pandemic is global, its impact is deeply local. This paper aims to determine the socio-economic implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly on the various organisations and on the consumption patterns of individuals. On the social front, there will be a look into how social distancing, panic buying and other preventive measures necessitated by this pandemic have altered the behavioural pattern of individuals in their interactions with other economic agents.

Design/Methodology/Approach: The methodology adopted is a qualitative one, …