How the COVID-19 Pandemic Is Reinventing Modern Education
Written for The Aquinian
(‘Pandemic Princess’, by Incé Husain)
Among STU students and faculty, the ideal ‘return to normal’ has fluctuated from a pre-pandemic classroom to a novel mix of online and in-person elements.
In imposing virtual course deliveries, the pandemic has made university education more accessible to students with lifestyles largely incompatible with traditional education structures.
Valerie Robichaud, a third year psychology student, shares that the online format helps full-time students to balance jobs that sustain their tuition fees. “A lot of students need to work just to afford the schooling. I need to work. It’s nice having flexibility so I can actually put in my hours where I’m more beneficial because of not having to be on campus at a specific time.”
Mackenzie Prudencio, a third year criminology and anthropology student, acknowledges the prevalence of mature students in her classes. “There have been a lot of mature students in my classes who have been able to go back to school while they’re parenting, still working... and they’re able to go back to school to get a better job... The mature students in my classes are extremely thankful for online school... Universities would make more money as well.”
“I think students already took time off, pre-Covid,” says Alexandra Emery, a third-year sociology and criminology major. “I used to take time off for my mental health, or appointments. That’s going to happen anyways. If (we) could still access classes online that would be great.”
The pandemic has also paved the way towards more inclusive methods of teaching that appeal to students with more introverted or independent learning styles.
“I think the ‘new normal' should incorporate new styles,” says Kristine Laforge, a third-year history student. “I have a professor who records everything before she starts (and she says) ‘you can watch it online or you can come to class’. And sometimes I didn’t feel like coming to class, and sometimes I did, and I always felt like I could just do what I wanted and felt really accepted.”
Rebecca Skerry, a third-year psychology and criminology student, appreciates the concept of ‘soft deadlines’. “I had profs who... for the assignments, had a soft due date. Where, let's say (the virtual assignment) is due on a Monday, but the hard due date is Friday, and I thought that was really interesting. I even had profs who would say the (online) quiz is available Monday through Wednesday. I think that’s a good ‘meet in the middle’, I was able to work around my work schedule. It’s a good compromise.”
Prudencio shares the joys of discussion forums. “I think the discussion forums are super good because a lot of students don’t like speaking up in class. (On discussion forums), a lot of students are actually expressing their opinions and saying what they think and adding resources. I’ve learned so much about and from my classmates. That would also make it so that the professors know we’re learning.”
Some faculty find that the virtual experience has changed the dialogue around accommodation in general, and that the boundaries of reasonable accommodations merit reflection.
Dr Luc Walhain, Associate Professor of History, comments on the generational gap between students and professors. “Young people today are different from young people when I was in college. You guys are very different, you have different interests, different ways of learning, and so I think the contention is ‘where do we meet’? I have a more traditional way of learning in mind... and to what extent do I want to change that to accommodate your way of learning... I struggle with this... I want your generation to succeed, and I go back and forth. What is important is for (students) to learn, so if (something) helps them learn that should be the right way of doing things. But I struggle because I’m coming from a different perspective with a different experience.”
With this abundance of ideas from STU students and faculty, it’s clear that the pandemic’s collision with our technological era has formed a rich foundation for reinventing modern education.
But will we take the bait? ♦
A modified version of this article appeared in The Aquinian on January 23rd, 2022: