Overcoming remoteness: adapting a first-year module to COVID-19 circumstances

I teach a first-year higher education business module on quantitative techniques, the overall aim of which is to learn how to make good decisions involving data and numbers. Due to COVID-19, the challenge has centred on how to move rapidly online without students experiencing remoteness – to encourage and propel students to engage with the learning activities, resources and assessments. This involved redesigning aspects of the module structure, to encompass an online lecture and tutorial approach. Online lectures were designed with a focus on active participation, with tutorials focusing on students solving problems with access to 1-to-1 feedback. Assessments were adapted to include regular low-stakes quizzes that could be attempted multiple times. Alternative asynchronous pathways through topics provided a greater degree of flexibility for students, and supported them to study independently, if impacted by health, family or other commitments.

Informed by student feedback and personal reflection, I will describe what worked (and didn’t) and consider which aspects may be integrated to ‘build back better’ in the next academic year.