The coronavirus pandemic led to a dramatic increase in the use of online learning tools and techniques across the globe as higher education providers moved to maintain teaching provision through lockdowns and social distancing requirements. Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) required teaching staff to engage with new skills as online learning designers and tutors with unprecedented speed, whilst students were expected to equally quickly develop the skills to engage as fully online learners. As the sector moved out of the remote phase of the pandemic, there has been a lively debate about what the lasting impact of this ‘crash course’ ERT experience might be on learning supported through the use of technologies. Up to now, however, much of the research attempting to take stock of the post-pandemic impact has been anecdotal and theoretical. There has been little empirical research and questions remain over how pandemic experiences might inform future practice and a sustainable use of learning technology. This presentation reports on research undertaken at the University of York, exploring how experiences of ERT were carried forward into the academic years 2021-22 and 2022-23. Our study focused on the Departments of Psychology and Biology which took contrasting approaches to the development and delivery of post-pandemic provision. Through structured interviews with teaching leaders in each department, we explored the factors shaping decisions and we compared staff experiences of ERT and its legacy with the perceptions of students and their expectations for how learning technology should be used in the future. In this presentation we provide an overview of the staff and student focus group findings which suggest that the impact of the pandemic itself was shaped as much by factors which were already in play when it emerged. To differing degrees and at different times, it served to both interrupt and accelerate progress in the integration of learning technologies within departmental learning, teaching and assessment approaches by: • Changing attitudes and approaches to standardisation, and the management and organisation of teaching and use of learning technologies; • Re-focusing attention on the importance of academic community building; • Influencing the ways in which departments perceive student needs, preferences, and engagement patterns; • Changing how they conceive of and deliver student support and inclusive learning and assessment practices in a flexible way, and the place of blended learning in these endeavours.

1. ALT Conference 2023
Presentation 55: Wednesday 6th September
Evaluating the impact of the
Pandemic on departmental
uses of learning technology:
A catalyst for change?
Rob Shaw and Richard Walker
Digital Education Team, University of York

2. Contents
● The research questions and focus
of the study
● Research approach and methods
○ Staff
○ Students
○ Analysis
● Headline results
○ Department approaches
○ Ongoing impacts
○ Students
● Conclusions
● Implications

3. The research questions
● How did experiences of Emergency Remote Teaching
impact on approaches to learning, teaching and
assessment in two departments at the University of
York?
● What sustainable practices have been carried forward
and incorporated into programme delivery?

4. Focus of the study
● Comparative analysis of two departments (Sciences Faculty):
Biology and Psychology. Focus on UG level.
● Both have large UG cohorts with BSc and Integrated Masters
programmes (Bio n = approx. 1400; Psy = 700)
● Biology greater range of programmes and pathways
● Both have a record of T&L excellence (NSS; Subject TEF)

5. Departmental trajectories

6. Research approach
● Exploratory case study
● Insights into decision making processes, experiences and perceptions
● Staff and students
● Comparative approach built on detailed insights from a small sample
● Qualitative case study approach prioritising ‘intensiveness’ over
‘extensiveness’ (Thomas, 2011)

7. The methods - staff
● Semi-structured interviews and focus groups with teaching leaders:
○ How did you design and deliver teaching and assessment in the 2021-22 and 2022-23
academic years?
○ How was this influenced by experiences during the remote teaching phases of the
pandemic?
○ What has worked well? / What has been challenging?
○ What are your views on student experiences, attitudes and preferences?
● 5 staff members
● Biology: 1 x professor; 2 x Senior lecturers
● Psychology: 1 x professor; 1 x Senior lecturer
● 4.5 hrs of discussion; 42,030 words

8. The methods - students
● Semi-structured interviews or focus groups with UG students
● On-campus or via Zoom depending on preference, but the same
interview/focus group structure was used:
○ Experiences of learning, teaching and assessment during the pandemic
○ Experiences since the pandemic (positive and less positive elements, on-campus and
online elements of studies, assessment methods)
○ Recommendations for the future
● ~6.5 hrs of discussion; ~57,000 words

9. Profile of student participants

10. ● Interview/focus group data transcribed and initial thematic analysis
completed separately
● Core themes and sub-themes identified and agreed
● NVIVO used to carry out coding and support final thematic analysis
Staff
○ Governance / teaching organisation: 31.2%
○ Influences on teaching practice: 18.4%
○ T&L during the pandemic: 15.6%
○ Flexible teaching delivery: 12.5%
○ Student support strategies: 12.1%
○ Assessment strategies: 7.6%
○ Others 2.6%
Students
○ Attitudes to/experiences of course design
and delivery: 57.2%
○ Assessment: 17.3%
○ Study skills / Approaches to learning and
assessment: 17%
○ Attitudes to/experiences of students
support strategies: 8.4%
The methods - Analysis

11. The pandemic impacted on approaches within the departments differently, arriving at
a moment in which they were on contrasting trajectories in terms of organisation of
teaching and learning, standardisation and blended learning.
Headline results: Dept. approaches
Psychology
I think our understanding of students and kind of
what they want is maybe more forward thinking
than it used to be. Yeah. But I think the teaching
and the assessment is quite traditional in its
design. Yeah. But it works for us and we've not
had any major issues with it. So yeah. Why would
you change it?
Biology
I think everybody's learnt that consistency is a really
good thing for lots of different reasons. So the students
appreciate it, but staff also appreciate it
I don’t think we had ever done that thing where we were
looking at what students were doing, not just on the
timetable but off the timetable… And then you think,
well, actually, you can plan all of this

12. For both departments, the pandemic acted as a catalyst for greater use of learning
technologies, particularly in support of increased interactivity in on-campus sessions
and more consistent, organised and explicit use of VLE sites. It also led to lasting
changes in assessment methods in both departments (though more extensive for Bio),
and increased flexibility in approaches to supervision meetings
Headline results: Ongoing impacts
I think assessments have been transformed for
sure. We’ve got less of them. We've got more
support towards the specific type of assessment
that students are going to get in different modules.
… they're all online open book, (which) stresses
the comprehension, understanding and
application. So definitely from the assessment
perspective, I think we're in a very different place
and we're not going back. (Biology SL)
We do seem to have that flexibility. For some sessions
where it might be a lot easier for students just to jump on
to Zoom or whatever. For those quick sort of hour
meetings where it's just touching base with them,
offering them a Q&A session or feedback on something.
(Psychology SL)

13. ● Even in a small sample, experiences and preferences are complex and varied, with different
approaches to study and engagement, and different thoughts on learning.
● Despite some variety in personal assessment preferences, students were typically positive about
open assessment and its suitability for HE as a more authentic and applied form of assessment.
● The increased flexibility of online recordings acted as ‘both a blessing and a curse’ allowing for
engagement to suit preferences but leading to excessive time spent reviewing content. Study
skills impacted by experiences as well as confidence levels and perceptions of support needs.
Headline results: Students
I think definitely the quality of my exams is far
better than what it would have been had we not
had the pandemic ... I personally learnt a lot of
skills and felt that I was being examined more
appropriately for what the uni degree is, but also
moving forward into the world of work and how
things would be there.
It's given me an opportunity to experiment a bit more
because what works for me kind of GCSE to A-levels
doesn't always work for me here. Sometimes it does and
it's great and I can use that. Yeah, but it's having an
adaptability that, okay, if I can't use this set of note
taking, I'll use this instead and having those options to
flick and change. So yeah, that's been quite handy to be
able to develop those skills.

14. ● Attitudes to lectures & small-group sessions, and the relationships between
them are complex and mixed.
● In both lectures and workshops, students value interaction and learning
designs that make the most of connections between them.
● Flexibility is valued (e.g. in flipped learning design) but guidance and
scaffolding are seen as essential. Without this, flexibility can rapidly become
problematic and lead to students falling behind and either not attending
workshops, or attending but struggling.
● Students felt a need for more structured feedback opportunities both from a
‘formative assessment’ perspective, but also in terms of ongoing support and
feedback as they progress through modules.
Headline results: Students

15. ● The pandemic has brought longer–term change but shaped by pre-
pandemic trajectories, e.g.
○ Technology uptake and usage;
○ Standardisation and organisation;
○ Focus and delivery of assessment.
● Students experience tensions between flexibility and structure which are
visible in both departments in terms of:
○ Study skills and workload issues;
○ Perceptions of interaction and feedback (scaffolding v independence);
○ Confidence in study methods and requirements for support.
Conclusions

16. ● Whether returning to ‘normal’ with large lectures or pressing on with increased use
of blended/flipped approaches, learning design is crucial in establishing an
appropriate balance between flexibility and structure/scaffolding.
● To realise the potential benefits of increased flexibility, teaching and
communication approaches that look to develop and sustain positive learning
attitudes (e.g. autonomy, confidence and relatedness) appear to be important.
● There are clear implications for staff support and resources (e.g.
to sustain an increased commitment to learning design, feedback loops, support
and structure).
● Skills support may also need greater attention to assist students in effectively
moving between study modes and making the most of the potential of flexibility
while minimising challenges.
Implications

17. “For digital learning - whether in a blended, hybrid, or online form - a number of
institutional, organisational and administrative factors condition the more proximal
influences on the teacher and student level, which then shape the effectiveness
of teaching and learning… Institutional, teacher and learner expectations must be
aligned in a way that allows time and effort to be dedicated to careful course design, if
results of design are to be meaningful.” (Rapanta et al., 2021)
“While there is no one-size-fits-all solution to meet the needs of all students, there is a
clear imperative for faculty to listen sensitively to students to ascertain their needs via
clear and regular communication. When students feel overwhelmed, they may not
necessarily proactively seek support. Beneficial teaching approaches are important as
they provide clear direction for faculty to support students’ autonomy, competence,
and relatedness needs.” (Hartnett et al., 2023)
Final thoughts

18. Join in on
Mentimeter to share
your views

19. ● Hartnett, M. et al. (2023) ‘Enhanced or diminished attitudes: University
students’ agency’, Computers & Education, 198.
● Rapanta, C. et al. (2021) ‘Balancing Technology, Pedagogy and the New
Normal: Post-pandemic Challenges for Higher Education’, Postdigital
Science and Education, 3(3), pp. 715–742.
● Thomas, G. (2011) A typology for the case study in social science following
a review of definition, discourse and structure. Qualitative enquiry, 17(6).
References