When lecturers go online

When large parts of Denmark went into lockdown due to COVID-19, lecturers at SDU had to rethink their teaching practices overnight. Neither they nor their students had access to campus, so they had to meet in virtual classrooms instead.

The sudden transition to online teaching has not been without frustrations and challenges, but a number of positive experiences have also been gained.

These are the preliminary results of a study conducted by the SDU Centre for Teaching and Learning on the initiative of The Council for Education and SDU’s Executive Board. The purpose is to accumulate some of the lecturers’ experiences with online teaching during the physical lockdown of the University.

The project consists of a questionnaire survey among heads of studies and programme managers, as well as a questionnaire survey and a few interviews with lecturers at SDU. In particular, the project addresses the challenges faced by lecturers during the transition to online teaching and which elements were especially helpful to them during the transition process.

‘The study is not yet complete, but a number of interesting trends have already come to light across the faculties,’ says research assistant Lea Stær Eskesen, who, in collaboration with colleagues from the SDU Centre for Teaching and Learning, was responsible for the study.

Difficult and time-consuming transition

The vast majority of lecturers – 72% – had no prior experience with online teaching in the way it was conducted during the lockdown.

Therefore, most lecturers have had to familiarise themselves with new systems and software while rethinking their curriculums, conducting teaching and handling inquiries from their students.

‘It has been both difficult and very time-consuming to handle all of these tasks at once, and the study shows that our lecturers have spent significantly more time on their teaching than they did before the lockdown,’ says Lea Stær Eskesen.

Most of the time was spent on making the technology work, leaving less time to address the educational and didactic aspects of the online teaching.

Student relations

It has therefore been a significant challenge for SDU’s lecturers to maintain good relations and interactions with the students during the lockdown period.

The vast majority – 83% – of lecturers disagree or strongly disagree that online teaching has allowed them to assess, to the same extent as usual, whether their students understand the teaching points.

‘It has also been challenging to activate and motivate the students to the same extent as usual. This has caused concerns that particularly affect those students who have difficulty keeping up with the teaching or have motivational issues,’ says Lea Stær Eskesen.

Technical assistance and sparring with colleagues

Part of the study also deals with learning which elements were especially helpful during the transition process into online teaching.

Many lecturers state they have found inspiration for their teaching in the guides and directions sent out by the faculties. The technical assistance from the faculties is mentioned with satisfaction, and the report points out that the consultants from the faculties have done a great job in guiding and helping the lecturers along.

On top of this, lecturers have also been successful in using their own professional networks. In many places, lecturers have taken the initiative to organise themselves in larger or smaller groups and hold regular meetings to discuss challenges, solution models and share good experiences.

More online in the future

In conclusion, the lecturers’ responses indicate that 66% of them will, to a greater or much greater extent, use digital tools or online teaching when the University reopens for physical presence.

‘Many lecturers have gained positive experiences with the possibilities of online education and have had fruitful discussions with the students about what has worked well and what hasn’t. They therefore have new tools on hand that can support their future teaching,’ says Lea Stær Eskesen.