Quality of Teaching During the Pandemic: Insights and Challenges

As the world grappled with the sudden shift to online instruction during the pandemic, concerns about the impact on teaching quality and student engagement emerged. Research studies by scholars from top universities, including Dartmouth, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Stanford, and the testing company NWEA, revealed significant academic losses, with students falling behind in math and reading by nearly half a year and a third of a year, respectively. Despite this, some instructors demonstrated resilience and resourcefulness, finding creative ways to share content with students. However, the data also showed a decline in student engagement, with many feeling disconnected from academic work.

Key Takeaways:

• Instructors found new ways to share content with students, with both students and instructors confirming a change towards more varied approaches, which is consistent with decades of research showing that students learn more and instruction is more accessible when instructors use diverse methods.
• The improvement in content-sharing was small, but given the challenges of the switch to online instruction, it was a notable accomplishment. Decades of research have demonstrated the benefits of using a variety of approaches to share content with students.
• In contrast, instructors did not find it as easy to provide students with multiple ways to demonstrate their knowledge and abilities, reflecting the challenges of adapting to new technology and resources. Decades of research have shown that students are more successful academically and activities are more accessible to a diverse student population when instructors give students multiple assessment approaches.
• Students and instructors across all levels of education confirmed that students were far less engaged in academic work during the pandemic, with a steep decline in engagement that was not entirely surprising given the shift to online instruction. However, this drop in engagement was enormous and has significant implications for academic outcomes and inclusivity.
• The studies suggest that preparing instructors and students for future disruptions to classroom instruction, such as online or hybrid instruction, is crucial to mitigate students' academic losses and increase engagement.
• At the university level, finding ways to enhance student engagement may be particularly challenging due to faculty members' heavy workload and lack of teaching training, which often focuses on scholarly and creative responsibilities rather than teaching methods.
• Some experts propose revising teaching requirements to include courses on student engagement as part of the teaching license requirements for K-12 teachers, which could potentially improve instruction during times of disruption.

Statistics:

• Students fell behind in math by approximately half a year and reading by nearly a third of a year due to the pandemic, according to research studies conducted by scholars from top universities.
• Instructors showed a small but notable improvement in sharing content with students during the pandemic, reflecting resilience and resourcefulness in the face of challenges.
• The drop in student engagement was enormous, with students feeling disconnected from academic work during the pandemic.
• The average student was approximately one-half year behind in math and one-third year behind in reading by the spring of 2022, compared to pre-pandemic years, according to data from 7,800 communities in 41 states and the testing company NWEA.

Sources:

• Dartmouth, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Stanford, and NWEA research studies
• University of Nevada press release
• Original text: https://www.unr.edu/nevada-today/news/2023/atp-quality-of-teaching-during-the-pandemic