The COVID-19 global pandemic necessitated a rapid transition to remote learning (synchronous or asynchronous) for higher education institutions. This paper documents lived experiences of this occurrence from the perspectives of a graduate student, an instructional designer, and a professor. There is discussion of strategies that facilitated a…

Dr. Tracey Burns is a Senior Analyst in the OECD's Centre for Educational Research and Innovation. She heads a portfolio of projects including Innovative Teaching for Effective Learning, 21st Century Children and Trends Shaping Education. Until recently she was also responsible for the OECD work on Governing Complex Education systems. Previous to…

There is a common assumption in education that lack of face-to-face instruction during COVID-19 will result in a learning loss when students return to physical classrooms. While some studies reported interesting results on learning loss, more research must be done to inform schooling practices. At a recorded webinar, learning loss was examined by…

This conversation is a slightly modified version of an interview with Dr. Peter Liljedahl, Professor of Mathematics Education. The interview was conducted by "JMETC" Guest Editors on March 8, 2021 and was based on Dr. Liljedahl's December 7, 2020 colloquium presentation "Building Thinking Classrooms: A Case of Results First…

In this response, Suzanne Smythe imagines the role of new technologies in community-based education as we settle into a "new normal." This article builds upon and extends Jen Vanek's suggestions in Part 1 by drawing upon research and practice oriented to digital justice. Smythe describes her experiences as an adult literacy researcher in…

This piece summarizes one teacher's experiences during the abrupt move to digital learning due to COVID 19. This is not a full research study.

Given the experiences of educators and learners through the COVID-19 pandemic, it is certainly timely to explore disruption in higher education. As Flavin rightly states, despite radical changes in technology over the last 20 years, technology has not disrupted higher education in any meaningful way. However, within the last 12 months, COVID-19…

In this brief article, Stephen Kotok discusses the impact of COVID-19 public-school districts across the U.S. and the shift overnight from in-person learning to remote learning in May 2020. Herein he argues that full-time remote learning is mostly devoid of genuine peer-to-peer interaction but acknowledges that it does introduce some supplemental…

In this response article, the author argues that the notion of 'disruptive innovation' should not be a guiding light for higher education. First and foremost, proponents of this idea would do well to recognise that much broader discourses of revolutionary change have characterised the field of education technology for decades. In short, it is an…

In this article, members of "The Teacher Educator" editorial advisory board consider the state of teacher education in today's universities through these questions: (1) What do you believe might be the lasting impact of COVID-19 on teachers and how teacher education might change? (2) What really matters for teacher educators in the wake…

This Forum explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Higher Education (HE) sector through the experiences and perspectives in China, Malaysia and the UK, with schools and universities closed and teaching moved online with very short notice. Authors were given an open brief as to the nature of their contribution, reflecting the still…

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the digital divide and inequalities among learners and compelled the need to reimagine how teachers and educators teach and support student learning no matter where they live or to what tools they have access. This essay addresses the disruption in online education caused by the global health crisis, exploring…

An article published in "Higher Education Research & Development" (HERD) in 2010 titled, 'The criteria of effective teaching in a changing higher education context' argued that an effective university teacher needs to have specific skills and practices that are applicable to a particular context. The article is one of HERD's most…

Background: Successful management of diseases, especially COVID-19, a disease by a novel virus, is often contingent upon health literacy (HL), as it directly impacts understanding preventative mandates, testing, and treatment modalities. Many vulnerable populations have preexisting conditions and lack of insurance or access to health care. Such…

In this article, the author shares his fear that students will become accustomed to an educational experience that lacks joy and fun as a result of the changes made to education due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He and his teaching colleagues have noticed that when students are learning virtually, they act much more as receivers of knowledge than…