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Learning Research Updates

ND Learning, Notre Dame International and Tel Aviv University Collaborate on Teaching and Learning during COVID-19 International Panel

March 30, 2021
Alex Ambrose

This blog post was authored by Jessica Staggs, ReAL Lab Undergraduate Research Assistant.

When COVID-19 became a global pandemic in the spring of 2020, learning as we knew it changed worldwide. Universities worldwide were affected and had to make split-second decisions as shutdowns started worldwide. In the fall of 2020, online learning or modified learning became the “new normal” as we all attempted what we thought was best to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 while allowing education as best as possible. Before COVID-19, the University of Notre Dame and Tel Aviv University had been working together to create an international partnership in research on teaching and learning. Like everything else, this shifted focus during the pandemic. 

With sponsorship from the Schlindwein Family Tel Aviv University – Notre Dame Research Grant Collaboration, a partnership between Notre Dame and Tel Aviv University had already been developed before the pandemic. Even as learning and research shifted in 2020 and international travel was essentially halted, the partnership allowed both schools an avenue to continue and share their research. Thanks to this partnership, ND International, and ND Learning, the universities were able to share their work from fall 2020 in a virtual panel held March 17, 2021. 

The full recording can be accessed here

The two schools developed different teaching models for the fall reopening, with TAU remaining entirely online and off campus while ND shifted mainly to dual mode learning, with the professor and some students in the classroom while those unable to attend joined live remotely. Research at the universities followed these shifts. At Notre Dame, research was done on how well classrooms facilitated active learning pre- and during COVID-19 as well as how active learning compared across the online, dual mode, and in-person learning environments according to the EDUCAUSE Learning Space Rating System. Qualitative research focused on how students and professors responded to dual mode learning, how effective dual mode instruction was, and which aspects of the classroom environment and technology were most important during COVID-19. Research from Tel Aviv discussed the methods and adjustments that instructors had to make during COVID-19, including changing class policies, taking more care to reach out to students who were away from school and learning remotely, and overall changes to the learning community. Their presentations also discussed data-driven decision making during remote learning and what academic, emotional, and accessibility changes had to be made in moving from face to face to emergency remote teaching. 

Research Topics & Speakers

INSTRUCTORS’ REFLECTIONS ABOUT LEARNERS’ DATA IN ONLINE EMERGENCY REMOTE TEACHING

Maya Usher, Ph.D., Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, TAU School of Education

Arnon Hershkovitz, Ph.D. (Schlindwein Grant Co-PI), Senior Lecturer, TAU School of Education

EFFECTS ON CLASSROOMS’ LEARNING SPACE RATING SYSTEM SCORES

Jessica Staggs, Research Assistant, ND Learning ReAL Lab

G. Alex Ambrose, Ph.D. (Schlindwein Grant Co-PI), ND Learning | Kaneb Center

EMERGENCY REMOTE TEACHING: CAMPUS-WIDE TRANSITION AND INSTRUCTORS’ PERSPECTIVE

Tal Soffer, Ph.D. (Schlindwein Grant Co-PI), Head of Virtual TAU – The Center for Digital Pedagogy

UNDERSTANDING DUAL MODE TEACHING AND LEARNING

Daphne Saloome, Research Assistant, ND Learning ReAL Lab

G. Alex Ambrose, Ph.D. (Schlindwein Grant Co-PI), ND Learning | Kaneb Center

STUDENTS’ PERSPECTIVES OF THE SHIFT TO REMOTE LEARNING

Anat Cohen, Ph.D., Senior Lecturer, TAU School of Education

Acknowledgements

Tim Schlindwein 

Geraldine Meehan 

Colleen Wilcox 

Dyann Mawhorr 

Allie Richthammer 

How to access slides and cite:

Saloomey, Daphne, Ambrose, G. Alex (2021) “Evaluating & Understanding the Dual Mode Classroom & Experience During COVID” International Look at Teaching in Higher Education During COVID-19. Notre Dame International and Tel Aviv University.

Staggs, Jessica, Ambrose, G. Alex (2021) “COVID-19 Effects on Classrooms’ Learning Space Rating System Scores.” International Look at Teaching in Higher Education During COVID-19. Notre Dame International and Tel Aviv University.