Towards equitable evolution & ecology learning online: a perspective from a first-time instructor teaching evolution during COVID-19

First Time ◽

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, the sudden shift to online offerings of higher education courses that would typically be taught face-to-face, has university administrators, educators, and students alike scrambling to prepare. The pedagogical movement towards active learning has always found a friend in the natural sciences, with laboratory and field components being standard to many programs. For instructors of ecology and evolution, the shift to online-only learning planned for autumn 2020 imposes limitations. As a first-time instructor teaching a course on evolutionary processes at the time of the COVID-19 outbreak, concurrent with being a student of a mentored teaching course and doctoral student in evolutionary ecology, I offer my perspective as a learner and an educator to guide decision-making by instructors. I emphasize the need to consider accessibility, equity, and compassion and the importance of building trust and a safe learning environment in the absence of face-to-face instruction. I describe some evolution-related resources and approaches to assessment I applied in the pivot-to-online context of March 2020, including COVID-19 teaching tools. Finally, I encourage scholars of evolution and ecology to bridge in contemporary scholarship on pedagogy to help teach the next generation of biologists.

Pupils’ Perceptions and Suggestions for the Improvement of Distance Education in Greece

International Journal of Education and Information Technologies ◽

10.46300/9109.2020.14.22 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 ◽

pp. 205-213

Author(s):

Maria Eftychia Angelaki ◽

Theodoros Karvounidis ◽

Christos Douligeris

Keyword(s):

Distance Education ◽

Educational Process ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Face To Face ◽

Teaching Tools ◽

Learning Challenges ◽

Class Schedule ◽

Technological Means ◽

Implementation Data ◽

First Time

During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, Greek schools were closed, and for the first time in Greece, distance education has been implemented using mostly technological means. This work aims to capture the Greek pupils' perceptions and suggestions on the transition from a face-to-face educational process to a pure distance synchronous and asynchronous education implementation. Data have been collected by 41 pupils via an online questionnaire on a volunteer basis. The purpose of the questionnaire was to identify the pupils' learning challenges and unforeseen benefits connected to the offered distance education. The assessment revealed that the majority of the pupils, although they consider distance education as necessary and useful, do not want to replace the traditional means of education. The pupils suggested that the entire process should be stricter in terms of class schedule, assignment submission, and presence requirements and should be enhanced by incorporating better and more "vivid" e-teaching tools.

Sustainable Math Education of Female Students during a Pandemic: Online versus Face-to-Face Instruction

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su132112248 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (21) ◽

pp. 12248

Author(s):

Hanadi Mohamed AbdelSalam ◽

Maura A. E. Pilotti ◽

Omar J. El-Moussa

Keyword(s):

Academic Success ◽

General Education ◽

Test Performance ◽

Math Education ◽

Face To Face ◽

Online Mode ◽

Sustainable Education ◽

General Education Courses ◽

The present study was driven by the assumption that a key feature of sustainable education is its ability to preserve standards of quality even amid unforeseen, potentially disruptive events. It asked whether students’ academic success in math general education courses differed between synchronous online (during the COVID-19 pandemic) and face-to-face (before the pandemic), under the ancillary assumption that computational competency, a pillar of sustainable education, shapes enduring success in a variety of professional fields. As the early identification of at-risk students and ensuing remedial interventions can bring about academic success, the study also investigated the predictive validity of students’ initial performance in online and face-to-face math courses. Two general education courses (introductory calculus and statistics), taught by the same instructor, were selected. Class grades did not differ between instructional modes, thereby providing no evidence for the widespread concern that the switch to the online mode had damaged learning. Yet, during the semester, test and homework performance were differentially sensitive to modes of instruction. Furthermore, both test and homework performance during the first half of the semester predicted class grades in online courses, whereas only test performance predicted class grades in face-to-face courses. These results suggest that sustainable math education in times of crisis is feasible and that educators’ consideration of the differential predictive value of test and homework performance may aid its attainment.

How Distance Programs will Affect Students, Courses, Faculty and Institutional Futures

Distance Learning and University Effectiveness ◽

10.4018/978-1-59140-178-0.ch001 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 1-20 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Murray Turoff ◽

Richard Discenza ◽

Caroline Howard

Keyword(s):

Distance Education ◽

Learning Opportunities ◽

University Administrators ◽

Prospective Students ◽

Face To Face ◽

The Public ◽

The Face ◽

The University ◽

Designed properly, distance education classes can be at least as effective and, in some ways, even more effective than face-to-face courses. The tools and technologies used for distance education courses facilitate learning opportunities not possible in the face-to-face classroom. Distance programs are accelerating changes that are challenging students, faculty, and the university, itself. Currently, most faculty are rewarded for the quality of instruction, as well as their external funding and their research. Often, university administrators focus more attention on the efficiency of teaching than on its effectiveness. In the future, as the quality of distance learning increases, the primary factor for success will be the faculty’s commitment to excellence in teaching. Many institutions will be forced to reevaluate the quality of teaching as the institution becomes more visible to the public, to legislators who support higher education, and to prospective students.

How Distance Programs will Affect Students, Courses, Faculty and Institutional Futures

Online and Distance Learning ◽

10.4018/978-1-59904-935-9.ch277 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 3370-3384

Author(s):

Murray Turoff ◽

Richard Discenza ◽

Carolin Howard

Keyword(s):

Distance Education ◽

Learning Opportunities ◽

University Administrators ◽

Prospective Students ◽

Face To Face ◽

The Public ◽

The Face ◽

The University ◽

Transitioning to Blended Learning: Understanding Student and Faculty Perceptions

Online Learning ◽

10.24059/olj.v15i1.188 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Nanette P. Napier ◽

Sonal Dekhane ◽

Stella Smith

Keyword(s):

Blended Learning ◽

Student Performance ◽

Liberal Arts ◽

Faculty Perceptions ◽

Liberal Arts College ◽

Final Exam ◽

Face To Face ◽

Faculty Teaching ◽

The Impact

This paper describes the conversion of an introductory computing course to the blended learning model at a small, public liberal arts college. Blended learning significantly reduces face-to-face instruction by incorporating rich, online learning experiences. To assess the impact of blended learning on students, survey data was collected at the midpoint and end of semester, and student performance on the final exam was compared in traditional and blended learning sections. To capture faculty perspectives on teaching blended learning courses, written reflections and discussions from faculty teaching blended learning sections were analyzed. Results indicate that student performance in the traditional and blended learning sections of the course were comparable and that students reported high levels of interaction with their instructor. Faculty teaching the course share insights on transitioning to the blended learning format.

Epidemic Response: How to evaluate and respond to evolving and conflicting risk information with a focus on education and clinical environments

Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting ◽

10.1177/1071181320641420 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 64 (1) ◽

pp. 1732-1735

Author(s):

Alison G. Vredenburgh ◽

Rodrigo J. Daly Guris ◽

Kevin G. Welner ◽

Sreekanth R. Cheruku

Keyword(s):

The United States ◽

Face To Face ◽

The Public ◽

Conflicting Information ◽

The Face ◽

Clinical Environments ◽

Epidemic Response ◽

Collaborative Implementation ◽

Modern Era

By October, we will have learned a great deal about responding to an epidemic or pandemic that has proved to have a level of transmission unprecedented in the modern era. The possible and likely responses include many unknowns. Coordinated and collaborative implementation has been complicated by conflicting information from multiple governments and organizations in several languages. What will we learn about how the United States can improve its ability to respond? How do we develop consistent and accurate warnings and messaging to the public in order to increase compliance regarding a new, and not well understood, epidemic? What factors increase or decrease compliance? How are US education policymakers deciding about face-to-face instruction? How have physicians and hospitals adapted their workflows in the face of uncertainty and supply chain inconsistencies? This panel will include a warnings expert, an expert on education law and policy, and two physicians.

A Case Study of Student Use of Asynchronous Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) to Support Reflection and Evaluation

Journal of Educational Technology Systems ◽

10.2190/a9em-ybpq-5jwu-2jwt ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 30 (4) ◽

pp. 365-377 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Susan M. Land ◽

Michele M. Dornisch

Keyword(s):

Collaborative Learning ◽

Bulletin Board ◽

Discussion Forums ◽

Computer Supported Collaborative Learning ◽

Communication Tools ◽

Web Based ◽

Face To Face ◽

Recent Interest ◽

Face To Face Instruction

Recent interest in computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) has prompted educators to incorporate communication tools into their courses. This article reports findings of students' use of two Web-based discussion forums across two semesters to supplement face-to- face instruction. By tracking the discussions, we discovered that when students initiated reflection and integration of perspectives, they did so through concessions and oppositions to the postings of their peers. Findings point to the importance of explicit scaffolding of conversations to encourage student sharing and evaluation of perspectives.

First-time mothers' experiences of the first stage of labour in hospitals in the HhoHho region, Eswatini

African Journal of Midwifery and Women s Health ◽

10.12968/ajmw.2020.0013 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

pp. 1-8

Author(s):

Nonhlahla Mamba ◽

Oslinah B Tagutanazvo

Keyword(s):

Normal Vaginal Delivery ◽

Hospital Data ◽

Face To Face ◽

First Time Mothers ◽

Open Coding ◽

Analyse Data ◽

Labour Pains ◽

Postpartum Mothers ◽

First Time ◽

Purposive Sample

Background/Aims Women have different and varying experiences of labour and their coping strategies vary as well. Having support during labour may help women feel in control of their labour. This study aimed to explore and describe the experiences of first-time mothers during the first stage of labour. Methods The study used a qualitative, exploratory, descriptive design. A purposive sample of nine first-time postpartum mothers were selected to participate following normal vaginal delivery at Mbabane Government Hospital. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews and analysed thematically. Open coding was used to analyse data. Results Four themes emerged: 1. Ignorance of the signs of labour 2. Anxiety related to fear 3. Maintaining adequate nutrition 4. Coping with labour pains. Each theme had several subcategories. Most participants were ignorant of the signs of labour and reported anxiety related to fear of the unknown and practiced different ways of coping with labour pains. Conclusions First-time mothers require adequate preparation for labour, as many women in this study were ignorant of the signs of labour and reported anxiety related to fear of the unknown. Pregnant women should be educated about the physiological aspects of the first stage of labour and oriented in the labour ward during the prenatal period.

Some Origins of Nationalism in East Africa

The Journal of African History ◽

10.1017/s0021853700008380 ◽

1968 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 119-146 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

J. M. Lonsdale

Keyword(s):

Central Government ◽

Colonial Period ◽

Political Activity ◽

Colonial Rule ◽

Face To Face ◽

National Movements ◽

New Type ◽

First Time ◽

Official Recognition

This paper attempts to provide a frame of reference for evaluating the role of ordinary rural Africans in national movements, in the belief that scholarly preoccupation with élites will only partially illumine the mainsprings of nationalism. Kenya has been taken as the main field of enquiry, with contrasts and comparisons drawn from Uganda and Tanganyika. The processes of social change are discussed with a view to establishing that by the end of the colonial period one can talk of peasants rather than tribesmen in some of the more progressive areas. This change entailed a decline in the leadership functions of tribal chiefs who were also the official agents of colonial rule, but did not necessarily mean the firm establishment of a new type of rural leadership. The central part of the paper is taken up with an account of the competition between these older and newer leaderships, for official recognition rather than a mass following. A popular following was one of the conditions for such recognition, but neither really achieved this prior to 1945 except in Kikuyuland, and there the newer leaders did not want official recognition. After 1945 the newer leadership, comprising especially traders and officials of marketing co-operatives, seems everywhere to have won a properly representative position, due mainly to the enforced agrarian changes which brought the peasant face to face with the central government, perhaps for the first time. This confrontation, together with the experience of failure in earlier and more local political activity, resulted in a national revolution coalescing from below, co-ordinated rather than instigated by the educated élite.

Materiais Didáticos para Educação a Distância: Observando Layouts

EAD em FOCO ◽

10.18264/eadf.v6i1.362 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Dorcas Janice Weber ◽

Lia Raquel Oliveira

Keyword(s):

Distance Education ◽

Educational Process ◽

Face To Face ◽

Effective Learning ◽

Educational Processes ◽

Materials Used ◽

Distance Courses ◽

Education Courses ◽

Training Opportunities

A inserção da educação a distância nos processos educativos formais apontou possibilidades de formação em nível superior para aqueles que estão distantes dos centros de formação e, para além disso, desvelou objetos de investigação. Um exemplo disso são os materiais didáticos, tão necessários para a efetivação da aprendizagem na modalidade a distância. A gama de materiais é grande e, por isso, é interessante conhecer o modo como eles vêm sendo desenvolvidos e utilizados por aquelas instituições que ofertam cursos nessa modalidade. É sabido que há necessidades distintas entre os alunos da educação a distância e os de cursos presenciais, que precisam estar contempladas nos materiais didáticos. Mas de fato estão? Considerando a organização do espaço de estudo como importante no processo pedagógico, como os espaços dos materiais didáticos vêm sendo organizados? Que elementos têm sido utilizados para o desenvolvimento de layouts para materiais didáticos utilizados em cursos a distância? Tais questões são tema deste escrito, que busca, a partir de um estudo de caso, observar materiais didáticos produzidos para cursos brasileiros a distância. Um olhar transversal sobre tais materiais aponta semelhanças com os produtos elaborados para a educação presencial, tão conhecida por muitos.Palavras-chave: Educação a distância; Materiais didáticos; Layout.?Didactic Materials for Distance Education: Observing LayoutsAbstract The inclusion of distance education in formal educational processes pointed training opportunities in higher education for those who are distant from training centers and, in addition, unveiled research objects. An example of this are the didactic materials, as necessary for effective learning in the distance. The range of materials is large and therefore it is interesting to know how these are being developed and used by those institutions that offer courses in this modality. It is known that there are different needs among students of distance education and presence courses that need to be addressed in didactic materials. But actually are? Considering the organization of study space as important in the educational process, as the spaces of didactic materials have been organized? What elements have been used to development layouts for the materials used in distance education courses? This questions are theme of this this written that will, with a case study, observe didactic materials produced to Brazilian distance courses. That observation shown us that analyzed materials have similarities with didactic products for face to face education.Keywords: Distance education; Didactic materials; Layout.