A Self-Access Center’s Response to COVID-19: Maintaining Stability, Connectivity, Well-being, and Development During a Time of Great Change

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic created disruption in many of the institutions we regularly rely on, including universities. While disruption may often bring with it a myriad of possible pitfalls, it affords potential opportunities for change and development by reflecting on and modifying practices. In this article, a group of learning advisors and administrators from a self-access center at an international university in Japan reflect on the ruptures we experienced as a result of changes due to unexpectedly working remotely and our attempts to find stability, the pitfalls we sought to avoid, and the opportunities that we found amidst the disruption. Specifically, we illustrate our experiences related to student-led learning communities, self-access curricula, and learning advising, considering the effect on students and advisors alike. We advocate that self-access practitioners actively promote the use of language, encourage the development of communities of learners who focus on their interests, offer full online services even when the center is open, and use the same effective practices whether supporting learners online or offline. Our intention is that this article will help others to support stability, connectivity, and positive development in their own contexts.

Learning from each other in the COVID-19 pandemic

The increase in cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) worldwide has been paralleled by increasing information, and misinformation. Accurate public health messaging is essential to counter this, but education may also have a role. Early in the outbreak, The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine partnered with FutureLearn to develop a massive open online course (MOOC) on COVID-19. Our approach was grounded in social constructivism, supporting participation, sharing uncertainties, and encouraging discussion. The first run of the course included over 200,000 participants from 184 countries, with over 88,000 comments at the end of the three-week run. Many participants supported each other’s learning in their responses and further questions. Our experience suggests that open education, and supporting the development of communities of learners, can complement traditional messaging, providing a sustainable approach to countering the spread of misinformation.

Community of Digital Learners

This study resides at the intersection of digital literacies (ILA Standard 5) and communities of learners (evidence-based practice). An examination of self-studies and awards packets collected during 14 years of online teaching indicated that the instructor intentionally sought to harness online tools to support the formation and development of communities of learners. Of particular interest were the use of robust introductions, small group discussions, and authentic assessments. Similarities were evident between literature that describes offline communities of learners and the online communities forged in these courses. This study indicated that online teacher education courses that embrace social learning theories may be fertile ground for additional research. As education extends into online venues, such research is needed.

Teaching Shakespeare Inside Out: Creating a Dialogue Between Traditional and Incarcerated Students

This chapter explores the possibilities for teaching Shakespeare within and outside of the criminal justice system by putting these communities of learners into substantive dialogue. In contrast to many “prison Shakespeare” programs, a social-justice oriented approach prioritizes learning over “therapy” and promotes dialogue and collaboration among inside and outside populations. While this approach can yield positive results like “increased activism and decreased stereotyping,” its difficulties can be profitable too, as students learn to make the most of “the uncomfortable dissonances that occur when diverse populations interact.” This, argues Jayme M. Yeo, is where Shakespeare faculty can best transmit their skills to students, “for multivalence and conflict accurately describe the work of literary interpretation itself.”

“Is There Anybody There?”

The Open University (UK) Library supports its distance-learning students with interactive, real-time events on social media. In this chapter the authors take a case study approach and concentrate on the examples of Facebook and Livestream to illustrate how live engagement events on social media have helped to build communities of learners in spaces they already occupy, raise the visibility of the library's services and resources with staff and students, and foster collaboration with other departments, while also being effective mechanisms for instruction. The chapter concludes with the library's plans for the future and recommendations for other academic libraries wishing to run live engagement events on social media.