Pandemic Pedagogy: COVID Tips for Online Teaching

By Mark Stephens, MD, Pennsylvania State University

In the past 6 weeks, nearly 30,000 medical students¹ have shifted to online learning. With relatively little warning or time for preparations, students, faculty, and administrators scrambled to create platforms, structures, and processes in an attempt to keep students moving in a positive direction along their continuum of medical education. One of the more popular online video platforms (Zoom) saw an increase in traffic from 10 million encounters in December of 2019 to over 200 million in March of 2020.²

Prior to the pandemic, a survey indicated 9 of 10 educators preferred not to teach online.³ The current environment, however, leaves us with few other sustainable options. As necessity has often been said to be the mother of invention, here are a few tips that I have found helpful to establish and sustain a positive environment for learning during COVID-19.

C-Communication

In pandemic times or not, communication is central to success in any human endeavor. What most people crave is information. Establishing clear lines of communication for the succinct delivery of essential information is foundational. Elucidate clear rules of engagement for video conferencing (eg, cameras on, no sidebar conversations, time limit to individual sessions, etc). Clarify expectations for any required activities. Regular communication through preferred contact mechanisms (email, text, video conferencing), helps to clarify expectations and provides structure for instructional activities.

O-Outcomes

From the student perspective, assessment often drives learning. Students and faculty are often conditioned to either learn for the test or teach to the test. The online environment offers a valuable opportunity to alter this sadly time-honored paradigm. Many institutions across the globe have moved to pass-fail grading⁴ and increased use of self-assessment⁵ for the immediate future. By deemphasizing high-stakes exams, students and faculty are presented with the opportunity to more fully engage in cocreated, personalized learning experiences. Students must still be held accountable, and all course standards must be sufficiently met to ensure fairness and appropriate attribution of course credit.

V-Variety

Familiarity breeds contempt. There is an increasing recognition of the epiphenomenon of Zoom fatigue.⁶ To avoid this, thoughtfully mixing content and process can help to keep students engaged and material fresh. Assigned small-group activities in breakout rooms work well. Rotating the composition of students within the breakouts and guest faculty mixes things up as well. Thoughtful use of embedded chat features and the regular use of formative quizzes helps to keep students engaged. Altering class length can help to avoid cognitive overload—shorter is always better if/when students get the work done.

I-Intention

Thoughtful preparation helps to avoid most problems. Plan for technical failures (eg, students can phone in to sessions if bandwidth precludes video engagement). Plan for unintended consequences (eg, students and faculty will have issues come up that prevent them being able to participate—have a plan for both). Keep to a regular schedule, avoid surprises, and keep sessions secure. Using password protection reduces the risk of unintended Zoom bombing.⁷

D-Downtime

Managing cognitive load is always important. It is also very challenging. Avoid the temptation to get through everything. Content coverage is less important than process curation and community building. Allow opportunities for regular breaks.

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