How my PhD became relevant and outdated overnight

These days I am working on finalising my PhD thesis. With fewer distractions available due to the corona crisis, I probably could have not asked for a better time to cross the finishing line. The irony is that the crisis brought my research topic into the spotlight like never before in the 6 years I’ve been working on my thesis. My PhD research is about the interaction between technology and pedagogical methods in teaching political science. It blends together my original background- politics- and the field I’ve become passionate about for more than a decade- education, and in particular, educational technology. With the coronavirus crisis forcing universities to switch to remote teaching at short notice and for an indefinite period, using technology became the only way to continue the semester.

I find it interesting to hear everyone suddenly talking about online learning. This is a rather big change of pace from what I was used to in the last years, when online learning, and even teaching with technology, was perceived as a second class, less serious form of teaching and learning. While my research results show little engagement with online learning, at least in the discipline I focused on, political science, today’s reality looks radically different. We have to remember one thing though: this sudden move to online teaching (better called “Emergency Remote Teaching”) is not one based on choice, but on pure necessity. Many teachers will rise to the challenge and take this opportunity to reassess their teaching. But this will by no means be the rule. Many will also be overwhelmed (with good reason) and this less than ideal online teaching situation will only confirm their existing perceptions about the value of technology-enhanced learning.

The conclusions of my PhD talk about the need for a deliberate, well designed use of technology, only where and when it can support the learning objectives. I recommend that universities encourage experimentation, but not under this kind of time pressure. I also emphasise the importance of professional development and teaching support. But now there is simply not enough time to put into practice the principles of online learning design, nor is there time for training and professional development.

So yes, my PhD may now sound outdated, but here are a few things that I learned during my research that help me make sense of the current situation and think of a few ways forward.

University teaching staff is often simply not aware of what technologies are available and how they can be used to support learning. Even if this does not seem like the right moment, the forced move to the virtual environment might present them with an opportunity to try out tools they use in their private or professional lives and see whether they can be used to create learning experiences.

There is very little exchange going on in the academic environment about teaching practices in general and even less about teaching with technology. Peer learning is considered a very powerful way of building up professional skills. In times of crisis such networks or communities of practice could hold the key to developing a shared body of knowledge and expertise and, ultimately, supporting better remote teaching. These often informal structures are valuable both in emergency situations, like the one we face today, and beyond. It is encouraging to see such exchanges emerging right now, especially on social media.

Many European universities lack support structures for teaching and learning and, more specifically, for technology-supported learning. This proves to be quite problematic now and will become a real issue in the very near future when universities will need to come up with sustainable solutions for the coming academic year. These will need to go beyond Emergency Remote Teaching, if they are to maintain quality standards and student numbers. So this is the time to start thinking strategically about institutionalised forms of support such as well-staffed teaching and learning centres and interdisciplinary teams including teaching staff, instructional designers and learning technologists.

And this is how my PhD recommendations are actually not really outdated. They simply apply to mid and long term scenarios. We just need to keep things in perspective and apply the right solutions to the right problems. On the bright side: there will surely be many opportunities for me to use my knowledge and expertise and I am very much looking forward to seeing whether this moment of disruption will have a lasting and hopefully positive impact on Higher Education.

I will continue to write on this topic in the next weeks so if you want to read more you can follow me on Twitter or sign up for my newsletter.