While the Covid lockdowns may be consigned to the past, the shockwaves of the pandemic are still being felt, with the students now arriving at university having experienced two years of disrupted learning and long periods of forced isolation. The sudden pivot to online delivery across higher education provided valuable lessons in designing more flexible modes of teaching and student support. Now, four years on, how can institutions apply the tools at their disposal to support a generation whose formative teenage years were blighted by Covid, with all the associated challenges to mental health, learning and social skills?
The post-pandemic university: how to serve the Covid generation
A look at how institutions can deliver a higher education experience that meets the needs of students whose school years were interrupted by the pandemic
Get students back to class
Resources
Lecture attendance remains stubbornly low post-pandemic and, while it is hoped that students who do not attend in person then catch up online, some educators fear this is not happening while others question the quality of engagement and learning via such digital channels. So how can lecturers get students back to class? Here, academics share thoughtful, creative approaches that show signs of promise.
Blended learning done right
Resources
Blended learning can offer students the best of both worlds, with face-to-face and online teaching working in tandem. While critics worry that offering this hybrid approach to teaching could reduce attendance further, proponents point out that it widens access to higher education through greater flexibility and self-paced learning. But it must be done well. These resources offer advice on effective blended learning based on educators’ experiences of what works.
Support for student well-being
Resources
Young people’s mental health suffered during the pandemic, resulting in higher levels of depression and social, emotional and behavioural difficulties in the aftermath, research from Oxford University shows. Awareness of what some have labelled a ‘mental health crisis’ has prompted universities to review their student support and well-being services. Find out here what more can be done to create a happy campus.
Engage Gen Z students
Resources
While a recent upturn in young fiction book sales contradicts common accusations that Gen Z attention spans are shrinking, a survey conducted by TikTok of its users revealed that 50 per cent of them found videos lasting longer than a minute ‘stressful’. When bombarded with so much information daily, perhaps it is more a question of what cuts through the noise. So, how can educators ensure their teaching captures the attention of a doom-scrolling generation?
