Trends in Teaching and Learning
The pandemic accelerated many trends in teaching and learning within the higher education sector – these trends were already under discussion to varying degrees at McGill and at other institutions, but the experience of 2020-2021 has illustrated that we can do things differently and can consider ways to prioritize efforts in some of these areas.
In the McGill context, experience from the 2020-2021 academic year will help set the stage for considerations of these trends. For example, students indicated a strong interest in having recorded lecture materials available for their courses, and this interest may continue long-term. Many instructors also re-designed their approach to teaching, using synchronous classroom time for more interactive, inquiry-based learning. In a post-pandemic teaching context, a blended or flipped approach may be adopted more broadly. Laboratories used software that facilitated different kinds of experiential learning with online tools, and some of these practices could supplement teaching that might have traditionally only been considered as occurring in person. The University also modified drastically how students were assessed during the period in which classes were delivered primarily through remote means – and the future of traditional in-person, timed, and invigilated final examinations is something to consider.
How we use our teaching spaces will also be re-examined. In-person teaching that focuses more on discussion and inquiry is best done in active learning classrooms rather than in a theatre-style lecture hall, for example. How we prioritize trends in teaching and learning need to be matched with appropriate teaching spaces and technologies.
Innovation in Academic Programs
There have been many trends in program development in recent years, including (but not limited to) micro-credentials, short-programs, certificates, stackable certificates. In part, this answers a broader need related to upskilling and reskilling among some sectors, and how some trends in the workforce are not always aligned with more traditional degree programs aimed largely at a 18 to24 year-old audience.
At McGill we have seen recent innovations in program developing including the development of a pathway to stackable Masters degrees, online offerings of existing programs (e.g., the Bachelor of Nursing (Integrated), and new certificates in areas with high demand among non-traditional learners (e.g., online Cybersecurity Certificate offered through the School of Continuing Studies). Many Faculties have also increased their range of non-credit offerings (e.g., Desautels Faculty of Management’s Personal Finance Essentials course, and a series of Professional Development Certificates offered by the School of Continuing Studies). There remains an opportunity to consider whether a more strategic approach around new program development is needed, and perhaps additional efforts to link program development more tightly to our international engagement strategy, revenue generation, connections to strategic priorities (e.g., in-community teaching for Indigenous learners, and innovation).
The other area of interest in our academic programs lies in the manner and approach to our assessment of existing programs. While professional programs have accreditation requirements, most other programs are built without program assessment formally considered. Our cyclical unit review process has, in the past, partially addressed program evaluation, but not necessarily in a way that allows careful and regular adjustments to curriculum. As we look forward, is there an opportunity to build program assessments into all new programs, and review and revisit existing programs in a more direct manner?
Reimagining the Academic Calendar
The traditional academic calendar, whereby degree-seeking students participate in intensive 13-week semesters of typically 12 to 15 credits each in the Fall and Winter, with long, often inactive summer periods, has advantages. But it is also predicated on conventions that may not align with more contemporary interests, including, for example, experiential learning, study abroad, work-integrated learning and/or part-time study, as well as changing faculty work-life balance interests. A more robust summer semester may present opportunity for alternative ways of distributing credit-bearing activity across a full 12-month period, facilitate off-campus coursework that requires particular seasonal conditions or alignment with other calendars of activity (e.g., stages), allow for accelerated study, or offer breaks at alternate points in the academic cycle (e.g., coursework in Winter and Summer with the Fall term off).
Alternatively, the summer term could be developed as a stand-alone period during which degree-seeking students could participate in more robust and university-sponsored enrichment activities, or as a period during which the University offers a fuller suite of learning opportunities to non-traditional and returning students (e.g., a concentrated graduate certificate). More generally, a fuller suite of academic activity across the full breadth of the academic year would allow for more sustained use of core infrastructure and enhanced productivity year-round. Such increased activity would bear additional costs (e.g., increased maintenance costs, utility costs, staff support costs), but could also accommodate a greater number of students. By expanding teaching into the summer months (as well as incorporating remote technologies as enhancements to in-person engagement), McGill may have the opportunity to increase and/or diversify enrolments to create space for more students without compromising quality or class size. Should this prove possible, the increased revenue may further support enhancements to teaching and research facilities as well as the academic complement.
Likewise, the length and structure of a traditional “semester” may be explored to weigh advantages and disadvantages of semester, trimester, and quarter systems, alternatives to the 3-credit course, and opportunities for self-directed or asynchronous learning. Within the semester itself, there are also opportunities to consider variations to the traditional scheduling of classes and laboratories, both within the boundaries of a regular work day, but also consideration of evenings and weekends.