Creating ‘COVID-safe’ face-to-face teaching: Critical reflections on on-campus teaching during a pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic of 2019 meant higher education was forced to delivering education online. For most, the transition to emergency remote teaching was a natural next step to support continuity of education. However, there were some examples where education remained on campus. Where after taking all COVID-19 safety measures of social distancing, hand hygiene measures and other health protocols, institutions decided to continue to deliver face-to-face on-campus offerings with limited capacity. The COVID-19 and higher education literature have focused primarily on rapid digitalisation. This manuscript adds value to the literature by focusing on three case studies of on-campus delivery for face-to-face teaching in the classroom and practical lessons during the pandemic in Australia, the United Kingdom, and Pakistan. The changes to the learning process affected students’ interactions with the lecturer, other students, and the equipment they were learning to use. Also, it affected interactions with each other in practical activities due to limited numbers of participants, motivation in learning and achieving learning outcomes. Not only the students, but the lecturer’s capability in delivering the course was affected by fatigue due to spending more time teaching within a ‘COVID-19 safe’ environment. This study will provide important documentation on the effect of COVID-19 on on-campus delivery, as well as opportunities to support greater student engagement in class environments through the sharing of learning equipment, fostering positive motivation, managing learning outcomes, and self-monitoring of lecturer capability in more highly stressful teaching and learning environments practical training affected.