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Out with the old
Applying the lessons from 2020 in higher education .
By Wade Zaglas
It goes without saying that the
disruptions to education in 2020 were profound and challenging on a number of levels .
Universities felt the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic acutely , with closed borders impacting international enrolments and decimating a lucrative revenue stream . Apprentices and trainees experienced a taxing 2020 as well , with many laid off as businesses scrambled for ways to remain viable before JobKeeper and an injection of $ 4 million by the federal government provided some relief .
However , it also resulted in a number of positive outcomes , such as rethinking traditional approaches to educational delivery and how best to prepare today ’ s students for a volatile and ever-changing workforce .
To bookend 2020 , the Media Centre for Education Research Australia ( MCERA ) held a webinar titled ‘ Lessons from 2020 ’, with talks from some of Australia ’ s most experienced academics and educators . Professor Debra Bateman , Dean of Education at Flinders University , addressed several key factors affecting the higher education sector .
In her talk , titled ‘ Futures oriented education : a place and way for every learner in life ’, Bateman reflected on how 2020 necessitated the need to rethink educational practices , policies , infrastructure and opportunities .
Bateman began by highlighting that 2020 forced universities and other higher education providers to become more “ adaptive , resilient and open to change ”. In response to the unimagined pandemic , an event beyond the sector ’ s “ scope of control ”, learning in 2020 occurred largely “ on the fly ” as online learning models were rapidly developed or refined and implemented across all sectors .
And while she also mentioned other challenging aspects of education last year , she added that 2020 also saw some positive changes evolve . For instance , “ a whole generation of teachers , trained in an analogue era , have taken a digital leap into online learning ”.
In looking towards a “ futures oriented education ”, as Bateman calls it , she emphasised that the 2020 experience necessitated a “ rethink of the infrastructure that enables an outstanding education for every learner ”.
“ If we are wise , this is a moment to reimagine , renew and reset our collective values , appreciation and aspiration , and commitment and resources that position education in its broader sense as the greatest enabler and mobiliser which will enable us to grow and thrive in a post- COVID world ,” she said .
Such a reset is essential , Bateman asserts , as the traditional ways of measuring performance “ detract from the kinds of thinking and innovation required for diversified futures ”, where creativity , critical thinking and problem solving will be key in both established and emerging job sectors .
Bateman added that education traditionally responds to and is shaped by revolutions and disruptions like we witnessed in 2020 , and yet current views of education , learning , universities and pathways are “ situated firmly in the past and it ’ s time to pivot ”.
Some examples of these enduring traditions are large face-to-face lectures involving the passive transmission of knowledge , and semester-long courses . Others include the privileging of the written word over other ways of developing knowledge in learners such as videos , role plays and visual organisers .
However , to the credit of many institutions in the higher education sector , some have already begun to “ pivot ” to suit the times – triggered by both the “ new normal ” conditions caused by the pandemic and a growing evidence base that many of these traditions are unhelpful .
THE reported , for instance , that Curtin University will phase out all large faceto face lectures by the end of the year , replacing them with 10- to 15-minute “ CurtinTalks ” videos .
Victoria University , too , is discarding the long-form lecture and adopting block models of teaching and learning . The university will also be utilising 15- to 20-minute presentations to impart knowledge , a duration the university ’ s associate provost of learning and teaching , Trish McCluskey , says better suits students ’ concentration spans .
Monash University ’ s vice-chancellor Margaret Gardner also told THE “... the notion that [ traditional lectures ] are the key to education is gone – all of us understand that . They are going to happen less frequently .”
The introduction of a host of “ microcredential ” graduate certificate courses , under the Australian government ’ s Job Ready Graduates Package , has also been a response to the COVID-induced economic fallout of 2020 and the need to provide shorter , flexible courses that will prepare a displaced , dislocated workforce for the high-priority jobs of today and the future .
Such a change in the sector ’ s demographics will be significant , Bateman warns , as “ never before will we experience the multigenerational demands that will be placed on educational infrastructure as we will now in these coming times ”.
But to circle back to an earlier point and consider how Australia ’ s higher education sector handled challenges “ beyond its scope of control ” in 2020 , nothing seems impossible in 2021 . ■
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