Flexibility

In the context of pandemic pedagogy, many of us ponder how we can undertake our core mandate as educators in higher education to operate and deliver course content and competencies with remote learning platforms and remote access. We often cannot maintain former classroom-based teaching and learning structures of control in online learning environments. This idea extends further with the notion of testing and final assessments. How do we ensure that our students are learning what we have intended and demonstrate that learning in a competent way while maintaining academic integrity as teachers and learners?

Many of us even wonder how the idea of flexibility is feasible without compromising rigour and the high standards of teaching. Employing flexibility as a core pedagogical perspective would require us to critically reflect on ways in which our approaches and techniques can both reflect the times we are living in with COVID-19 and the needs of our students.

INQUIRY:

The following are questions for each of us to consider …

Why is flexible teaching important and what does it look like for students and for instructors?
How could you add in some flexibility in your teaching to maximize the learning experience (e.g., pace, instructional method, pedagogical approach, mode of delivery, content, access, participation, resources, assessment, deadlines, etc.)?
How do we shift our thinking from seeing the instructor as having complete control over the teaching/learning processes to being more open, responsive, and adaptable?