Where to for university teaching and learning in times of unprecedented change? International perspectives from Directors and leaders of Centres for Teaching and Learning

Abstract

University educators worldwide have faced unprecedented challenges and change to established teaching practice over the last 12 months. Practice that might once have been described as “innovative” has, in many cases, had to become mainstream almost overnight and many academics have had to rapidly acquire new digital skills and ways of working to support their students in this new landscape. University Centres of Teaching and Learning are core providers of institutional support and professional development for all academics involved in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, course and curriculum/ programme design and innovation. In facing the extraordinary challenges for campus-based teaching institutions over the 2019-20 and 2020-21 academic years, we share experiences from the UK, Ireland and Hong Kong on how our work has evolved from initially responding to the urgent need to support ‘emergency remote teaching’ to strategic support for hybrid, blended and online approaches to course design and delivery (Hodges et al., 2020; Jandric et al., 2020). What may have taken months or years in terms of policy has seen us shift on the ‘turn of a dime’ in this historically unique time. In this colloquium, we share how our centers have moved from responsive to proactive approaches and reflect on our projections for strategic directions as we move into a post-pandemic era.