Not everyone is returning to face-to-face lecturing in 2021

With the advent of COVID-19 in 2020 and the ensuing social distancing measures adopted in relation to large gatherings, universities in the Australasia found themselves unable to run traditional face to face lectures. This essentially meant all institutions had to adopt alternate approaches to providing the key information to students that would normally be done through lectures. In many cases institutions pivoted quickly and implemented a range of online strategies, while others changed the forms of delivery altogether, replacing their traditional lectures with other forms of information sharing. But now, as we move into 2021 and the social distancing restrictions that most jurisdictions put in place are relaxed, it is important to understand what institutions are intending to do in relation to returning to face-to-face lectures. 

To help understand this, an invitation to participate in a short survey was sent from ACODE to 47 universities in Australia and New Zealand. Of these 43 Institutions (91%) responded (36 in Australia, 7 in New Zealand). 

Out of the 43 Institutions, 14 (32%) indicated they would be returning to on-campus lectures this year. With a further 8 (19%) returning, but with a reduced model. However, 17 Institutions (40%) will not be returning to Lectures in Semester 1. Of these 8 (19%) may return to lecturing in Semester 2

Extended this understand to longer terms intentions, post 2021, less institutions said ‘Yes’ to the longer-term prospect of returning to full lecturing. Where previously 14 (32%) had responded to an immediate return, only 10 (23%) responded to this longer-term prospect. However, in this particular case, 18 institutions (42%) would probably be returning, but with a reduced model, either by discipline or regardless of discipline.

Six Institutions (14%) would not be returning to lectures at all, with a further 7 (16%) indicating they were not sure at this point. 

Although 7 institutions (16%) nominated that COVID-19 as the main reason why they were discontinuing on-campus lectures, there were however other drivers for a further 9 institutions (21%), while, 13 institutions (30%) nominated that it was a ‘bit of both’. 

Ten institutions (23%) indicate that good pedagogy was the primary reason they were discontinuing on-campus lectures, but a further 20 (46.5%) indicate that there are a range of reasons why they are doing this (that may include pedagogy). Three institutions (7%) indicated that sound pedagogy had very little to do with this, while a further 3 simply indicted this was not the reason.

What is clear from the results of this survey is that many institutions have found new ways of providing information to their students, that would have been traditionally conveyed through a formal face-to-face lecture. Many of these institutions have also taken a stance that they will now not return to that mode of delivery in the future. Having said that, there is no presumption in this that the lecture, as we have known it, will cease to exist and nor should it, rather that instructions will now be far more judicious as to how many and how often they may choose to use this form of delivery.

Further details of this survey and the results, in the form of an ACODE White Paper, may be accessed from the ACODE website at: https://www.acode.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=4469 or if that one doesn’t work try: https://www.acode.edu.au/pluginfile.php/9235/mod_resource/content/7/white%20paper.pdf

Professor Michael Sankey, Griffith University and President of the Australasian Council on Open, Distance and eLearning (ACODE).