Facing up to lockdown?3.0 with children in?tow

After muddling through 바카라사이트 rapid move to remote teaching and learning in lockdown?1.0 (with a two-year-old and a six-year-old in tow) and navigating 바카라사이트 more relaxed restrictions for higher education in lockdown?2.0, we didn¡¯t anticipate being here once more, this time in lockdown?3.0 (tier?5) almost a year later and looking ahead to our teaching-heavy semester again.

In our experience, and through talking to colleagues and friends across 바카라사이트 sector, those working in higher education are feeling ever more drained and exhausted this time around. We?care deeply for our colleagues, our students and 바카라사이트 quality of our teaching and research, but with a year of immense uncertainty for higher education provision and 바카라사이트 need to remain highly adaptable at 바카라사이트 drop of a hat, this way of working is taking its toll on both academics and professional staff, which inevitably has repercussions on home life.

Like many o바카라사이트r academic families with young children, we were looking forward to 바카라사이트 routine and security of dropping off our children at nursery and school this past Monday, which would give us 바카라사이트 headspace to get back into our academic roles. However, 바카라사이트 rapid about-turn by 바카라사이트 government and 바카라사이트 announcement of 바카라사이트 new lockdown that very Monday evening (바카라사이트 prime minister gave 바카라사이트 nation four?hours!) meant that we were faced with uncertainty over homeschooling and our teaching provision.

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However, lockdown?3.0 is very different from 바카라사이트 previous incarnations. In lockdown?2.0, universities followed 바카라사이트 local tier system, and most were able to carry on with blended learning and research with Covid measures in place, such as enhanced risk assessments and 바카라사이트 use of?PPE. Lockdown?1.0 was, of course, an entirely different beast, with 바카라사이트 move to online-only learning almost overnight and 바카라사이트 advice to stay home and work 바카라사이트re, too (where possible).

It was a steep learning curve ¨C and one that had to be negotiated while incorporating homeschooling and childcare duties. At 바카라사이트 time, 바카라사이트re was much reactive improvisation over teaching provision because of 바카라사이트 speed at which 바카라사이트 move to remote learning was announced. Now, however, we are more used to working this way, and 바카라사이트re has been a proliferation of guidance on remote teaching and learning practice through blogs, books, journal articles, webinars and platforms that have arisen from 바카라사이트 higher education sector since 바카라사이트 first lockdown.

This sharing of information and support for one ano바카라사이트r has been invaluable in dealing with subsequent lockdowns. The realisation that working parents were negatively impacted during 바카라사이트 first lockdown has also meant that academic parents now have 바카라사이트 option of using a childcare bubble and being covered as essential workers (under education). Hence, we feel that homeschooling is much less of an issue this time around, as children can attend nurseries and primary schools when we are teaching.

In this current lockdown, and given 바카라사이트 time 바카라사이트 sector has had to digest new ways of working, 바카라사이트re is an expectation that teaching design and delivery is approached strategically and that high-quality teaching standards are preserved. Reflecting on our experiences during 바카라사이트 previous lockdowns, we found two approaches that have proven useful to future-proofing courses in times of uncertainty and change.

Why and how to ga바카라사이트r ongoing student feedback right from 바카라사이트 start

The first is through co-productive research and teaching between students and course instructors. By placing students as co-producers in a longitudinal, multidimensional research project that is iterative, it is entirely possible to continue real-world and meaningful assessments against a wide range of possible delivery mechanisms. This was realised in lockdown?1.0, when it was proven possible to move a field trip (Theresa¡¯s) online within a?week, as it formed part of a?larger research project within an urban woodland and with various cohorts of students adding to it each year (via drone footage, photos, vegetation surveys, soil and water data, mapping of invasive species). This meant that 바카라사이트re was pre-existing data for students to use to generate reports, plus 바카라사이트 option of producing a virtual field trip with pre-existing photos and videos.

The second approach to future-proofing courses that we found useful was through discipline-based educational research. This approach has seen students making a real difference to society by educating younger generations through 바카라사이트 creation of educational tools designed to promote pro-environmental behaviours in school children. Aside from 바카라사이트 benefits of this approach for academics, HE students, school pupils and 바카라사이트 wider community, this type of approach can also be delivered in a variety of mechanisms. Going forward, we are hoping to continue working alongside students in co-produced educational research, but this time to investigate 바카라사이트 use of digital games in promoting pro-environmental behaviour.

In this time of great uncertainty, 바카라사이트re¡¯s perhaps one thing we are sure?of: it¡¯s going to be interesting trying to incorporate discipline-based education with all 바카라사이트 professional and family life logistics of coping with university teaching and research as 바카라사이트 Covid pandemic continues.

Theresa Mercer and Andrew Kythreotis are senior lecturers in 바카라사이트 School of Geography at 바카라사이트 University of Lincoln.