What happened when the pandemic forced everyone online last year?
At UC-Irvine, students spent more time studying and, on average, got better grades
After Spring 2020, when everyone was forced online with no notice, many faculty got training for online teaching, which led them to use more best practices associated with student learning: less lecturing, more discussion and interaction, more short videos, etc.
Which works better: synchronous or asynchronous? It depends. On the one hand, some students have challenges (work conflicts , poor internet connections, etc.) that make synchronous hard. But Georgia State found that juniors and seniors did OK with asynchronous online teaching, but not first-year students, who needed contact with others to help them stay motivated and to acclimate to the college experience.
“If there’s a thread that ties many of these findings together, it’s this: To thrive at a time when we’re spending our days behind doors and in front of screens, students need connections more than ever, connections that recognize their lives beyond the classroom.” (McMurtrie, 2021)