Teaching During the Pandemic? An Opportunity to Enhance Curriculum

Abstract

The rapid transition of courses to an emergency remote teaching and learning format at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 created challenges across the university landscape for faculty and students and, inevitably, affects the future of higher education. We drew upon education theory, evidence-based teaching practices, and insights from a rapid-response survey of academics in the fields of public health, health promotion, and health communication about their perspectives on the impact of COVID-19. This article aims to help educators explore potential strategies to incorporate the lessons and reality of the pandemic into their curriculum. Shifting expectations and bringing pedagogy to the remote tools are among the several suggestions offered here to ease frustration and teach students in the short- and long-term. We encourage academics to consider the situational factors that can affect teaching and learning by putting forth a series of questions to reflect upon when reassessing the real-life context of a course.