Manchester University - permanent move to ‘blended learning’??

[BramStoker]

The article below implies that lectures will no longer be face to face unless there is an interactive element

www.theguardian.com/education/2021/jul/05/manchester-university-sparks-backlash-with-plan-to-keep-lectures-online

Very worrying for current students at Manchester and those hoping to go there in September (my DD)

There is no official statement on the University website or social media

@GlencoraP

It would be good to link that courses which are heavy on lectures will move the balance towards seminars/tutorials but I think this is unlikely . Most humanities courses are heavily lecture based , say 21 lectures and 7 tutorials . In effect a monthly tutorial may be your only contact for that course.

I definitely think the pedagogical value of lectures is overstated but particularly in first year they are very important from a structural and study skills point of view. Exchanges of information between students are very important at this stage as well. Even in my MA course I often got useful tips from the person sitting next to me in the lecture theatre,especially in tangential ways such as referencing software , articles or talks going on etc

Yes @GlencoraP this would be the same situation for my DS.

Without lectures, his only face to face would be 1 tutorial per month for each course. So only one chance to meet fellow students/share thoughts/compare experiences or research/make friends. Unless lecturers are saying that they would increase the amount of face to face tutorials/seminars to make up for online lectures (which I don't think they are).

I'm afraid I don't understand why anyone would sign up for a humanities degree that offered one tutorial a month. How are students supposed to develop analytical skills?

Without wishing to sound elitist it seems to me that the older and more prestigious the institution the more likely this is to be the model.

Also one of my children’s universities offered supposedly more seminars however with upwards of 30 in the the seminar being led by am inexperienced PhD student with no teaching training it was no better in reality.

@GlencoraP

‘Generally speaking, when you return to campus for the next academic year, your studies will be a mixture of in-person on-campus activities, live online lectures and classes, and new recorded video content and other materials from your lecturers. Some of your activity will be “synchronous”, where you learn live with your lecturer / peers and can interact as appropriate – helping you get support and feel part of a community. At other times it will be “asynchronous”, where you access materials like presentations, video content, online discussion boards or collaborative documents in your own time (within a framework provided by your programme).’

At least they are being clear and upfront about it and frankly if we are going to be at 100,000 cases a day there’s not likely to be people available to teach anyway .

That's not "clear and upfront" at all. It's just giving a summary of the teaching methods and doesn't give any facts/data about what is to be expected. It's one of those statements that's factually correct but tells you beggar all.

That's not "clear and upfront" at all. It's just giving a summary of the teaching methods and doesn't give any facts/data about what is to be expected. It's one of those statements that's factually correct but tells you beggar all.

These will be done on a course by course basis. There is no way that could be communicated via Twitter.

Just to clarify , its a link from Twitter of a letter sent to students .

One things for sure this whole situation has highlighted what a mess higher education is in in this country . Apparently Manchester in particular but not exclusively is expecting to ge able to use lecturers to produce work which they will own the copyright for and will therefore use long after said academic has left their employment , highlighting the massive issue of precarity in the sector.

@Bryonyshcmyony

Posters on Mumsnet seem very disproportionately keen on online learning. I know my dcs absolutely hate the lack of in-person lectures. They shock horror like being with and among people. I think it's a really depressing move.

My child is distraught. It is so much more difficult for them to process when lectures are online. They already recorded the lectures but my child went in person to attend. My child has not set foot on the campus in a year. I'm devastated and so so angry.

@ShortBacknSides

she is feeling massively disheartened by Manchester'a statement. It's not the case that she expects to be spoonfed but the prospect of all her lectures being delivered via a laptop makes her heart sink.

But what all the arts & hums lecturers have been saying in this thread is that online lectures will be only a part of her degree. She is likely to have small group teaching and in her third year, individual dissertation supervision, throughout her degree, and the small group teaching is likely to be at least equal, and probably more than (in terms of time) the lectures.

She shouldn't be totally disheartened!

The small group teaching is not equal or more to the lectures. In my child's case, the small group teaching occurs twice a week. Lectures would be 4 or 5 times a week.

Have Unis factored in the extra study space that students will need?

In "normal" times, students would be in the lecture theatres - now they will need study space to watch the online lectures on days when they have to be on campus for other things such as "in person" seminars and tutorials. They're hardly going to come to campus for a 9am seminar then go back to their off campus accommodation to watch live lectures, then come back to campus again for their 2pm tutorial are they? They'll need study space on campus to watch the live lecture later in the morning.

Unis could well end up with empty/unused lecture theatres and students sat around in communal areas trying to watch live lectures if they don't plan things properly.

@Badbadbunny

Have Unis factored in the extra study space that students will need?

In "normal" times, students would be in the lecture theatres - now they will need study space to watch the online lectures on days when they have to be on campus for other things such as "in person" seminars and tutorials. They're hardly going to come to campus for a 9am seminar then go back to their off campus accommodation to watch live lectures, then come back to campus again for their 2pm tutorial are they? They'll need study space on campus to watch the live lecture later in the morning.

Unis could well end up with empty/unused lecture theatres and students sat around in communal areas trying to watch live lectures if they don't plan things properly.

At my university this is all being factored in. We would not expect students to attend online sessions and on campus sessions on the same day.

So if they have separate days for online and face to face teaching, for 2 or 3 days a week they stay in their rabbit hutch bedroom?

One of the benefits of having face to face lectures to attend is that it gets a student out of their room, onto campus where not only do they attend the session, but they meet a new aquaintance queuing up out side, bump into an old aquaintance and head off to the library together, pass someone who needs a bass player for a gig on Saturday, spot a poster for a debate or social, recognise that someone they know is looking a bit down and take them off for a coffee.

I know that there are some posters who say that none of this is really necessary as part of an academic university experience, but it always has been part of the UK university life, and a valuable part.

@Devils your university sounds exemplary on these matters , I wish it were possible for you to tell us where you are

And @KingscoteStaff is what employers value. They take the degree for granted but want to know how you have ‘demonstrated leadership’ or ‘teamwork’ or whatever .

Why on earth are universities doing any of this considering all restrictions are being lifted before September?

One of the benefits of having face to face lectures to attend is that it gets a student out of their room, onto campus where not only do they attend the session, but they meet a new aquaintance queuing up out side, bump into an old aquaintance and head off to the library together, pass someone who needs a bass player for a gig on Saturday, spot a poster for a debate or social, recognise that someone they know is looking a bit down and take them off for a coffee.

@KingscoteStaff This with bells on! This is exactly what I was thinking when a PP said lectures are the opposite of a sociable experience, given that you’re sat in silence listening to someone teach. It’s all the things that happen before/after the lecture - spontaneous pub trips straight after you’ve finished to bond over how hard you’re finding the work, going to the library together etc (or in my DD’s case - much to my dismay of course - smoking a quick ciggie outside before it starts and seeing who else smokes and becoming their best friend!)

@KingscoteStaff

So if they have separate days for online and face to face teaching, for 2 or 3 days a week they stay in their rabbit hutch bedroom?

One of the benefits of having face to face lectures to attend is that it gets a student out of their room, onto campus where not only do they attend the session, but they meet a new aquaintance queuing up out side, bump into an old aquaintance and head off to the library together, pass someone who needs a bass player for a gig on Saturday, spot a poster for a debate or social, recognise that someone they know is looking a bit down and take them off for a coffee.

I know that there are some posters who say that none of this is really necessary as part of an academic university experience, but it always has been part of the UK university life, and a valuable part.

What I'm saying is I can't see a university asking students to attend campus only to have to spend some of the time watching online content.

If the online content is asynchronous then they can watch it whenever they like.

Hopefully clubs and societies will be running and there will be more opportunities to socialise - so no being locked in rooms!

But I suspect noting I say will be good enough 🤷🏼‍♀️

@Bryonyshcmyony

Why on earth are universities doing any of this considering all restrictions are being lifted before September?

Because guidance for universities haven't been published yet. Because we need to plan before the guidance is released and people complain if we don't tell them

Because lots of universities have reviewed their pedagogical approach and have accelerated the move to blended learning- it was coming anyway!!

We can't win 🤷🏼‍♀️

[quote GlencoraP]@Devils your university sounds exemplary on these matters , I wish it were possible for you to tell us where you are [/quote]
I think we've done a pretty good job.
I work at a post 92 ex-poly. Definitely not a MN approved university!

But also therefore not typical of the University experience often discussed around these threads which tends to be of the RG / traditional old style university where frankly teaching has always been a bit hit and miss and where the traditional lecture still plays a very large part in the student experience whether that is in person or otherwise .

@GlencoraP

But also therefore not typical of the University experience often discussed around these threads which tends to be of the RG / traditional old style university where frankly teaching has always been a bit hit and miss and where the traditional lecture still plays a very large part in the student experience whether that is in person or otherwise .

But I'm still an academic working at a uk university. I also teach a module on higher education policy and practice so I have a pretty good insight into the sector.

My DH works at a RG uni though.

Guidance for Unis was issued yesterday. Although by Sept I can sadly see us being back in lockdown the way cases are going. But this is current government advice for after July 19th.

Why on earth are universities doing any of this considering all restrictions are being lifted before September?

Because restrictions will may be reimposed in the winter.

Because we still have to comply with instructions from our local public health authority.

Because we still have to comply with health & safety requirements and satisfy our insurers that we have done so.

Just because Sajid Javid waves his magic cock and says we're all free to infect each other from 19 July, that doesn't mean every institution is absolved from responsibility to protect its employees and - in the case of schools, universities, etc. - its students.

And because, as someone else said, universities were already moving in the direction of greater use of online learning and they are not going to reverse that now. The fact that they haven't thought it through in terms of its impact on universities' role as landlords is a separate issue.

@mumsneedwine

Guidance for Unis was issued yesterday. Although by Sept I can sadly see us being back in lockdown the way cases are going. But this is current government advice for after July 19th.

As I've said many times. We're planning for normal from September which is great. However, we still have an increase in online teaching and learning because that is what we were planning to do anyway! I've just been able to introduce it 2 years earlier for my course because we had investment in the IT infrastructure much earlier then planned.

@GlencoraP

But also therefore not typical of the University experience often discussed around these threads which tends to be of the RG / traditional old style university where frankly teaching has always been a bit hit and miss and where the traditional lecture still plays a very large part in the student experience whether that is in person or otherwise .

I work at an RG university. I'm not going to out myself and say which one, but it's always in the top 10 of the league tables. Our teaching is heavily seminar based and in small groups (below 12 students). However, it's not a university which is mired in tradition and we have long since abandoned the lecture-heavy model of humanities teaching. I should say, though, that we have a number of students who don't like seminars either, and can't cope with the participatory aspect of them. They would probably prefer the old-fashioned lecture-based course. I wish that students would look more carefully at the mode of delivery and think about what suits them best, because there is obviously huge variation in the sector.

Anyone who thinks we will be back to ‘normal’ in the autumn is I feel deluded. It will just be universities setting their own restrictions rather than central government so I think the planing is appropriate. But university management do need to understand that what has happened last year was , with a few exceptions, bad for both students and staff and they need to do better especially in considering the whole experience for students and the workload for staff.

The problem that Manchester have is that they have linked Covid with their new method of course delivery thereby tainting their future plans with their poor provision over the last academic year . This was a bad PR mistake . The two things should have been separated from a communications point of view.