Evaluating & Understanding the

Dual Mode Classroom & Experience

During COVID

​

Daphne Saloomey

G. Alex Ambrose, Ph.D.

ND Learning Kaneb Center for Teaching Excellence

Research and Assessment for Learning (ReAL) Lab

March 17th, 2021

​

​

Acknowledgments

ND Learning | Kaneb Center for Teaching Excellence

G. Alex Ambrose, Director of Learning Research�Kevin Barry, Senior Director of ND Learning

​

Research & Assessment for Learning (ReAL) Lab�Daphne Saloomey, Undergraduate Research Assistant�Jessica Staggs, Undergraduate Research Assistant

​

Registrar�Linda V Martellaro, Assistant Registrar��Office of Information Technologies�Jason Railton, Manager ND Studios AV Technologies, �Brian Burchett, Manager Educational Tech, IT Service Delivery �

​

​

​

​

​

​

2

Guiding Research Questions

How did Notre Dame adapt to the unforeseen circumstances presented by the pandemic?

Were we able to preserve the standard classroom experience?

Were we able to enhance the standard classroom experience?

Data Collection

• Surveys
• Oct 2020 sent to all professors and students in 6 sample classrooms with courses representing all colleges
• 29/82 faculty = 35.4% response rate
• 1,215/3,590 students = 33.8% response rate
• Ranking impact of classroom design decisions, evaluating the usability of the room (hear, see, interact), frequency/level of tech use, overall satisfaction, and perception of dual mode
• Interviews
• Interviewed 4 students and 5 instructors from sample rooms to understand experiences in the rooms, improvements that could be made, and answer our research questions
• Observations
• Conducted 2 classroom observations using observation protocol created for active learning and modified for COVID
• Learning Space Rating System (LSRS)
• Evaluated all 6 sample classrooms and gave pre/post scores using a validated rubric

​

4

Sample of Dual Mode Classrooms

5

Courses Represented

• Survey was sent to students and faculty in classes representing both STEM and humanities in all 5 undergraduate colleges and schools at ND
• College of Arts and Letters
• College of Science
• College of Engineering
• Mendoza College of Business
• School of Architecture
• Examples of courses sampled include:
• Spanish, French, and Russian language courses
• Organic chemistry and physics courses
• Computer science and electrical engineering courses
• Finance and marketing courses
• Architecture course on structures

​

6

Ranking of Most Impactful Dual Mode Dimensions

7

Hear > See > Interact

​

Instructor > In-Person Students > Remote Students

• Remote students can hear instructor
• Remote students can see instructor
• Remote students can interact with instructor
• In-person students can hear remote students
• Remote students can hear in-person students
• In-person students can interact with remote students
• Remote students can interact with in-person students
• Remote students can see in-person students
• In-person students can see remote students

Sample Classroom Report Card

8

Most Frequent Dual Mode Tech Strategies

Instructor (N=29) Reported at least once a class. Listed in order of most frequent to least:

​

9

Source:Ambrose, G. Alex, Staggs, Jessica, Saloomey (expected March 2021) “ COVID-19’s Effects on Active Learning and Traditional Classrooms’ Learning Space Rating System Scores” University of Notre Dame

​

​

Use Zoom to screen share

Use digital whiteboards / annotations

Use chat

Adjust class camera view

Dual Mode Trends & Perceptions

Student (N=1,214)

• 97% attended most classes in-person
• 42% chose to attend a class over Zoom, even though it wasn’t necessary
• 67% appreciated having the ability to attend in person, live remote (over Zoom) and through asynchronous recordings.
• 64% think dual mode classroom upgrades (webcam,mic, and lecture recording) will be useful post-COVID-19
• 63% felt safe in classroom due to social distancing and mask requirement

Instructors (N=29)

• 97% held most of their classes
• 23% chose to hold a class over Zoom, even though it wasn’t necessary
• 70% appreciated having the ability to teach in person, live remote (over Zoom) and through asynchronous recordings.
• 70% think dual mode classroom upgrades (webcam,mic, and lecture recording) will be useful post-COVID-19
• 70% felt safe in classroom due to social distancing and mask requirement
• 67% felt prepared to use dual mode classroom technology

Top Insights & Recommendations

• Trust the students. Students appreciated the dual mode option & didn’t abuse it. Students preferred face-to-face learning to online or dual mode. (S, I)
• Remote attendance better than no attendance (any sickness, weather, mental health) and students found lecture capture very beneficial for note taking and studying.
• Give instructors flexibility. During COVID, give instructors the freedom to decide which mode works best for each of their individual class sessions in order to facilitate active learning and collaboration. (S, I, O)
• Some instructors chose to go fully online (for some class sessions) as it afforded more opportunities for group work and live collaboration than socially distanced in-person or dual mode which prevented students from seeing or adequately interacting with peers .
• Level up the technology. Encourage more sophisticated level tech use. (S, I, O)
• Professors felt adequately trained to use the dual mode technology and are now ready for more advanced dual mode tech training strategies (collaborative docs, polls, etc.) that can better support active learning.
• Maintain the dual mode classroom capabilities. In person, live remote, and async recordings options may be useful post COVID-19. (L,S,I, O)
• COVID improved learning spaces according to the LSRS. All classrooms scored higher during COVID than before due to session capture ability and decreased seating density. (L)
• No part of the learning experience was rated at a D or F; overall dual mode learning was well rated and grade, and neither students or instructors felt that they were lacking part of the experience. (S)

11

Key: S=Survey, I=Interviews, O=Observations, L=Learning Space Rating System

​