Lockdown by numbers: taking learning and teaching online
Adjusting to learning and teaching online has been a massive adjustment for our students and academics over recent months. For some departments, the lockdown has accelerated existing projects to move parts of the curriculum online.
Head of the Department of Medical Education, Professor Steve Trumble, said the impact on both existing teaching and the timeframe for the new Doctor of Medicine (MD) was immediate.
“As the pandemic emerged we were faced with uncertainties ranging from our on-campus teaching and how we would manage our clinical placements with our partners, through to holding a student-run conference that had only ever been run through a traditional format.”
“Despite early planning in the redesign of the course, staff were yet to be fully equipped to deliver fulltime in the online environment.
“It’s a great credit to all of our staff, and honorary contributors, and to the students themselves, that our students have been able to continue to progress. We’re currently on track to graduate our final-year students in line with previous cohorts.”
“We’ve worked with our students earlier in the course to ensure they will meet all the requirements for their course as they progress. A highlight of this time has been the remarkable transformation of the student conference, by its organising committee, into an online experience of which the school and the students can be proud.”
Department Manager Paul Large said staff have proven themselves to be responsive and flexible in responding to the pandemic. “It’s only with their commitment to delivering for the students that we have been able to achieve what we have in this period. It is proof of the remarkable people involved in the delivery and administration of the course.”
