Lessons From Remote Learning During COVID-19

Abstract

The abrupt transition to remote instruction in response to COVID-19 posed significant challenges for both students and instructors. This report provides data on the prevalence of the different kinds of challenges college students faced during the shift to remote instruction and the nature of spring 2020 courses from the perspectives of both students and instructors. These descriptions are complemented by survey data on the prevalence of online instructional practices that are generally recommended in the online learning literature and analyses of the relationship of these practices to student satisfaction with their course. This report describes findings from two research activities conducted concurrently: a survey of a nationally representative sample of over 1,000 undergraduates who were taking online courses that included in-person meetings when they began and had to switch to entirely remote instruction; and qualitative descriptions of 29 courses offered by 10 institutions, based on interviews and focus groups with students and instructors.