Curated by the knowledge Team of ICS Career GPS
Education
Online learning: Moving into the Long Term
Excerpts from Lilah Burke‘s article published in Inside Higher Ed
Winter break and the start of next term are fast approaching. At this point, most colleges that have announced their plans for the spring are intending to continue their modality and residence choices. Many have brought students back to campus but are continuing most instruction online. Others have encouraged students to stay home.
For students at colleges that have gone remote, that means they will likely experience over a year of online learning.
Research has shown that remote learning can be as good or better than in-person learning for the students who choose it. But thousands of students will soon be entering their third semester of remote instruction despite having self-selected for an in-person college experience.
Mental, emotional & academic impact
With remote learning moving into the long term, experts say the mental, emotional and academic impacts of that shift are likely to be challenging.
Amy Bintliff, a developmental psychologist and professor in the University of California, San Diego’s department of education studies, said that mismatch between expectation and reality can be difficult for students.
“Students are negotiating multiple, new identities. They’re negotiating having new experiences,” Bintliff said. “A lot of the things they could do — be invited to go to a talk on campus, be invited to join a new social network — I think that’s being stilted,” said Bintliff.
She’s noted lowered motivation among college students she’s surveyed, and a sense of alienation.
Struggle with social isolation
Rayane Alamuddin, an associate director of research and evaluation at the consulting firm Ithaka S+R, said that in the organisation’s research, students have struggled with social isolation.
“They talked a lot about really missing being in person with their classmates, with their colleagues, with their faculty members, and having those spontaneous, organic conversations and relationships,” she said.
Alamuddin said it’s too soon to say how the long-term change will affect students’ academic performance, but research from the spring showed students performing better than researchers expected, a result she attributes partially to institutions expanding pass/fail or other binary course options for students.
It’s still unclear how opting to be graded on one of those more forgiving schemes will affect students’ transfer abilities and other outcomes in future. Bintliff said she has noticed some students feeling they can take on more credits while learning from home, only to find themselves overwhelmed.
Faculty facing own issues
Faculty are likely to face some of their own issues with social isolation and performance. “One big reason all teachers philosophically go into the craft is because they love forming those personal connections with students,” said Bintliff, who has studied well-being among K-12 teachers.
“They love having students drop in at office hours and talk or the times when students will walk to go get a coffee with their professor. The work now is really alienating for all of us now as professors as well,” she said.
Bintliff said there are some small things this negative experience may improve for some people — students and faculty are learning new skills and becoming more independent. “This experience, if we think of it as a growth experience,” she said, “I think we’ll be able to get through it.”
Career
The new strategies for networking during the Pandemic
Excerpts from Ray Smith‘s article in The Wall Street Journal, and Upasna Dash‘s article in CNBC TV 18
Maraya Camazine, a third-year medical student at the University of Missouri, had long anticipated connecting with others at the big conference of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma held every September.
“Your third year is essentially your last chance to make good impressions on people,” says the 28-year-old. “All of these trauma surgeons go to the same conferences every year, and so as a med student your goal is to find a research mentor, go with them, meet all of these doctors and discuss next steps in the field.”
But in June the association announced the conference would take place online because of the pandemic. It wasn’t the same. “There’s something very easy about sliding into a conversation where you’re being introduced by someone who’s already accepted in the field,” Ms. Camazine says. “This was more of a stagnant chat room.”
As the coronavirus has forced many people to work from home, it’s also disrupted a fixture of career life: networking, a quasi-business, quasi-social activity that typically happened everywhere from conference halls to bars to corporate mixers and golf courses.
With social distancing in effect for the foreseeable future, networking online—which some businesspeople were already doing pre-Covid as a secondary pursuit—has become the primary way to connect. Here are some tips on how individuals and businesses can network during the Pandemic:
- Adapt to the new normal: Moving online can actually help people network more effectively in dedicated sessions and organised time-slots. Find platforms that work for you and commit to engaging with them on a regular basis.
- Tap uncharted territory: Offline global networks/events often posted challenges such as finances, timing or logistics, all of this has been solved for largely with the advent of remote-led engagement. This is an ideal time to tap into networks/mentors across global ecosystems.
- Choose a goal: It’s hard to get what you want out of your networking endeavours if you don’t start with a clear agenda. Before attending meetings or events, take the time to determine what your goals are for the experience. For example, you might want to break into new markets or hire top talent, choose your platform basis your goals.
- Know your worth: It’s not enough to provide your clients and investors with a great product or service. If you can’t articulate what it is you do, then you can’t hope to convey that information at networking events. Take time out to generate an elevator pitch that conveys what you do, for whom you do it, and why customers should choose you.
- Find a reason to followup: Making connections is only half the battle; you also have to take steps to keep the relationship going. Always strive to reach out to your contacts a few times a year to follow up. You could forward a relevant article, invite them to a seminar or conference, or even just send a friendly note during the holidays.
- Share meaningful information: Online we tend to follow those who regularly provide information that is valuable to us. Instead of reminding everyone about your new product and new research for the hundredth time, re-tweet interesting posts or create your own blog filled with insight.
- Prune, renew & reshape your networks frequently: Lastly, nurture people relationships critical to your organisation carefully and often. Push contacts whose usefulness has diminished over time into your inactive network. Regularly identify new relationships that are vital to the future of your business, and define strategies to build these connections.
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the article mentioned above are those of the author(s). They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of ICS Career GPS or its staff.)
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