Using social connection to drive engagement in emergency remote teaching and learning

Figures & data

Figure 1. Main elements of interaction in a classroom.

Table 1. Major themes and questions for student focus groups.

Theme	Questions
Pre-class preparation	How did you prepare for live online classes? How is this approach different from a face-to-face semester? What teaching related resources did you make the most of when preparing? In the survey some of you suggested self-directed learning was now a priority, can you provide some ideas of what this means and some examples?
Motivation	How did you motivate yourself in this remote learning environment? Some of you mentioned that you were less/unmotivated online. Why?
In-class preparation	How did you participate in live sessions this semester? What do you think participation is? Did you change the way you participated in live sessions? What made you participate in the live sessions?
Preparing for assessments	How was preparation for assessments this semester different from preparation during face-to-face learning? Tell us about your group assignment experience. What would help you work better in groups/teams in an online environment?
Engagement with learning community	Did you feel connected to the university community (other students, teaching staff) when studying remotely? How did you connect and who did you feel most connected with and why?
Remote learning effectiveness	Can you explain some of the advantages of remote online learning? Can you explain some of the disadvantages of remote online learning? What aspects of the online learning environment helped you learn the most and why? Would you change anything about your approach to learning and why?
Personal growth	Did you develop any new skills (personal/career) as a result of this experience? Did you learn anything about yourself?

Table 2. Major themes and questions for educator interviews.

Theme	Interview Questions
Transition to online (delivery, assessment design)	Did your pedagogical approach change? What pedagogical change will you keep? Did the learning content require change/redesign given change in delivery mode? Constraints with this design? Is there anything you’d like to do but can’t? In your design what type of skills are you emphasising?
Connections with students	Did you feel connected to your students? Impact on your feelings of connection? What does connection mean to you? Going forward how can you improve this? How did you connect with students?
Connections with educators	Did you feel connected to your peers? How did you connect with peers?

Figure 2. Four stages of classroom evolution.