Navigating pedagogical challenges through authentic pedagogy during the transition to online learning amid COVID-19

Abstract

COVID-19 has required a significant and abrupt shift in the way we teach and learn in the field of Higher Education (HE). This paper explores an innovation in pedagogy in HE as lecturers and students transition from learning on campus to learning online. The transition to online learning, in this context, is problematised within the broader context of digital exclusion and the significance of foregrounding students' needs. The reflections presented in this paper derive from a re-envisioned undergraduate final year research project module delivered to a large diverse cohort of students (100+). In this module we applied premises underpinning authentic pedagogy, bringing the challenges faced by learners to the foreground whilst privileging student agency, autonomy, and competency. An element of the module previously delivered through in-person group supervisions was reconfigured into one-hour online workshops structured through a cycle of opportunities for participation. In our reflections we identify that students' agency, the promotion of social int eraction, and continuity in pedagogy were key elements in enabling the formation of a community of learning.