“It would not be fair to address the Spring mid-term evaluations outcome without thinking of the thin hope we all kept for a return to campus in the second semester and the subsequent disappointment that followed when this could not happen. Call it the ‘spirit of Christmas’ or the relief of having concluded a period where most teaching had taken place online. The fact is that many of us still believed that it would be possible to return to the Wijnhaven/on campus ‘normality’ from February onward. 

Yet, as we all know, the pandemic struck again, and forced us to return to the online environment. Alongside came the full realization for instructors that many additional work hours needed to be invested in the revision of didactic and pedagogic content, and in the further (re)organization of online activities and exercises. For them and for students, the teaching and learning reality would once more imply spending long hours on screen. The question that haunted everyone was: how would we (once again) cope with this challenge? 

The answer came up soon. The tutor team just started the preparation of the new semester with the same resilience and endurance it had showed in September. Student guidelines, exercises, and activities to be held in tutorials and at home were redesigned, adapted for online environment, and uploaded on Brightspace. In some cases, Zoom and MS Teams became alternative platforms to Kaltura to provide teaching. The last necessary information was shared with students and everyone went to work. 

As always, the (self-)assessment of the teaching provided took place a few weeks after the start of the semester when the mid-term evaluations were held. 

Regardless the heavy weight that online teaching put on everyone’s shoulders, the appreciation of students for the immense effort and willingness to invest in and to guarantee our teaching quality became once more visible in the mid-term evaluations results. The clear structure of tutorials, the high level of the discussions held on content and assignments, and the tutors’ approachability and flexibility to accommodate specific requests from their students stood out among the positive comments provided. The use of google docs as tool to share information also turned out to be a very adequate didactic choice. 

Quite a large number of students commented on the very useful and successful organization of breakout rooms to allocate the discussion of content, essay topics, and share feedback. Philosophy of Science and International Relations are two among the many examples that can be given that show this success. In the case of the former, it is in the breakout rooms that students engage in discussing, sharing, and applying their philosophical views. As to IR, it is in these small groups that students discuss and share their feedback on the P2P presentations they hold. Furthermore, breakout rooms seem to play an additional socializing role in the current online teaching environment. Since they take place in a small(er) setting, they offer the space to maintain and enhance the necessary social contact that has otherwise become (more) difficult to keep. 

Since constructive input is always encouraged, students have also provided points for improvement that have already been approached by tutors in their respective tutorial groups. However, since some points have focussed tutorials in general, it is appropriate to address them here. 

The wish expressed by students to have (more) extensive discussions on lectures content in tutorials is one of the recurrent comments stated. Although this wish clearly transmits the will to deepen the understanding and reflection on content, one should not forget what the very essence of tutorials is, namely to effectively and intensively learn, exercise, and develop academic skills. Therefore, lengthy discussions may sometimes need to be ‘sacrificed’ to accommodate all other activities previously designed for in class. 

The need to be provided with more (individual) feedback also seems to be shared by some students. While this shows a deep will to learn and improve one’s performance, it somehow overlooks the strategies already put into place by tutors by which they provide their guidance to students, such as their individual feedback stated on Turnitin. Secondly, and on a more collective level, the ‘do’s and don’ts’ on how to comply with assignments provided by tutors in class often address issues that are beneficial to the entire tutorial group. Thirdly, the organization of weekly (and often daily) office hours remains a highly efficient and intensive method to provide and receive feedback. Finally, it is also during their frequent (and strenuous) exchange of e-mails with students that tutors further clarify many of their questions and doubts.

On a last note, and with the current semester almost reaching its end, we can once more be very proud of the constructive spirit that characterizes International Studies. Let us just hope that we can celebrate this spirit on campus coming academic year.“

Paula Jordão, Head of the tutor team