The Covid 19 Pivot in a Psychology Research Lab Class: A Social Distancing Attitudes Experiment

Sandra Webster (Westminster College, USA)

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a pivot from face-to-face student research team projects to a unified, team-based remote class experiment. The new experiment tested the effects of priming on college students’ attitudes toward social distancing. This presentation describes how course-based undergraduate research was integrated into a remote class with no possibility of face-to-face interaction for team collaboration or data collection. The lessons learned from the pivot can inform future blended, remote, or online research methods courses. I also examine the issues of student engagement and autonomy, technology access, remote teamwork, research ethics, and virtual research poster presentations.

Potential Liability for Failing to Meet Accessibility Requirements in Online Courses

Chula King (University of West Florida, USA)

In March of 2020, universities throughout the United States transitioned from face-to-face courses to online course delivery in response to the growing threat of COVID-19. However, in transitioning to online course delivery, these universities opened themselves up to potential liability for possible violation of federal accessibility statutes. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA created by the World Wide Web Consortium are often cited by the courts as de facto accessibility guidelines. Educational institutions that fail to abide by accessibility statutes and guidelines could face significant legal threats as they are increasingly making online content available to their students. This paper examines the problem and offers possible remedies.

Mixed-Mode Instruction Using Active Learning in Small Teams

Andis Klegeris (University of British Columbia, Okagan, Canada)

Importance of advancing student “employability skills” throughout their undergraduate education has been increasingly recognized by students and university instructors. However, the development of these essential skills is hindered by the lack of widely available assessment tools and shortage of detailed descriptions of effective instructional strategies. In this study, previously reported tests were used to demonstrate improvement of the generic problem-solving skills of students taking a course delivered using mixed-mode instruction including problem-based learning (PBL) among other active learning strategies. Descriptions of the instructional techniques and assessments used, as well as the pandemic-forced transition to fully online tutor-less PBL, will be provided.