A long time ago in a galaxy not too far away, a well know TV show was trying to figure out how to bring back a character they had killed off several series before. The (at the time) outrageous narrative device they employed was to simply have the character walk out of the shower one morning, and his wife wake up from a very strange dream . . . This was of course the return of Bobby Ewing in Dallas.
This “classic” moment of TV history has been on my mind recently. It does seem to me that as we come out of lockdown there are certain factions in the UK government, the press and across society generally, that want to have that Bobby moment. That we just forget what we have all been through over the past year and half, that we just wake up and get back to how things were before. Back to how things used to be when all was well with the world. . .
This weekend The Times had one of those click bait headlines that Simon Horrocks tweeted
Of course, the headline doesn’t really relate to the actual reality. But I (and I suspect you too, dear reader) do find this type of narrative particularly worrying. As we move back on campus having 500+ students in lecture theatres isn’t maybe not the best thing to do – not only in educational terms but for public health reasons. COVID 19 is still here, we still have really high infection rates in the UK. Not all our university age students have or will be be fully vaccinated by September. There’s also the worry around flus, colds and all the “other infections” that have been suppressed for the past year and a half as we’ve all been isolating and not gathering in large numbers. A lot of people may still have to be off campus in September.
But back to the headline. Recorded lectures are not the end of university teaching. Students love them. They have really appreciated the flexibility and accessibility they provide. They also allow a redistribution of time so face to face time can be spent in smaller tutorial/seminar groups. Contact time is really important, making it meaningful even more so. Smaller group opportunities for contact are going to be so important as everyone gets used to being together again on campus. But the image of university only being “proper” if students are in crowded lecture theatres still remains the dominant narrative.
As the Higher and A Level results (or should I say teacher assessed marks) get released across the UK this week, we now have the media (and others) bemoaning the lack of exams, the need “to get back to exams”. Again it’s as if exams are the only way to assess. I could rant and rant, but tbh I don’t have the time or energy. But I can’t help but feel we are all being duped into thinking that we have all just woken up from a bit of a strange dream and all those things we did (like open book assessments), like using the VLE, like providing greater flexibility (for students and staff) and accessibility, like really thinking about and using technology for learning and teaching will all be forgotten now as we just go back to normal. . .
In case you missed it I have managed to track down moment down (thank you Gods of the Internet)
Great post. Perhaps we can take inspiration from the fact that the ‘Bobby’ tactic did not work for Dallas. The show and its audience never recovered from it. Trying to recapture a reality that has disappeared is not a sensible strategy for any university or college.
Thanks Peter, and yes hadn’t thought of that . . . so maybe there is hope after all.
Good stuff Sheila,
I suspect for some of the players ‘stepping out of the shower’ will involve being met by large cheques and no need to think much beyond that.
As to the lectures, well the rich can just send their servants along to take notes for them. Thats how it all started apparently.
Indeed Bill! there is that photo of the renaissance lecture that springs to mind!