TY - JOUR
T1 - From nice to know to “newfound popularity”
T2 - academic developers’ perceptions of how COVID-19 has changed their role
AU - O’Toole, Sarah
AU - O’Sullivan, Ide
AU - O’Brien, Emma
AU - Costelloe, Laura
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - The disruption caused by the pandemic and the rapid transition to online teaching brings into sharp focus the role of academic development within the institution and creates an opportunity to pause and reflect on the impact of the academic developer (AD) role. This reflection on practice explores how the AD role has transitioned through the Covid-19 pandemic with a view to considering future implications for the field. Short auto-ethnographic reflections capture academic developers’ experiences of their role at a time of crisis and their perception of the future of academic development. The data shows a lack of clarity and visibility of the role pre-Covid, with a variety of tasks being assigned without a central focus. This was amplified during the pandemic, with a broadened remit in response to an increased demand for support. While this initial support was reactionary, focusing on teaching online, a renewed and more holistic interest in teaching and learning emerged across institutions, with ADs playing a key role in this evolution.
AB - The disruption caused by the pandemic and the rapid transition to online teaching brings into sharp focus the role of academic development within the institution and creates an opportunity to pause and reflect on the impact of the academic developer (AD) role. This reflection on practice explores how the AD role has transitioned through the Covid-19 pandemic with a view to considering future implications for the field. Short auto-ethnographic reflections capture academic developers’ experiences of their role at a time of crisis and their perception of the future of academic development. The data shows a lack of clarity and visibility of the role pre-Covid, with a variety of tasks being assigned without a central focus. This was amplified during the pandemic, with a broadened remit in response to an increased demand for support. While this initial support was reactionary, focusing on teaching online, a renewed and more holistic interest in teaching and learning emerged across institutions, with ADs playing a key role in this evolution.
KW - Academic role
KW - Covid-19 pandemic
KW - emergency remote teaching
KW - online teaching
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85131792892&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/1360144X.2022.2082438
DO - 10.1080/1360144X.2022.2082438
M3 - Comment/debate
AN - SCOPUS:85131792892
SN - 1360-144X
VL - 27
SP - 207
EP - 211
JO - International Journal for Academic Development
JF - International Journal for Academic Development
IS - 2
ER -