Who takes what to the other side? - Examination of instructor’s methodological flexibility through the example of a higher education institution

Abstract

The pandemic brought a number of challenges to the lives of university instructors (Jarjabka et al., 2020), the most significant of which was the almost immediate transition to digital education. The instructors, who were used to classical university teaching, had to leave their previous teaching practice and, as newcomers, had to apply the “non-existent” digital teaching methodology and the use of new software. Although digital solutions appeared in higher education pre COVID-19 period, no one expected such a transformation. The openness, attitude and preparation of the trainers varied, some were more enthusiastic and experimenters and those who wanted to stick to the tried and tested methods, which also determined their teaching attitude. The research, which covered three university semesters, was based on questionnaires filled in by instructors, and in parallel the activity of users of the university frameworks were monitored. The quantitative and qualitative data provided a picture of the extent to which motivation, supportive and disincentive factors and their interrelationships are present in the higher education institution under study. The results clearly show that instructors have experienced the global crisis, feeling that the strategies proven appropriate so far are no longer working. They still insist on the safety of the classroom, but they are also open to the new features of online education. In order to develop a new higher education strategy based on design thinking, we need to summarize the results and think about the direction in which we will develop higher education in the future and what instructor competencies will be needed for this. The results of our research show the direction of the complex support environment and service system that we need to create for instructors to meet the challenges of 21st century higher education and experience the joys of the profession.