Ryan Grant, studying a course on heavy equipment at Lethbridge College, utilizes a drill on Sept. 22, 2020.
The Crooks School of Transportation at Lethbridge College faces unique challenges with the online curriculum delivery due to COVID-19. Kevin Wiber, the school’s program chair, said online learning is one of the biggest challenges the school is facing.
“Trades, and specifically the automotive or mechanics trades that I look after, are typically face-to-face and hands-on,” said Wiber. “Trying to replicate a lot of those experiences for the students using technology is probably our biggest challenge.”
Wiber said that Trades students are concrete learners, and they require the need to “touch and feel” in addition to manipulating and experimenting with objects.
Because trades programs require hands-on experience, Wiber said the school decided to follow a blended model dividing the curriculum experience between online and campus learning.
“The online portion is primarily the theory,” said Wiber and explained that students have to follow multiple protocols when attending campus classes.
Wiber said that students are divided into groups of three throughout the eight-week duration of the program with minimal contact with other groups.
“Normally, you’d gather a big group together, and you’d stand and do a demo, with the students very close to you,” said Wiber, explaining social distancing during in-class learning.
“We’re now spreading out the students,” said Wiber, explaining one of the school’s more significant challenges. “He’s six feet, eight feet away. And he goes in and repeats those processes.”
In education and learning, according to Carol P. Poe from the University of Georgia, in her June 2020 article for the Croatian Medical Journal, Pedagogy in the time of COVID-19, maintaining the relationship between student and faculty is also essential.
“Hearing a student’s tone of voice, seeing the confusion or delight on their face, having a quick check on work, is incredibly helpful and important in the educational process and in building relationships,” said Poe in the article. “This mostly was lost online, or at least was very time-consuming.”
While many students feel satisfied with the college’s response to distance learning and education, some students do not feel that they are receiving the quality of education they need.
“In the Trades, I really don’t like it because everything is hands-on learning,” said Mason Mathieu, a trades student.
“I like a lot of the hands-on stuff,” said Mathieu and explained that in-class learning is thousand times more useful and resourceful in trades, compared to online while following safety protocols as well.
“You know, if you’re in a classroom setting, it’s a lot more better as a learning setting, right?” said Mathieu. The student believes that being in a school as a learning environment will help students “turn on their learning switch,” rather than just sitting at home to procrastinate.
“It’s easy just to turn off your webcam and do whatever you want and not learn at all,” said Mathieu. “So, it’s a big opportunity for people not to be learning.”
In the current environment, motivation and procrastination is often a theme among students. According to Samantha Lenci, Provost and Vice President Academic, the college has many academic and practical supports in place for learners to access.
“I just want the students to know that all of that is absolutely available as they go through this amazingly strange journey,” said Lenci.
The college will also make an announcement next month for January’s winter term. According to Lenci, the decision will be based on community decisions.