The COVID-19 pandemic caused most universities to shift rapidly to remote instruction. With little time to prepare, water resources and hydrology instructors quickly identified, modified, and developed remote content and related instructional strategies. Fortunately, the hydrologic science community already had many resources in place for remote learning. While early adopters have improved online education for many years, the ubiquitous pandemic pivot yielded rapid, diverse innovations in instructional resources and methods.
This Research Topic will focus on practitioner and research perspectives of the experiences, resources, and strategies of instructors, instructional designers, and students associated with the rapid transition to remote and online teaching and learning during the pandemic. We welcome contributions from educational researchers as well as the creators and users of new and new-to-them technologies, materials, and teaching strategies that emerged in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The perspectives of instructors, students, instructional designers, graduate supervisors, and more are encouraged.
Contributions are encouraged across a range of modes, including (but not limited to):
• Perspectives on experiences transitioning to remote and online teaching and learning
• Research documenting best practices and/or impacts of the transition to remote and online education
• Research examining the effectiveness of online curriculum, delivery, or instructional materials
• Documented curriculum or instructional materials developed for remote and online instruction
• Synthesis of opportunities to leverage ‘lessons learned’ for improved education in the future
The goal is to share experiences, resources, and lessons learned from the rapid transition to online hydrologic science education in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, thereby supporting improvements in future online learning materials and experiences.
Contributors will be encouraged to share teaching materials described in Research Topic articles via the
HydroShare educational resource collection or
HydroLearn to ensure they are discoverable and accessible, alongside pre-existing resources. Contributions that share teaching materials via supplemental materials or other databases will also be welcomed.