On the Importance of Tea Breaks—Fostering an Online Community among Postgraduate Students Tele-Intervention Framework for Early Communication

Internet connectivity, while load shedding further hampered effective online teaching and learning. Online teaching and learning could create barriers between lecturers and students from poor backgrounds. • Mental health was an issue. In the absence of contact classes, some lecturers had difficulty in gauging whether students understood the work and what was expected of them.

Lecturers and students experienced feelings of isolation and struggled to adapt to working from home. Lecturers referred students to relevant support services. • Despite challenges, the lecturers emphasised the importance of institutional support, from acquiring knowledge and skills with online teaching and learning, to the availability of expert guidance during online lecturing and assessment. Lecturers easily accessed training material, and support was available even outside normal working hours.

The survey among students showed a drastic shift in living arrangements with 78% of students living with their parents during lockdown compared to 28% before the pandemic (p<0,001). Students were also significantly more worried (p<0,001) about financial resources during lockdown (78%) than before the pandemic (52%). The survey results showed that students were stressed by the change in mode, overwhelmed by the increased workload and worried about completing the academic year. However, they felt communication was good, measures were taken to protect students, and the quality of teaching and learning did not decline (only 20% of respondents thought quality had declined).

Although some of the staff and student voices expressed concern, it should be borne in mind that the pandemic demanded an unprecedented, rapid response to prevent the spread of the virus on campus. It was indeed a time of changed pedagogy, but much was achieved during 2020 to continue the academic project effectively and successfully. In fact, the pass rates for undergraduate criminology modules did not decrease as was initially feared. It is evident that lecturers went the extra mile to assist students with the sudden transition to fully online teaching and learning. They took the notion of ‘no student will be left behind’ to heart by constantly reaching out to those who could easily have fallen through the cracks. Although online learning has further unveiled educational inequalities, it has also provided an opportunity for integrated hybrid teaching methods. Although the 2020 academic year conjures up words such as ‘challenging’ and ‘difficult’, the experiences of lecturers and feedback from students suggest lessons of hope, perseverance and resilience, and the importance of having all hands-on deck.

Engaging in postgraduate studies is daunting for most people. Dr Kerstin Tonsing points out that students enrolled in the master’s programme in augmentative and alternative communication (MA AAC) are busy professionals, juggling family and work responsibilities. They often return to studies after a period of educational or clinical practice in the field of severe disability. While they bring rich work and life experiences and insights to the learning task, they often express uncertainties about their ability to cope with the time commitments and the academic demands

Dr Kerstin Tonsing