Imagine being born in rural India. Imagine being Swapnali Sutar. You come top of your class in primary school and are able to enter secondary education. You work hard and your dream of becoming a veterinary doctor gradually seems possible. Until one day COVID-19 stops the world in its tracks. Your school and teachers are able to offer classes online, but your education and future remain at risk because your village has zero internet connectivity. This Indian girl managed to find a temporary work...
On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic and precautionary measures have been elevated since then around the world, to contain the disease as much as possible. One important measure has been to close down all schools and universities and shifting to online education. For those of us working in the education sector, the shift to online teaching has been challenging, requiring us to revise our approaches to teaching and setting exams. New skills are...
In higher education, group support can mean the difference between failure and success. Put simply, when groups perform well, individuals are more motivated; so if we want students to succeed, we need to help and support each and every cohort. But that of course is easier said than done! In a classroom setting, especially in small classes as we host in Maastricht, group bonding happens automatically – whether it be discussing recent elections results before class, last night’s football game in t...