Page 9 - Hadassah Academic College - President’s Report 2021

Innovation: One Step

Ahead of the Future

Digital Instruction: Formidable Challenges, Promising Opportunities

Starting back in 2016, HAC began focusing on process. Teaching will never return to the way it
the introduction of innovative teaching meth- was before. Both students and faculty have now
odologies to ensure the highest possible level internalized that frontal instruction no longer
of quality instruction. We were hit with COVID- requires a classroom, when a lecture can be
19 half-way into this digital revolution, and were delivered in the form of a pre-recorded lesson.
required to take all our courses online over-
night. In retrospect, we see how this challenge “We want our graduates to be ready
became a valuable opportunity.
for the 21st century, to feel at home
Adapting HAC’s entire curriculum for remote in a digital environment. More im-
learning was a colossal task. Our faculty was portantly, to be able to learn inde-
quickly trained to use new digital teaching
tools, without compromising the pace or quality pendently, and take responsibility for
of instruction. They embraced these changes their on-going education. If they lack
and experienced a renewed sense of solidarity, knowledge about something, we want
mutual support, and the sharing of new knowl- them to know how to get it.”
edge and ideas. Even so, the wide array of dis-
ciplines taught at HAC posed many challenges Michaela Fenakel Fiedelman, Director for
in this effort. The digital tools and models avail- the Development of Quality Teaching
able for teaching mathematics or English, for
example, were not necessarily effective when In fact, the Ministry of Education recently
teaching biotechnology or industrial design. issued directives regarding the development
of digital instruction that must be implemented
This is a work in progress. Many technical and
pedagogical issues require further exploration. over the next three years. Rising to the chal-
What is the best way to carry out online testing lenge, HAC’s administration will lead the transi-
and evaluation? How do you build an educa- tion to create a cutting-edge method of “hybrid
tional relationship with a student you only know instruction” (combining both frontal and online
as a square on your Zoom screen? How do you instruction), a circumscribed portion of which
encourage interaction between students from will be digital. This will ensure that our teach-
different ethnic backgrounds when the shared ing is still personal, effective, and accessible to
space is virtual? While the end of the pandemic our students, and meets the standards required
may be in sight, it does not signal the end of this throughout the realm of higher education.

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