The missing study groups: Liminality and communitas in the time of COVID-19

We examine the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on teaching and learning in an Engineering School of a large US research university. We focus on the adjustment of instructors as they converted their courses to distance teaching and learning formats (e.g., virtual sessions, online forums) and on bachelor student experiences with those changes. While both instructors and students experienced liminality, the pandemic affected these groups differently. Instructors attempted to form communitas with their students by prioritizing their teaching responsibilities, increasing the accessibility of course materials, and being more available to students compared to pre-pandemic times. However, students struggled to adapt to online learning contexts which lacked the sense of togetherness previously offered by in-person classes, study-groups, tutorial sessions, and communal study spaces. Unable to interact with their peers and create communitas, learning online proved to be an ineffective “solution.” Interacting with classmates and working in study groups are among the practices that can help students adjust to course delivery changes, even if it means those cultural practices go virtual. We argue that higher learning institutions, regardless of type (e.g., R1, R2, liberal arts, community colleges), should strengthen their remote teaching approaches. However, those strategies should incorporate: building strong relationships within and across roles, designing inclusive teaching and learning practices that take the contexts in which students learn into account, increasing spaces for peer-to-peer learning, and becoming proficient in the technologies needed to teach virtually.