Learners Who Thrived: Pandemic Lessons About Course Design and Instruction

Challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic coupled with changes in teaching, learning, and student support associated with the pivot to remote instruction highlighted student well-being concerns. Journalists chronicled stories of student struggle in this new environment, but among the stories of struggle were also stories of student thriving. What might we learn from the experience of the students who thrived? Over a decade ago, Laurie Schreiner introduced a framework which identified domains of thriving in higher education. Significant overlap exists between the thriving framework and the universal design for learning (UDL) framework, designed based on learning science research to support the development of flexible learning environments. We identify seven key areas of overlap between these two frameworks that are suggestive of which aspects of pandemic-era instruction supported student well-being and learning and consider the implications of these lessons for how online and hybrid teaching can support equitable student access and success.