Learning from Experience: Facilitating an Institution-Wide Reflection on the Recent Transition to Distance/Online Teaching and Learning

Following the transition of courses to distance/online modalities in spring 2020, the University of Ottawa sought to take stock of professor, student and TA experiences via dedicated institutional-level surveys. Gaining a better understanding of transition experiences, use of educational technology, use of instructional approaches, challenges experienced, and supports leveraged was not only important to enhancing instructional supports, but also to prepare a series of three symposia to better scaffold a transformative transition online. In this reflection on practice, a summary of key findings from a multi-survey initiative, along with lessons learned from a virtual symposium series, are presented and connected with recent scholarship. The chapter ends with a discussion about opportunities for postsecondary settings that emerge from this disruptive period.