With on-campus learning almost non-existent in many universities, remote or online learning in the higher education sector is the status quo. While COVID-19 ushered in this change extremely quickly, institutions are wanting to ensure that a remote learning experience is comparable to an on-campus one and won’t negatively affect student learning and outcomes.

An expert in this area is Andrew Martin, Scientia Professor and Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of New South Wales. His research interests lie in student motivation and the cognitive science of learning. He’s advocating a teaching approach called Load Reduction Instruction to help maintain high standards of teaching and learning remotely while the pandemic drags on.

Load Reduction Instruction in grounded in educational psychology and its primary aim is to increase learners' long-term memory to promote deep learning. Before this can be achieved, however, students' long-term memory must be developed by relying on shorter, linear tasks that allow them to build up a foundation of knowledge. As Martin contends, practices such as teaching too much too soon, 'busy' screens with too much information to digest, and non-linear teaching and learning plans do nothing to help students with their long-term memory of the content and, subsequently, their understanding of the content becomes fragmented.

This insightful podcast also raises questions about whether Australian universities are comparable in their online delivery and whether online learning should have been at the forefront of our minds years ago. It also touches on important issues of socialisation at university and how specific groups would be best placed to keep attending, if practical and safe.

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