Pivoting to online classes to keep students safe during the COVID-19 pandemic introduced challenges—but also opportunities. Our innovative LPS community discovered new ways to stay connected.
The Master of Behavioral and Decision Sciences program leaders didn't wait to hear the official university ruling on whether or not students could return to campus in fall 2020—they prepared to make all of their courses accessible online. "With our diverse cohort, we have students from countries all over the world," explains Christopher Nave, Managing Director of the Master of Behavioral and Decision Sciences (MBDS) degree. Considering the range of housing and visa challenges experienced by international students during the uncertainty of the pandemic, he says, "we wanted to reassure students that we were going to be flexible and support them no matter what." Circumstances may have necessitated a decisive commitment to online instruction, but spring 2020 had already taught MBDS staff, students, and faculty to be creative and resilient. "When we had the big change to remote learning in the spring, we learned a lot of things about the technology platforms and services that Penn offers," says Nave. "I think all of us came out of spring pleasantly surprised at how well things went."
For example, the MBDS program partners with outside organizations for semiannual design challenges that invite students to put theory into practice. When it became necessary to present the design challenges online, recalls Nave, "the reach and span our students got out of the challenges were far better. We had Merck and Deloitte and other companies all over the world watching the presentations and giving feedback, or recording the slides and sharing them with other members of the company." Additionally, the MBDS program has always offered professional development workshops and training on campus; doing the same events virtually allowed facilitators to put attendees into smaller groups for hands-on instruction and guided discussion. In the classroom, instructors were inspired to introduce digital tools to facilitate experiment design. "Our students gave higher teacher ratings this spring than in semesters past. It was successful with little planning," reflects Nave. "I think everyone is excited and feels more empowered to really think outside the box to deliver their fall curriculum."
After their spring remote learning experience, MBDS faculty and program leaders took on additional training in strategies and technologies not only to enhance the online learning experience but to foster the sense of community the MBDS cohorts are accustomed to in the campus classroom. In the fall, incoming students were organized into maximally differentiated pods of ten, with each group including students with a range of educational backgrounds, countries of origin, and professional experience. "It's a nice size to get to know everybody, and they'll get a taste of how diverse the MBDS program really is," explains Nave. Each pod is assigned an advisor and connected to MBDS alumni from recent cohorts, maximizing opportunities for student mentorship.
Online learning environments also offer opportunities for nimble, customized programming—like the tailored workshops the MBDS program started offering in the fall. "For example, if students want very timely events related to the pandemic and voting in November, we're able to offer workshops and trainings and guest speakers related to those topics—and we're inviting international leaders and experts that we would never have been able to bring into Philadelphia all at one time," says Nave. "We're able to bring in more value for them in the online platform."
The online workshops and events also provided an unprecedented opportunity for alumni outreach. "Everyone always gives constructive feedback that you go through the program so quickly," says Nave. (Full-time students typically complete the MBDS program in one year.) "Now we can really say that you stay a member of the MBDS community forever, and you get all of these additional opportunities—not just volunteering your time or mentoring, but taking workshops and training. You can continue your education with us."
MBDS alumni can take classes alongside the new cohort, making the most of an evolving curriculum and sharing their professional experiences in behavioral science with current and future experts. In the future, possibly as soon as summer 2021, MBDS program leaders hope to offer a non-credit introductory workshop in behavioral science open to anyone—online. "What we learned is that, even when we go back to a traditional model, we're never going to be completely traditional," says Nave. "I think we'll always have some online or virtual components because, frankly, they just work better."
