Peer Review of Noah Saini’s Formal Report Proposal

To: Noah Saini

From: Sidney Singh

Date: October 18, 2021

Subject: Peer Review of Noah Saini’s Formal Report Proposal

 

It was a pleasure reading your proposal. Online education is a very topical subject. The report will resonate with many UBC students including myself. My peer review contains both structural and technical feedback.

Introduction

The introduction highlights the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on online learning at UBC.

For paragraph 1, sentence 2 I suggest changing the word “threat” to “challenges.” Threat may sound harsh or critical for the intended audience. Sentence 3 is a run on sentence. I recommend revising the sentence to make it more succinct.

Sentence 4 refers to “the living arrangements of millions has been altered,” this appears to referencing the effects of the pandemic globally. How did the pandemic impact UBC students uniquely? What is unique about online learning at UBC?

The intended audience for this proposal includes UBC faculty, staff and students. This is a very broad group that would have a diversity of opinions on online learning. How will the formal report accommodate all the described interest groups?

Statement of Problem

The statement of problem does an excellent job at detailing the obstacles students face completing online courses during the pandemic. There are instances of conjectures in the statement of problem. This includes “the learning requirements of students are considered afterthoughts.” This statement could be interpreted as direct criticism to faulty and staff. I would suggest rewriting the sentence as, “students are facing COVID related challenges concerning travel, vaccination and fear of contracting COVID-19. Students will delay education until they feel safe.”

Proposed Solution

I would suggest revising “view the body language of their prof,” to “interactions with the Professors,” to enhance clarity.

I am also curious how these solutions will be implemented and if there are any mechanisms in place to ensure these solutions are upheld.

Methods

I appreciated the list of proposed areas of research.

I am curious about the number of surveys and interviews that will be needed for this proposal.

Conclusion

This conclusion was very vivid and resonated with me.I would recommend rewriting “unfair learning circumstances,” to “unprecedented challenges” or “unique challenges due to COVID-19.” It is difficult to ascertain and quantify fairness and this comment may be perceived as criticism if read by UBC faculty and staff.

Concluding Comments

This proposal aims to bring online learning to all departments to both UBC’s Vancouver and Okanagan campus. The focus in very broad and thus collecting information could become a cumbersome process. Could the focus of this proposal be narrowed? For example, are there specific challenge students in the Management problem face with online learning? Could the intended audience be narrowed to one specific interest group? The proposal also suggests providing feedback to UBC faculty and staff. I suggest reading regulations about the approval process for curriculum changes at UBC. I am not well versed the UBC Faculty Association or UBC Senate and Board of Governors approval.  It could aid your research. If the reading is too arduous, I recommend narrowing your focus to UBC students. How can UBC students support each other for online learning?

This report could aid many current future UBC students if they choose to enroll in online courses. I look forward to reading the Formal Report Outline.

Enclo. Formal Report Proposal_Noah Saini