Zen and the Covid effect.

It has taken me sometime to write on this subject. I myself have lost a parent during this time (not to the virus) but I thought I would add my musings.

We do have to think differently as many have said and things are changing so timetables have to be adaptable. 

The Corona Virus Effect

As the effects of this Corona Virus continue to be felt, there comes a point when life has to move forward. So how does this affect the complex timetable? We know from what has been written in my book, that the timetable is a living beast. 

Given there are set limits for every timetable, as you remember; 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days in a year, we have our base. However, we never timetable for certain establishments 24 hours in a day. Take our typical University which will have new constraints to cope with, some of them will mean new ways of thinking.

What has changed?

Prior to this, you could pack your room to it’s maximum capacity. So long as all the students turned up, that meant a room of 50 capacity had 50 students. You could of course, have any number from 1 to 50 fitting in the space with no worries.

Now, with the current guidelines a lot of change means a deeper and more complex timetable. A few of the guidelines will challenge how we think, for example; a two meter rule between students. Now, many will just think two meters between desks, but it has to be thought of in three dimensions. You have to accept each student is in their own bubble. 

Take this example of a 24 capacity room;

Before

After

What that means for room capacity alone is a major rethink not just in numbers. As you can see from the example above.

In the example, a 24 capacity space. If it has tables and chairs, in four rows of 3 tables and 6 chairs per row. A simple calculation of 40% of a 24 capacity room gives you 9 spaces. If 40% is the limit of course. But, you also have to take into account the 2 metre limit for each student. So, although you might be allowed 20 students, the room is not capable of allowing 20 students each with a 2 metre gap. Add into this mix, you need 2 metres for the lecturer. The equation, which is what we will have to construct, is further complicated by the flow of students and the flow of air. The room layout however means you can only have 8 available spaces. 

So each room has to be deconstructed for such limits as air flow, you can’t use air conditioning, 2 metre space for all, including staff, and flow of people in and out. But that’s not just the end of it. You have to consider outside the room just as it has been happening for shops. Plus, additional cleaning staff and time. Many things that happen not always everyday will have to be considered.

How to think differently

Remember that grid that was mentioned in the book? We might have to look at that and see the effects. Instead of 9am to 6pm, 5 days of the week, which is 50 one hour slots, you might go to 8am to 8pm, 5 days, to have 60 one hour slots. Now you need to consider something else, cleaning each room in between each activity. If you say 30 mins to clean are you now scheduling each activity to be 1 hour and 30 minutes? If that is the case consider how many staff are needed to clean. What do you clean? Do you keep doors open to each room so no-one has to open a door? Do you clean down tables and chairs? 

Back to our 50 capacity room which is now only 20 capacity. Do you change the room so that there is 2 metres for each student and a simple traffic flow of people in the room to the desks and out? There of course other options. Consider something more radical? One answer could be to create bubbles of students who are all taking the same modules and don’t move rooms.

That appears very sensible as you don’t want have too much movement. Or do you? Don’t forget a couple of others things. Toilet breaks, drinks needed and lunch. These in themselves add a further level of complicity. At the moment we have one room , 20 students and relativity easy for them to move about. Double that and you double the problems. 

Yet we have not considered the the next complex level to be added. Each student is taking multiple modules. Again, if the students are in a bubble that is ok. What have we missed? Well the fact that the module has 100 students. Ah. So now you need 5 rooms to teach each of the student sets and 5 lecturers. If those students all stay in the rooms and have say three activities, that’s 3 hours. Now that’s 3 hours, 5 rooms for 100 students. What if that now becomes 500 students for just the morning? Given you might not be able to use rooms with air-conditioning, you have to reduce all spaces by 40% some of the smaller rooms become as low as 5 spaces. 

One solution could be to stagger the start times of each activity or ensure only the necessary ones are on campus. On-line learning can still play its part. In fact, this virus could change more than just teaching. Adding blended learning, working from home could attract more people.

What space?

Say you have 20 locations of which 5 are large lecture rooms 200 capacity, 10 are tables and chairs 50 capacity and the last 5 are just chairs all 30 capacity. Sounds a lot right? Well, those nice big rooms, 4 of them are air-conditioned and 1 is on the second floor but has windows. That means you only have 1 large 80 capacity room. However, and there is always something to consider, 10 of your students are in wheelchairs and can’t make the second floor. Plus the access to the floor is one staircase up and down, so careful planning is needed to use that space.

As far as students are concerned, in fact anyone is concerned, access to rooms is important. Also, so are breaks. It may not appear a timetable problem but, the timetable tells you when a student is scheduled. This means collecting all the right and needed data is more important. When can you do that? Part of this would be modelling. If you know what you now have, so model with possible data. 

You still have to deal with toilets, food and movement. You have to consider one other element, public transport. Students off campus have to travel in. If there are restrictions on public transport as in numbers, how quickly could all thee students arrive? Would this mean a bubble of on campus and off campus students? 

Where do you start?

Simple? Well chicken and egg comes to mind. You need the capacity of the spaces, you need the changes to the courses, you need the numbers of students in each module, you need their requirements, you need the opening hours and you need time to plan. Add to this how a building will operate, in fact which building could operate and you still have to consider such items as fire evacuation, routine maintenance and security.

Anything else? Yes of course. If you create a bubble for students taking say Law single honours, what if one of those modules allows students from other courses such as Business? Do you make sure all of those students are in a bubble? What about extra courses like languages. Many students take a language as a second subject. Should that be allowed given the timetable is going to be crowded.

What about courses that are just options? Lab work and practicals will be an issue. Again, blended learning will be vital here, lectures delivered to large cohorts through lecture capture or an online form. Would that still need to be scheduled? Yes, you need to make sure the students have watched the lecture. If it’s their timetable, then you can make sure you double book them.

What happen’s next?

As the various restrictions ease, the capacities can slowly rise. But will part of this also help? Blended learning may well mean students could get other chances to watch a lecture again. It may take pressure away from lecturing staff, given they could record all their lectures in advance. It might lead to a change in teaching structure and style. Although the timetable is one element, there is much more to consider. Masks may well be mandatory while on the bus and campus. Great, but when someone is deaf and needs to lip read how will they cope? How will blind people who need others move around? What about guide dogs?

These are only a small set of examples that we all have to overcome. The timetable may not solve these issues but, it helps to highlight so long as all the data is considered. It is a lack of data and sharing that may cause a breakdown in the timetable. For example, if the room for the group only has spaces for 15 people and one person turns up with a helper, who solves that?

Worse of all, what if all these plans are changed by a simple factor of reducing the need for a 2 meter space? Do you take a risk or stick to the plan. It only takes one incident to create a problem. In time, these restrictions will be lifted but will they also help develop a different take on teaching that will never change? See this as a force for good and chance to improve.

As I said before, any timetable is both a living beast and the heart of all we do.

Enjoy reading comments welcome.

Mark ODonnell

Mark is the author of Zen and the Art of Timetabling available here