All the courses at NEOMA started again this Monday in virtual class mode. For the first week, no fewer than 749 remote courses have been scheduled with 266 professors leading the classes for 3,900 students. We’ll now look at this totally new programme that involves a wide-ranging adaptation of teaching methods.

NEOMA’s innovative pedagogic department has worked tirelessly over the past few days to oversee the shift from in-class to distance learning in the best conditions possible. “This is a major challenge because our entire learning model is now challenged,” Sandrine Henneron, Head of Faculty & Research, said.

Virtual classes: adaptation, interaction and support
The priority objective is to ensure that education at the school continues and students can advance in their curriculum. This online teaching also represents a significant opportunity to showcase a professor’s added value. “Anyone can access information anywhere at any time, and our ambition is not to simply connect professors with students,” Sandrine Henneron explained. “Rather it is the interaction between the professor and the students that is recreated through virtual classes. More than ever, being a professor means putting different forms of knowledge and skills in perspective and assisting students in how they approach, analyse and critically assess them”.

There are several methods for leading the remote classes that avoid explaining the course in front of a camera for three hours. This has to do with course design, which focuses on the way students learn. “From reviewing how sessions are segmented and encouraging interactions, to making students work in groups and putting practical work in the courses, there are many principles to be followed when it comes to effectively leading a virtual class,” Haithem Marzouki, Head of the Department for Innovative Teaching, said. “Adapting the pedagogy involves a great deal of work, and we want to offers our many thanks to our core faculty as well as the many course speakers who have helped us rise to the challenge.”

A new pedagogic format with positive feedback
The virtual class is also compatible with all the disciplines. “We tested this new tool last week in three programmes with very different subject matter such as marketing, finance and innovation management, and everything went very well,” Sandrine Henneron said. Initial feedback has been very positive. “The students’ reactions are very encouraging. They appreciate this new format that focuses on interactions and synergies,” Haithem Marzouki said.