Lessons from the year of COVID-19: insights, projections, and next steps in a high school pathophysiology classroom

The COVID-19 pandemic not only affected education at its peak, it continues to affect learning in its aftermath. High schools were forced to transition to remote learning, throwing students and educators alike into a new reality. Recovering from the pandemic has forced the need for innovative ways to engage students. Some successful attempts at modifying quizzes, lab activities, and assessments in my pathophysiology classroom are described in this article. In addition, students were also given extra time on assessments, and their feedback was incorporated into the course to improve it for future iterations. It was observed that student gains between pre- and posttests increased after the pandemic as a result of these modifications.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Different ways of modifying existing assessments and labs in a pathophysiology high school classroom are described. Novel assessments were modified after the COVID-19 pandemic to better engage students during the transition from remote to in-person learning after the pandemic. These activities prompted an increase in student test gains compared during and after the pandemic. It was concluded that incorporating student feedback and providing extra time for assessments helped students articulate better on assessments.