Corona teaching text

COVID-19: Compassion in our classroom during uncertain times. Jamiella Brooks, Ph.D. Associate Director, Center for Teaching and Learning University of Pennsylvania

The COVID-19 pandemic raises important concerns about teaching in times of disruption and uncertainty. While many of us are preparing to reformat our courses in emergency response mode, it’s important to also remember the human imperative of our vocation.

Right now there is a cognitive demand being asked of all of us. Whether stressed by preparing to teach remotely, worried about housing or food insecurity, concerned about vulnerable family members, concerned about immuno-compromised and high-risk individuals--et cetera, many of us have a lot more of the “outside world” impacting our daily work.

And that’s okay.

One important thing we can all do right now is to neither ignore what is happening, nor misrepresent the impact as something that can be singularly defined. We are all impacted differently, and opening up as to how this is impacting you, personally, while inviting students to do the same, is a way to humanize this experience. “Students, I’ve never taught a class online before, so please be patient with me as I will be patient with you,” is a great way to start, for example.

Most importantly, we need to name those in our population who are most vulnerable. While those who are more susceptible to the disease of COVID-19 often come to mind, we must not forget the disease of racism. Our Asian-born and Asian-American students, friends, and colleagues need us to stand up for them. Make a statement against xenophobia, microaggressions, and racism as a pre-emptive move. Let your students (and colleagues) know ahead of time that it will not be tolerated.

As we continue planning, this article by Karen Gross has a number of helpful strategies for thinking about COVID-19’s psychological toll. She concludes by suggesting ways to communicate openly with our students about what is happening:

“Name it (recognize the trauma), Tame it (conduct activities/strategies that deal with the psychological impact of trauma and its symptomology including with respect to the autonomic nervous system in the short term and other symptomology in the longer term) and Frame it (identify the importance of trauma and its symptomology to moving forward and enabling learning, psychosocial wellness and physical health)”

Doing nothing is doing something--it is ignoring the very real challenges that we are collectively experiencing. Communicating your compassion is the best way to humanize your classroom--whether online, or cancelled, or pending--so that your students feel encouraged during this uncertain time.

University of Georgia Remember that the goal is to adapt your current plans and teaching strategies to make the best of things in a difficult or unexpected situation. Perfection is not expected, and it may be useful to remind yourself of that occasionally. In addition, as unanticipated issues arise in your class, remember that you have a support network to rely upon for help. In addition to colleagues who may be working through similar challenges, consult the eLC help site or reach out for help with technology tools from your local help desk or the CTL, EITS, and unit level collaborative eLC administrators. The Disability Resource Center is also available to help you meet the accommodation needs of students. Finally, don’t forget that one approach may not work for everyone during times of significant disruption or changing circumstances. Ask students to communicate any issues or barriers they encounter (e.g. illness, lack of internet connectivity, technical issues, needing to care for family members, etc.), and be prepared to consider accommodations equitably.

Mike Caulfield So possible announcement to students:

[Describe situation, and link to the school’s announcement, maybe why this is important]

[Talk a bit about your course]

I want to stress that this is an emergency transition to online, and there are likely to be some glitches as we go forward. 1/x

There will be changes to the syllabus, and some things we’ll have to figure out as we go. Where possible, I will make these changes with your input.

I am also fully aware that some of you may not have the ideal space or internet connection at home to participate in a remote class to the extent you might wish. You may have other constraints or issues with accessing or using online materials.

I am committed to working with you all to make sure the online version of this course meets your needs as best as possible in these admittedly difficult circumstances.

More information will follow, but for the moment the most important thing to know is that we will be communicating course updates and requirements through announcements here on the LMS. If at all possible, plan to check this space over break to learn how we are moving forward. And if you have any specific concerns, reach out to me personally.

Amy Young Ph.D., Associate Professor of Communication, Chair of the Department of Communication, Pacific Lutheran University

1. Be kind to yourself and your students. Everyone is stressed, even if they're playing cool. That includes faculty. And that's okay.
2. Many universities have a considerable number of pedagogical experts that, quite frankly, I have only been dimly aware of until yesterday. Be kind to these people. They are suddenly very slammed.
3. There are a much larger number of faculty on university campuses that desperately need to retool. We have faculty who do not know how to use even the course management software that we've been on since I've been here (12 years). It is moments like this when that disparity becomes really fraught. It is also unacceptable.
4. You will not recreate your classroom, and you cannot hold yourself to that standard. Moving a class to a distance learning model in a day's time excludes the possibility of excellence. Give yourself a break.
5. Prioritize. What do students REALLY NEED TO KNOW for two weeks. This one is hard for me. But we have to strip it all the way down--in my campaigns class, that means I need them to post infographics on their research and now post narrative context and slides. But I'm going to punt on presentations because we just don't have time. Which sucks. But these are not normal circumstances.
6. If you're making videos, student viewership drops off precipitously at 5 minutes. Make them capsule videos if you make them. And UPLOAD to YOUTUBE because it TRANSCRIBES for you. Do not assume your audio is good enough or that students can understand without transcription. This is like using a microphone at meetings--I don't care if you don't need it, someone else does and they don't want to ask.
7. Make assignments lower or no stakes if you're using a new platform. Get students used to just using the platform. Then you can do something higher stakes. Do not ask students to do a high stakes exam or assignment on a new platform.
8. Stay in contact with students, and stay transparent. Talk to them about WHY you're prioritizing certain things or asking them to read or do certain things. I've moved to doing that in all of my face-to-face teaching anyway, and it improves student buy-in because they know content and delivery are purposeful.
9. Do not read on best practices for distance learning. That's not the situation we're in. We're in triage. Distance learning, when planned, can be really excellent. That's not what this is. Do what you absolutely have to and ditch what you can. Thinking you can manage best practices in a day or a week will lead to feeling like you've failed.
10. Be particularly kind to your graduating seniors. They're already panicking, and this isn't going to help. If you teach a class where they need to have completed something for certification, to apply to grad school, or whatever, figure out plan B. But talk to them. Radio silence, even if you're working, is not okay.