While we always tend to look at the transition from face-to-face to online classes that occurred during spring 2020 from a student’s perspective, we never get to know how faculty dealt with it mentally and professionally. Accordingly, today, we are taking a look at professors’ experiences with the transition.
“I said goodbye to the students thinking that I would see them after spring break, but it turned out to be a really long goodbye.”
Professor Stefano Bigliardi
Spring 2020: the Beginning of the Transition
It is undeniable that professors were put under a lot of pressure during spring 2020. They were all required to switch their classes from F2F to online in exactly 2 days. They were responsible for achieving the learning goals of their classes, managing their personal life while adapting to a new method of teaching, and all of that in quarantine. In this context, Professor Stefano Bigliardi describes his spring 2020 teaching experience in the following way: “The teaching experience for spring 2020 was challenging because it took us completely by surprise and there was some psychological shock involved; I am from northern Italy, I come from one of the regions that were most impacted by the coronavirus. My family was there. I had to deal with a difficult professional situation while at the same time having strong worries about my family over there. It wasn’t easy at all. I tried to be as compassionate as possible with my students and myself. I was very open to students about the fact that I was facing troubles. I didn’t want to turn the courses into a joke, but I didn’t want to make them too demanding either.”
“We were all on a strict lockdown, my son and wife were stuck outside the country, and students were back home with parents and families which might have brought a lot of personal challenges. So, the following questions arose: How do we carry on with the courses while realizing that everyone is in different situations? How do we maintain the intellectual integrity of the class? How do we make sure that our AUI degrees stay meaningful even with online classes? How could we give students the flexibility that they need? How do we balance academic rigor while also putting up compassion for what everyone is going through?”
Professor Elliott Derek
Other professors expressed the struggles they encountered when it comes to the technological adaptation to MS Teams and the connectivity issues; Indeed, Professor Monica Festa explains: “My difficulties had to do with the technology itself: mainly the unstable Wi-Fi connection and not having a reliable device. At first, we didn’t have the required resources”. Yet, Professor Festa still believes that spring 2020 was not that bad of an experience as her feedback from students was positive with the change. She states: “It really didn’t feel like much of a shift. It felt like I could control the class better when I would share my screen for example rather than the projector.”
From another perspective, there is the issue of the number of students in classes that sometimes exceeds the professor’s ability to engage everyone in the conversation, as Professor Stefano Bigliardi explains: “if there is one thing that I could change about online classes, it would be the number of students in class. The issue was already there in face to face classes, but it became major with online teaching. You cannot guarantee high quality and individual attention, which should be essential characteristics of the liberal arts system, when you have more than 35 students in class.”
The adaptation process
“I wish that we could all have cameras and mics on all the time. I know that it is hard because not everyone has a stable internet connection. However, it is really hard to teach without hearing nor seeing anything. It becomes harder to know how students are receiving information. It feels very lonely.”
Professor Katy Stubanas
At this point of the year, after spending almost two complete semesters dealing with online classes, one tends to question the extent of adaptation to online classes for both students and professors. Did time lead to a full adaptation to the new method of learning? Is there any possibility for online classes to be the new standard in the future? To answer these questions, professors mentioned the huge efforts they made since spring 2020 in order to make their classes as enjoyable and as efficient as possible. They incorporated new strategies to engage students in conversations and class activities since lecturing doesn’t work that well in online classes. Therefore, professor Katy Stubanas implemented new methods in her class including breakout groups and discussions based on which students are required to turn in assignments. She claims that the new method requires a new set of skills. So, instead of memorization, students are now required to get a deep knowledge of the course material.
“As a professor, I am doing all kinds of activities. My pedagogy didn’t change much, as I have always used technology in my classes. However, the issue is that students didn’t adapt in the same ways; while some students liked the transition, others (especially extroverted students) lost their motivation to participate in class because they couldn’t get that social environment anymore or perhaps because they were not as technologically savvy as expected”
Professor Monica Festa
As much as professors endeavored to adapt to the new teaching method, they can’t deny that they miss face to face classes, especially in terms of students’ interaction and the professor-student bond that was oftentimes easily created. Here, professor Derek Elliott asserts: “I hope that none of us is fully adapted. I don’t want this to become the new normal. In online classes, lecturing is alienating. I miss the interaction and it feels lonely out there talking to a screen”.
Professors’ wise words for students struggling to adapt
Overall, professors want students to know that they’re compassionate, understanding, and ready to work with their students in order to help them get over these hard times;
Professor Derek Elliott insists: “one thing that I constantly remind myself is the following: this is a time that we should make sure that our standards are on a particular level and that we are compassionate as we can’t know what anyone is struggling with. I can’t speak for all professors, but for the ones that I know about, we understand that things happen. Thus, if you need, reach out! Most of us are willing to help each other in these hard times. Let’s help each other be as successful as possible!”
Professor Katy Stuabnas asserts: “my best advice would be to communicate when you need help. Unfortunately, a lot of students are afraid to reach out and let us know they’re having a bad time. We want them to know that we are flexible and willing to help.”
Professor Stefano Bigliardi says: “if a student is struggling, they should try their best. Then, if the issue persists, they should get back both to the teachers and the administration with clear noncynical complaints and constructive proposals”
Professor Monica Festa explains: “Students need to interact and engage. That means if the professor calls on them, they must be able to follow the conversation. It is not a lecture; it is a conversation. There needs to be that back and forth between me and students for that conversation to take place. If it doesn’t happen, I don’t feel like there is any learning taking place. Even if they don’t like to speak out loud, they need to type in the chat.”