How a Small Teaching Center Made a Big Impact During the Pandemic Crises

Technology Changes

During Fall Semester 2019, the college LTC offered a robust array of training opportunities to assist the transition to Canvas, but Spring Semester 2020 was the first time all instructors at the college were required to use the new LMS. Many of our faculty had limited experience creating a course structure using Canvas and designing effective assignments for online submission with rubrics. Even basic tasks like creating a column in the Canvas Gradebook were unknown to many faculty who previously only taught in face-to-face learning environments. Learning to teach online at the same time as learning to use a new LMS intensified their stress.

In response to the challenge of the technological changes, we created more online workshops and seminar series. Most of these workshops offered a synchronous online event and an asynchronous recording for those who could not attend or wanted to revisit various sections. We also offered a nine-module, self-paced online design “course” for faculty. Faculty could use the modules to help build their course step-by-step and receive feedback on their progress after each module. More than 120 faculty engaged in the course material in some way, and 43 submitted work for review. However, just 19 completed the course. Instead of working through the modules, we found that faculty’s desire for personal consultations increased. It seemed that our workshops on course redesign, for example, were treated as introductions to the content, and then in surveys and in practice, faculty preferred a personal consultation for application of those ideas to their own courses. This created a high demand for personal attention at both our college and, anecdotally, across our university.

Adapting Pedagogies to Online Teaching

In addition to assisting with technology challenges, we helped faculty adapt interactive teaching styles to the online environment. Our college is structured for small class sizes, emphasizing one-on-one interactions between faculty and students with an average student-to-professor ratio of 18:1. Thus, most of our faculty teach using an active learning approach. This pedagogy was not easily adapted to the online environment for faculty who had only facilitated in-person group work. Therefore, the center focused on identifying technologies and strategies that make online learning more interactive. This focus included workshops on how to create breakout rooms in web conferencing systems, discussions of effective use of those breakout rooms, and using the chat function to keep students engaged. We tried to model this approach in our own workshops, by using the chat to take and answer questions throughout the sessions and using breakout rooms for small group discussions in some workshops. We frequently asked participants about their experiences, which encouraged interaction. This engagement allowed us to identify and target the unique needs of different disciplines and staff offices. Modeling this interaction in our workshops also illustrated techniques instructors could use in their courses.

Creating and Maintaining Equitable Spaces

Addressing online teaching challenges includes how to create and maintain equitable online learning spaces. Equity and inclusion is emphasized in our college mission and the LTC’s objectives. As an open-access college, and the university’s most diverse college, we are committed to addressing the needs of students from a wide array of backgrounds and experiences. Moving online, the need to create accessible courses and equitable remote spaces meant facing the digital divide head-on and reorganizing university resources to address the physical and knowledge-based technological inhibitors faced by our students, faculty, and staff. It also meant rethinking expectations, such as consistent synchronous sessions, and access to resources, such as webcams and internet with strong bandwidth. So, at the same time we were identifying creative methods for online interaction, we knew that the best methods might elude the students most in need due to technology access issues. Additionally, our support staff were concerned about how to assist struggling students.

Our response to the challenges of creating equitable, inclusive online experiences was supported by our institutional ethos. Our college has a deep commitment to access, equity, and inclusion, and the racial protests in 2020 gave even greater urgency to develop opportunities to challenge systemic racism within our college. We recognized that faculty, staff, and students were deeply affected by current events and needed opportunities to process what was happening. In addressing these needs, we followed Wright et al.’s (2018) suggestions of finding means for leveraging connections and collaborating with others. We were fortunate that the university’s Office of the Provost conducted listening sessions with faculty and staff. At our college, our program manager of inclusion and involvement and our coordinator of multicultural affairs conducted similar listening sessions with students. The LTC then invited them to present what they learned from students, so faculty and staff could be more informed about student experiences. We also collaborated with them and the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee to create a series of transformational equity workshops. These monthly workshops were held during the academic year, and participants who attended most of the events received a certificate. This workshop series was a good opportunity to open dialogue about important equity and inclusion concepts, such as implicit bias.

Caring for Our Community

Our final challenge has been in creating community for faculty/staff in a virtual world. Our physical LTC space used to be a vibrant area for congregation. Our face-to-face workshops included snacks, beverages, and consistent interaction. We used the wall-to-wall whiteboards to brainstorm and share ideas. We used our circular tables to optimize small group work and encourage discussion. When center activities moved online, we felt like we lost connection with one another. With so much change and loss hitting us at once, our faculty, staff, and students were understandably overwhelmed. As Jacobson and Cole (2020) noted in their survey of faculty about motivation to change, they found faculty regarded change as effortful, costly, and of limited benefit. This skepticism of change and feeling of loss created a great deal of tension in our efforts to provide appropriate support.

In our response to the challenge of caring for our community, we needed to address the added stress and anxiety created by all these challenges. We are fortunate to have a licensed yoga instructor who provided guided accessible instruction titled “Yoga in Your Work Clothes.” On campus, approximately 7–10 people attended sessions. After moving online, 20–30 people attended. In faculty and staff surveys, participants noted that these yoga sessions were extremely helpful in managing stress from working remotely. However, like other ventures online, interactivity was impacted. For instance, in-person sessions included personalized support specific to an individual’s needs. The online sessions are not individualized, although participants can pose questions in the chat for after the session or stay to ask a question at the end of a session.

Technology: Online Learning Expands

We recommend a mixture of online and in-person programming post-pandemic. Although the online environment seemed to lack the personal connection we experience when face-to-face, we did see a significant increase in the number of participants. We believe this was due to convenience. In a post-pandemic world, the dual approach could use the online component to introduce content, and the in-person interaction can be used to develop depth around key components. We suggest recording most programs for future review; however, we recommend that programs exploring sensitive or personal topics not be recorded.

New Pedagogies: Do What We Can and Not Worry About What We Cannot Do

Instructors who value active learning obsess over things like, “Did I do enough? How can I help everyone?” In challenging times, instructors need to take a cue from mindfulness practices by being present, in the moment, without judgment. Being “without judgment” is critical since it is easy to fall into the downward spiral of feeling guilty for not doing enough. We recommend that faculty developers help instructors recognize that it is just not feasible to teach as we taught pre-pandemic, nor should we try. Such futile efforts could lead to burnout. Instead, we suggest that faculty developers help instructors streamline activities and distill their curriculum to focus on the essentials of course learning outcomes.

Equity and Inclusion: Include the Whole Community for Equitable Solutions

For many of our colleagues, the issues of equity and inclusion are not isolated concerns; they are always a present reality. Faculty developers need to look for experts at their institution who can identify and speak to issues of equity and inclusion that can then be addressed throughout all faculty development programming. Many institutions have offices of equity and inclusion with colleagues whose expertise should be drawn upon to create programming that moves the institution toward a more inclusive environment. In addition, developers might work with faculty who research best practices in equity and inclusion to create new programming. Developers should keep up with national and regional challenges in addressing equity and inclusion in higher education but also be aware of challenges specific to their own institution. Once needs for equity and inclusion programming are identified, systems and programs must be developed to address those needs. For example, in our programming, we included institutional data, consultation with student services, and the expertise of the coordinator of multicultural affairs to inform and present throughout the year. Involving colleagues from outside the LTC in the professional development process creates a sense of shared value, increases agency, and fosters camaraderie in furthering the institution’s equity and inclusion goals. The pandemic laid bare existing inequalities in society. It is imperative that LTCs continue to promote equity and inclusion in their work in the effort to create a more just society, and this means including all members of the academic community in this work.

Caring for Our Community: Offer Personal and Professional Development

This period has been fraught with the challenges of living under quarantine orders because of the pandemic; addressing issues of social injustice and inequity, economic hardship, and uncertainty; and the shifting roles of family members as workers (remote or in person), educators (for virtual learning), and caregivers (for children and family members). This convergence of challenges has caused everyone to be stretched thin. As faculty developers we need to be mindful and provide programs, activities, and opportunities for the professional development of our colleagues who are tired, stressed, and may be struggling personally. We recommend centers take a holistic approach by offering programming that addresses working during a period of remote learning. This could include things from best practices for online pedagogy to how to engage students in online environments. We also recommend providing health and wellness opportunities even after the pandemic. A healthy incorporation of sessions on mindfulness and movement, addressing issues of social justice with our students and colleagues, and on how to effectively teach in online environments is the holistic approach that we believe best supports, encourages, and engages our faculty while addressing feelings of isolation, burnout, and self-doubt.