That’s a pretty specific experience of spring 2024, but it also reminded me of a story I wrote just over four years ago, as professors were figuring out how to handle finals, both logistically and philosophically, during remote instruction.
For my latest article, I spoke with a couple of experts: Karen Costa, an author and faculty developer who teaches as an adjunct, and Flower Darby, an associate director of the Teaching for Learning Center at the University of Missouri who often writes for The Chronicle. Both agreed with my premise that many instructors will, if they haven’t already, find themselves adjusting their teaching to turmoil of some kind — be it climate change, political strife, or acts of violence. We seem to be living through an “era of volatility,” as Costa put it.
Costa and Darby had more ideas for instructors than I could fit in the article, so I’m glad to have the chance to share more of them here.
- Remember we’re all human. It’s OK, Darby said, to acknowledge that change and loss and stress are hard for students and instructors.
- Get really clear about your own values. What matters to you? Is it care? Justice? Equity? Knowing that, and accounting for the constraints you’re under, can help you decide how to act when a crisis strikes, Costa said.
- Consider your scope of practice. Costa likes the questions “What am I qualified to do?” and “Is this my responsibility?” It’s clarifying, she says, to let go of saving the world and focus on doing your part.
- Build for the future. In calmer moments, professors can build community — and work to “change the systems that do harm,” Costa said.
- Be flexible. A more flexible course can benefit instructors as well as students, Costa says. If nothing else, it saves the trouble of unmaking and remaking something midsemester. This is not a quick fix, she cautions. But professors can still start small by changing how they handle one assignment and seeing how that goes. She makes an analogy to the tree pose in yoga. Trees, she says, are sturdy. But they can bend. A course, she says, should be more like a tree than like a brick wall. Or try another Costa analogy: If your course is a journey, you can design it like a road trip with built-in time to take the scenic route. That can coexist with getting where you’re trying to go.
- Find a buddy. This work can be lonely. Try, Costa encouraged, to find someone else you can talk about it with.
- Remember what teaching can contribute. “We are in the business of providing transformational learning experiences,” Darby said. Looking toward the fall, which promises a divisive presidential election, there is plenty to worry about, she said. But there’s also an opportunity “to help our students develop the skills, capacities, and attributes of engaged citizens in today’s society.”
What has helped you teach through turmoil? What, if anything, are you doing to prepare your courses — and yourself — for a crisis that may come in the future? Tell me at beckie.supiano@chronicle.com, and your example may appear in a future newsletter.
More than one ‘full-time’ thing
Recently, I’ve been sharing reader responses to the question that framed a recent article I wrote about grades: What does an A mean?
Here’s an interesting take from Elizabeth Flandreau, an associate professor of psychology at Grand Valley State University, who raises a good point about student potential:
“When students earn an ‘A’ in my classes, I can confidently recommend them for future endeavors related and unrelated to the course topic, because an ‘A’ means the student has the attitude and aptitude to succeed. It means they are willing to go out of their comfort zone, identify areas of confusion, ask questions, and seek out answers.
“That said, many students are over-extended, doing more than one ‘full-time’ thing: paid employment, university classes, and other obligations. Many students with the attitude and aptitude to succeed lack the time and energy required to reach their full potential.”
Flandreau’s point about how students are doing more than one “full-time thing” lines up with so many stories I’ve heard in my reporting. I’d like to dig into that further. How are you seeing students’ overscheduling play out in your teaching? Have you figured out a way to compensate for students’ lack of time? Is your college addressing this in any way? Let me know: beckie.supiano@chronicle.com.
‘A growing backlash’
In a recent Advice piece for The Chronicle, Sarah Rose Cavanagh, senior associate director for teaching and learning and an associate professor of practice in the psychology department at Simmons University, identifies “a growing backlash” among faculty to student-centered teaching and suggests ways faculty developers might respond to “recalibrate the conversation.”
Among her suggestions: “Center the teachers, and trust their intuition and autonomy” and “stop treating everyday teaching practices” — like lecturing or giving high-stakes exams — “as ‘harmful.’”
It’s a thought-provoking piece, and a provocative one. Give it a read, if you haven’t — and then I’d love to hear what you think. Instructors, have you felt like teaching experts are judgmental about practices you use? Do you feel like there’s too much pressure to change your teaching on top of all the other demands of your job? Faculty developers, I wonder if you share Cavanagh’s assessment of the problem. If so, what do you think of her ideas for addressing it? Do you have others? Let me know at beckie.supiano@chronicle.com.
Thanks for reading Teaching. If you have suggestions or ideas, please feel free to email us at beth.mcmurtrie@chronicle.com or beckie.supiano@chronicle.com.
-Beckie
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