Amidst Adversity, Faculty Innovation Is Flourishing

Professors are embracing improvisation as courses move online.

Since early March, more than 4,000 institutions and 25 million students have made the shift to remote learning. In response, colleges and universities have been offered an array of helpful resources, from free courses to prepare faculty to teach online, to AI chatbots that connect students with emergency resources. 

Much of the higher education conversation has, with good reason, been centered on the technological transition that institutions have made in recent weeks. 

But last weekend, I had the pleasure of spending time with students in New England as a guest speaker in the higher education administration doctoral program at New England College. I did not, of course, actually travel from Denver to New England, but joined the classroom virtually and interacted with students and faculty from across the region. 

We talked about politics and policy in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. We discussed the implications for aspiring higher education professionals—including faculty—as they plan to transition into the workforce.

As we talked, the conversation mirrored discussions I have had with a growing number of faculty in recent weeks. I learned more about the often overlooked, human dimension of higher education’s digital transformation. And in an era in which education technology has dominated news cycles, my conversations offered a humbling reminder that—whether online or in-person—faculty are at the center of the learning experience. 

It is, after all, faculty members who are being asked to stand up online courses, or even entire programs, to ensure that students do not experience a lapse in learning. It is professors who have embraced improvisation in the development of solutions to ensure the continuity of all of their activities.

“When we talk about the transition to online learning, it is important to understand how faculty view their role in the learning process,” said Dr. Tom DeWitt, a marketing faculty member in the Broad College of Business at Michigan State University. 

“It is my impression that if faculty feel it’s their primary role to deliver content to students, then this transition can be a little more challenging. In that scenario, it can boil down to delivering courses through a platform or uploading voiced-over PowerPoint slides for students to review on their own. Both of those options—while understandable in a pinch—accentuate a negative side of teaching online and lower the level of engagement. There isn’t much student engagement with lectures when they are in-person; and I imagine there is even less when delivered on-line.”

Even before the crisis, DeWitt embraced online discussion using technologies that leverage artificial intelligence to stimulate engagement, curiosity and more meaningful online discussions. In recent years, AI has transformed online discussion into a pedagogical tool that faculty are using to complement lessons and lectures by offering students a platform to both ask open-ended questions and receive real-time feedback on inquiries, responses and arguments. 

“I think it’s an excellent time for faculty to rethink their role and the role of the students in the learning process,” said DeWitt. “It’s important for faculty to understand and realize that students can learn from a variety of sources, including other students, and provide opportunities for them to engage with one another both in and outside of class time.” 

At a time when many faculty members are helping students transition to online learning, many faculty are also becoming students themselves—learning how to deliver their courses online and interact constructively with large classes of students, virtually. For some, this has been a seamless transition, but for others, it has required additional time and attention to become more conversant and confident with a new way of teaching.

Sean Glumace, a faculty member in the computer information services department at West Hills Coalinga College, found that online learning resources can help instructors find new ways to connect with students.

“During this crisis, hundreds of adult and dual enrollment high school students across California have continued with their learning largely uninterrupted because we were already set up for distance learning in our program,” said Glumace. “Using what we built online with LinkedIn Learning a year ago and what we have learned about distance education over the past few weeks, we were in a unique position to quickly transition our on-ground courses online and ensure we have resources that all of our instructors and students can access.”

Providing faculty with access to resources that are of equal quality to those provided to students has ensured that learning—for both professors and students—has been able to continue during a time of incredible uncertainty.

Of course, the life of a faculty member—and the technologies they use—extend well beyond the lecture hall. 

“The abrupt disruption of the coronavirus outbreak initially required the creation of processes that could be implemented on the fly,” said Cindy Palmer, assistant vice chancellor of academic personnel services at the University of California San Diego (UCSD). “We needed to come up with a mechanism for faculty to request approval to travel on official university business for essential reasons and make sure our workflow was nimble enough to flex as the advisories were updated and changed.”

Albeit less notable than school closures or shifts to online learning, teaching, research, community engagement and shared governance activities have all been impacted by the disruption of the pandemic. 

In the wake of the U.S. State Department’s travel advisories, UCSD tapped its Faculty Information System (the same electronic review system used for its review, tenure and promotion process) to route and expedite travel requests and approvals. Like many institutions, UCSD had to figure out how to adapt processes to ensure the continuity of teaching across the globe, particularly for faculty who were remote or whose academic roles necessitated travel.

“Later, when the San Diego shelter-in-place order was issued and with it the mandate to transition to remote work, we were ready,” Palmer said. “Due to our campus’ 100% usage of an electronic review system, we were able to execute our operational continuity plan for appointment, merit and promotion processing and seamlessly transition to tele-work.”

While the coronavirus pandemic has created challenges for higher education, the crisis has also illuminated the ways in which faculty are up for the challenge. Perhaps their efforts to integrate new practices, approaches and technologies in response to today’s crisis will increase the opportunity and capacity for learning and connection, when the new normal becomes normal again.