Most students and faculty are eager to get back to in-person classroom and lab work now that colleges are opening up post-pandemic.
However, let’s not throw the pedagogical baby out with the bathwater. Some of the technology that was used to teach remotely will still prove very useful going forward even when we’re all back on campus.
Siena’s Committee on Teaching and Faculty Development (COTFD) hosted virtual guest speaker Kevin Gannon, Ph.D., on June 3, who spoke about his book Radical Hope: A Teaching Manifesto and conducted workshops on teaching methods. His visit was organized by Michelle Liptak, Ph.D., teaching assistant professor.
Nora Boyd, Ph.D., assistant professor of philosophy and a co-chair of COFTD, said many faculty have expanded their teaching repertoire in response to pandemic conditions.
“This richer toolbox gives us more options moving forward,” she said. “But some of the most remarkable and I believe lasting impacts of the pandemic on pedagogy will come from the anti-racism and justice work that faculty have been pouring our hearts into to create the future of higher education. COTFD will help keep this fire alive.”
Shannon Draucker, Ph.D., assistant professor of English, used Google Jamboard in her classes. This interactive digital whiteboard allows students to add comments anonymously, which Draucker found helpful for students who may be hesitant to speak up in class or address a controversial topic.
This spring, she co-edited a special issue of Nineteenth-Century Gender Studies titled “‘Teaching to Transgress’ in the Emergency Remote Classroom,” which explores pedagogical responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. She also co-wrote the introduction to the special issue, as well as an article titled “Google Jamboard and Playful Pedagogy in the Emergency Remote Classroom.”
Her writing was inspired by the work of her students in ENGL 256: HNRS: The Novel and ENGL 210: Women in Literature and even includes some of their class work.
“There have been a lot of great innovations in teaching over the past year,” said Draucker. “There was a lot of talk about how hard it was, but it’s important to celebrate the great stuff people were doing in their classes under difficult circumstances and limited budgets.”
Siena faculty have sharing their virtual teaching hacks with each other and with colleagues at other institutions throughout the past year: regular sessions and informal conversations where they explore tech tips, Zoom tricks and new approaches and platforms that can be carried forward to help foster class discussions, annotate work and enhance learning for everyone.
“I really admire the resilience and innovation of college faculty and the students,” she said. “A lot of the new techniques we’ve learned are best practices for feminist, social justice and anti-racist teaching. On an anonymous tool like Google Jamboard, students can post comments and ask questions without fear.”
Madison Scott ’23 said Jamboard “is a great way for people to engage in class discussions.” For a project where she modeled an ideal middle school, the English/education major was able to gather comments on subjects such as racism that are difficult to teach.
“The virtual conversation flowed really naturally,” she said. “People who might be shy about speaking up in class find it’s a lot easier to submit comments or ask questions on a virtual whiteboard.”
Alyssa Pastina ’23 said she sees tech being used in class after the pandemic is over.
“With topics such as race or gender, some people can feel uncomfortable about speaking up,” she said. “With something like Jamboard, everyone can get their ideas out. It’s space where everyone can feel comfortable sharing.”