As I took the tutorial, believing as I did then that I would
be under quarantine for a full 14-day period, it became evident to me that even
if some classes are scheduled to be face-to-face in the fall, it is imperative
to plan and make available remote learning alternatives for each class session.
We absolutely MUST make it possible for instructors and students who are
symptomatic or under quarantine because of contact with someone infected to
stay away from the classroom. That means not only not penalizing absences but
also making it possible for students to keep up with their coursework even if
they aren't able to be in the classroom. Even before I needed testing on my
own, I started making backup plans for my fall courses in case we need to shift
to remote. But once I couldn't leave my house for any purpose, I saw that I
needed to do more. I have to plan for students who can't come to class, and for
me who can't leave my house.
Two points about this immediate circumstance. One, it's a
ton of work to double-plan an entire course for two different modalities.
Unless the whole class operates either online or FTF, something is going to be
lost because we won't all be on the same page (literally speaking). Two,
because this planning has to be done in the summer when we aren't on payroll,
we aren't going to be compensated for this work. My husband is planning to
record a couple hundred hours of lecture this summer so that he can operate a
flipped remote classroom next year if necessary. And he's contingent labor.
While his department would like to keep him on and has him in the schedule for
next year, there is no guarantee in this climate that he's not going to be laid
off. She he's going to do hundreds of hours of work that will never be
compensated, on spec.
Additionally, and this makes for even more work, it also
became clear to me that going forward I should always make backup remote
learning opportunities for my students. I've always told students that if they
miss class, there is just no way for them to make it up; I'm not delivering the
lecture again; there is no way to duplicate class discussion (however feebly I
think it went). I also tell students they are autonomous adults, and that it's
up to them if they come to class. I don't expect or accept excuses if they miss
class. But I am happy to make the course materials available for them to make
what they will of them. At the same time, I know this about my students: they
don't miss class capriciously. It's not that they slept until 2 in the
afternoon (like my daughter is currently doing), or that they were hungover.
It's that they had a sick parent to take to chemo; they couldn't change their
shifts; they have a chronic illness; they can't get childcare when schools are
closed; their military reserve duty demands them to go to extra training. If my
students' learning is my highest goal--and I believe it is--then I should make
course available to them the opportunity to learn a day's or a week's worth of
material even if they can't come to class. And of course that means
double-planning the whole semester.
Suddenly my teaching job got a lot more full. I'm not complaining,
and I'm a tenured full professor with plans to really hone in on my teaching
over the next decade. But, wow, it's a daunting lot more work. Right now I'm
optimistic that re-planning everything will improve all my teaching, both
face-to-face and my non-extant online skills. Ask me again in a year if I still
think this.
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