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This past semester I taught two courses: an advanced (causal inference) methods course, and an outbreak investigation course.
I’d like to share some thoughts on teaching during a pandemic.
I’d like to share some thoughts on teaching during a pandemic.
1. The pandemic is the major thing happening in everyone’s lives, in one way or another. Acknowledge that it exists and state clearly how your course expectations are changing because of it.
1b. Change your course expectations because of the pandemic! Relax late work policies, provide alternative grading options for people that need more flexibility, use projects or homeworks rather than exams, find ways to allow for asynchronous course participation.
2. The pandemic is traumatic! Do not add to your students’ trauma by using “fun” COVID examples in homeworks, exams, lectures. Using these examples will make learning HARDER for the students who are suffering the most right now.
2b. If the pandemic is not DIRECTLY relevant to your course material, limit your references to it.
OTOH, if your course material IS directly relevant to the pandemic, acknowledge and incorporate it as much as possible into your pedagogy.
OTOH, if your course material IS directly relevant to the pandemic, acknowledge and incorporate it as much as possible into your pedagogy.
2b cont: For example, every topic in my Outbreak Response course included both COVID and non-COVID material, because every aspect of outbreak response is directly COVID-relevant.
OTOH, my causal methods class had only minimal references to COVID b/c it was indirectly relevant.
OTOH, my causal methods class had only minimal references to COVID b/c it was indirectly relevant.
3. The pandemic is the major thing happening in YOUR life too. Be gentle with yourself & lower your expectations on prep time, grading, etc. Acknowledge this. It’s okay to tell students “grades will take 2 weeks b/c of the pandemic”. You will teach them to be kind to themselves.
3b. The same goes for your teaching assistants. Do not dump your extra work on them!
4. Online, in person, and hybrid classes ALL SUCK right now because WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF A PANDEMIC!
Yes, zoom lectures are hard to follow. Yes hybrid classes are hard to manage. Yes, lecturing through a face mask is horrible. ALL THE OPTIONS ARE BAD! We are in a pandemic!!!
Yes, zoom lectures are hard to follow. Yes hybrid classes are hard to manage. Yes, lecturing through a face mask is horrible. ALL THE OPTIONS ARE BAD! We are in a pandemic!!!
4b. Do not compare your teaching or your students’ learning to prior years.
The counterfactual comparison for online learning in a pandemic is in-person learning IN A PANDEMIC, *not* in person learning in a *non-pandemic*.
The counterfactual comparison for online learning in a pandemic is in-person learning IN A PANDEMIC, *not* in person learning in a *non-pandemic*.
