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A New Frontier for UNC Asheville

Faculty Tackle Teaching Online

By UNC Asheville

July 10^th, 2020

Summer 2020 ushered in UNC Asheville’s first all online semester as the University sought ways to safely conduct classes in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. For many UNC Asheville faculty, online classes were a new experience—one that presented new challenges, but also unexpected joys and rewards.

Evelyn Chiang, Associate Professor of Psychology

Online Course: Human Growth and Development

This summer Evelyn Chiang taught a special topics class on human growth and development in the Education Department to lateral entry teachers. It’s a course she’s taught several times online, giving her a head start in learning how to support students in online environments.

“There are different ways to teach online; the biggest distinction is between synchronous and asynchronous instruction,” Chiang explained. In synchronous online courses, classmates and the instructor still meet together, though they meet though a platform like Zoom or YoTeach instead of in a physical classroom. In an asynchronous course the class doesn’t meet at the same time, but communicates through message boards or other avenues.

“This past spring, when we went to remote instruction, I found that I missed my students terribly,” Chiang said. “I missed our classroom community and being able to see students in person. I would say the biggest difference for me is missing that in-person contact; however, there are some ways to mitigate this loss in online environments.”

The classroom community can still thrive online through videoconferencing in small breakout rooms, Chiang said, allowing smaller groups of students to engage in discussions instead of trying to conference with the entire class. But that can present challenges, as well.

“One of the biggest challenges of teaching online is reaching all students--including the ones that do not have reliable Internet access at home, laptops or desktops with Microsoft Office, and the physical space to work,” Chiang said.

“It is critical for instructors to acknowledge differences in levels of resources and to accommodate these differences as best as possible. It's easy to say that someone should have Internet access and a laptop if they want to be a college student; however, our society is inequitable at its core, and it is our responsibility to do the work to support all of our students in accessing our courses.”

Even with the inherit challenges of teaching online, Chiang said it can still be as meaningful to all involved as teaching in person. “Online teaching is rewarding just as face-to-face teaching is rewarding: being able to connect with students and be a part of their learning journey,” she said. “There are some students who are more comfortable in online-only environments. Using a variety of activities and assignments hopefully reaches a greater range of students.”

Jessica Pisano, Lecturer, English

Online Courses: Humanities 214: Medieval and Renaissance World; and Language 120: Academic Writing and Critical Inquiry

Though Jessica Pisano had taught online classes at her previous job at A-B Tech, teaching online courses this summer in humanities and academic writing gave her the opportunity to learn a host of new teaching technologies and methods.

“I've been teaching for 22 years, and it's really easy to walk into the classroom and rely on what you've always done, the knowledge that you have,” Pisano said. “Teaching online has made me rethink what I do and why I do it, and how it's how it is or isn't working for students, which is something we should all be doing every day in the classroom anyway.”

Pisano dove into platforms like Jamboard, which acts like an interactive whiteboard, Screencastify, which let her record and edit videos that served as lectures for her class, and TimeMapper, which let her create interactive visuals to illustrate the geographic units her Humanities class studied.

“I think we have a lot to learn from online instruction, things that I've thought, ‘gosh, I want to make sure I do this even when we go back to teaching face-to-face,’” Pisano said. “This just is a good technology to use that I probably would never have experimented with if it hadn't been for this experience of course.”

The online class format also created new opportunities for student participation, Pisano discovered.

“Too often what happens in classes that you get three or four students in a class who tend to really participate in the discussion, and there's all those other students that really have stuff to say that aren't saying anything,” Pisano said. “Whereas with a with an online forum type discussion, everybody is expected to contribute, and you have guidelines for contribution. I was reminded how those students sitting there in the back of my class not saying anything all semester really do have some amazing thoughts, and that if given an opportunity where they feel more comfortable they are more willing to engage.”

Pisano found that she missed the energy that students provide in a face-to-face classroom, and the ability to walk closer to a student or even pick up on small facial gestures or body language that help foster better communication in a classroom.

“There are things that that are lost, and so I think the technological pedagogies are really, really important to think through,” Pisano said, “and make sure you're utilizing the platforms that are going to build community and promote engagement and interaction, because that's something you really have to work for in an online class.”

Building that community proved especially important for Pisano’s Humanities class this summer, which was in session when protests broke out across the country following the death of George Floyd. “The protests started and we had a day where I just created space where the students were able to connect all the things that we were reading from the Reformation and from the late Renaissance to the protests and the way that the police were responding to the protests, and it all felt really relevant and timely,” Pisano said. “It was really exciting because, of course, that's what that's what you hope students will get out of a Humanities class.”

As UNC Asheville moves into the fall 2020 semester, some classes will continue to be taught online, or partially online. While it may be a new and challenging experience for many, Pisano sees opportunities, as well.

“Every new experience is a learning experience, and it's hard and it's time-consuming and it takes work, but just there's so much opportunity for growth as a teacher,” Pisano said. “It's also a really good time to ask our students what they want and what they need. Not only with the shift online, but also just with everything and going on right now, I think it's really important that we listen to our students.”

Lyndi Hewitt, Associate Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning

Online Course: Humanities 414: Critical Perspectives on Contemporaneity

Lyndi Hewitt hadn’t taught online since she was in graduate school 12 years ago, but she’d been using online polling applications, collaborative Google Docs, and other tech tools in her face-to-face classes for several years, which she says made the transition a little easier.

She was also able to use a small group structure that she typically uses in face-to-face classes, which helped facilitate the discussions that are so vital to humanities courses. “Discussion is a key pedagogical tool for cultivating critical thinking skills and for building empathy and connection among students. This is the piece I was most worried about in an online format, but also a piece that turned out surprisingly well,” Hewitt said.

Students completed short written assignments before class that helped them prepare for the small group discussions and the full-class discussions. They worked with the same groups for the duration of the term, but rotated discussion roles each class period. “Students reported that this was one of their favorite aspects of the course because they enjoyed developing genuine connections with their peers and appreciated having to consider multiple perspectives, but also because they noticed the linkages between the quality of their preparation and the quality of their learning.”

That sentiment was echoed by student Jessica Fox, a music major with a neuroscience minor, who was enticed by the idea of taking her last humanities course quickly over the summer.

“It turned out to be the best class ever,” Fox said.

Though she’d never considered taking online classes before, finishing the spring 2020 semester online helped diminish her fear of the format. “It's such an excellent way to take a class if a professor is prepared and ready. Even though we had a class of like 30 people, we all had chances to talk. Everything felt comfortable and respectful.”

That comfort and respect was important as the class discussed contemporary issues that were unfolding over the course of the class, such as the pandemic and racial equality protests.

“It was humbling to teach Humanities 414 in the midst of both a global pandemic and a national reckoning on white supremacy and violence against Black communities,” Hewitt said. “I always teach Humanities 414 in a way that emphasizes the question of what’s universal about the human experience. Inevitably, we explore themes of human suffering, adaptation, and resilience. This time, the theme of human suffering was front and center. Every student was experiencing new forms of disruption, suffering and trauma. Some students were experiencing the same kinds of chronic injustices that they’ve endured for their whole lives, now compounded by new ones.”

“Dr. Hewitt was extremely empathetic to us,” Fox said. “She made the whole experience amazing.” One article they read in class on reparations prompted Fox to begin writing letters to government leaders. Another article on how science is communicated and understood gave Fox a new perspective on the pandemic.

“I sat in awe of how thoughtfully the students engaged the material and each other,” Hewitt said. “It was clear that many of them connected on a deep level, and that we all really needed our class for reasons that went far beyond academic learning.”

Fox said she understands students have concerns about learning online, but encourages them to try and keep an open mind about the possibilities of online classes. “It'll be interesting to see what kinds of things professors have come up with over the summer knowing that they have to do online courses, so it could really it really could be a good thing,” Fox said. “Also, being able to make coffee and wear silly pants instead of having to get up and drive all the way to campus is a great thing.”

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