Interruptions to university learning are inevitable. These can be precipitated by instructor illness; local circumstances such as fires or industrial accidents; climatic events; internet disruptions; political events; or even terrorism. The COVID19 pandemic, an extremely disruptive event, had historical precedent and was therefore worth anticipating. Many instructors with no prior training or experience with distance learning found their courses ill constructed to abruptly convert to remote learning.
This presentation will outline how principles of crisis planning and communication can be integrated into the course syllabus. Students are informed how they might continue to progress in a class and communicate with the professor during uncertain times. Learning activities are designed within a course infrastructure that will accommodate a seamless shift to remote learning and alternative modes of communication.
Thoughtful and transparent planning can lessen the impact of unexpected disruptions, thus minimizing stress and increasing efficiencies for an instructor and their students. The desired results were articulated by a recent student during the COVID19 emergency: “This [course] was set up for remote learning better than all of my other classes by far. It was the most accessible and understandable class that I had, and everything was laid out for us from the very beginning so that helped ease a significant amount of the stress that is associated with online learning.”
Ellen Cohn