Student Voices
- What does effective teaching look like to you during the pandemic? What is happening in the remote classroom?
 - What do you want faculty to know about teaching in an inclusive classroom during the pandemic? What advice do you have?
 
What does effective teaching look like to you during the pandemic? What is happening in the remote classroom?
"Effective teaching is teaching that continues to take the students' needs into consideration
                                             and prioritize them above the actual academic standing of the student. I feel like
                                             remote class times should be short and the activities should vary in order to give
                                             change and slight excitement in times where there isn't much."
                                       "Effective teaching during a pandemic looks like providing the necessary information
                                             for students to learn (i.e. zoom class, videos, assignments, feedback, exams, etc.)
                                             but also being understanding if students are unable to complete this work. Students
                                             should be able to have the best content possible available to them without the pressure
                                             of learning expectations at this time."
                                       "Many of my classes have switched to recorded videos rather than zoom lectures. This
                                             is useful for students in different time zones and I understand the benefit of it
                                             but it creates an impersonal feel to the instruction and makes motivation for learning
                                             more difficult."
                                       “Effective teaching is when professors upload their lectures to theSpring so that
                                             the students can access the material at anytime, as it can be more difficult for students
                                             to come to their classes at the regularly scheduled time now. In the remote classroom
                                             there is a stronger feeling of anxiety and general stress among students.”
                                       "Effective teaching during a pandemic involves empathy and flexibility. Students are
                                             obviously going through changes in their lives, but everyone’s experience in very
                                             unique and sometimes difficult to talk about. In my experience, teachers have been
                                             very understanding and making efforts to connect with students emotionally and be
                                             available to support them. Most of my classes are still doing live zoom sessions at
                                             least once a week, since they are discussion-based. Maintaining that structure and
                                             routine is really helpful to me."
                                       “Effective teaching is the teacher doing their best and delivering strong lectures
                                             but at the same time understanding that we are not at 100% right now and it’s pretty
                                             hard to do your best work when you are in an environment that is not the best for
                                             learning and also there’s a pandemic happening. The professor is teaching as best
                                             they can but they are also being understanding with deadlines and grades because they
                                             understand the situation.”
                                       "It’s the teacher going above and beyond to ensure that the students are getting a
                                             deep understanding of the material being taught. Answering and checking emails consistently
                                             & giving different ways things can be taught since everyone learning style is different.
                                             I think teachers should find an online program where subjects can be taught and is
                                             more interactive for the student."
                                       "Effective teaching during the pandemic to me is being understanding and compassionate
                                             to every student and not utilizing Zoom. I believe having virtual office hours and
                                             simply putting up the lecture with speaker notes is sufficient so everyone can interact
                                             with the lecture on their own time."
                                       "I think effective teaching during a pandemic can be displayed by checking in with
                                             students, answering emails consistently, and having zoom meetings/learning videos.
                                             All classes vary in what material is being taught, but I feel like many professors
                                             lack compassion when it comes to structuring their classes online. Something that
                                             made me enjoy online classes is one of my professors made it clear that my needs/their
                                             support matter the most. However, in another class that I have, my professor had one
                                             Zoom call meeting with my class and continued to only put work up on theSpring for
                                             us to do for her to grade. Also, she isn’t consistent with answering her emails, which
                                             make students feel devalued... But, most of the classes are being structured similar
                                             to what we’d do in the classroom in the best way. Breakout rooms on Zoom become a
                                             resource for small group work, but it isn’t the same experience to being together
                                             in a classroom."
                                       “During this pandemic, I think the most effective teaching is done by a means of face
                                             to face, online conference calls between professors and students. Although difficult
                                             during these trying times, I think that this is the most important aspect of remote
                                             learning. Having the resources available to speak to professors on a weekly basis,
                                             or whenever needed, would be the most effective way to maintain the norms that come
                                             with learning in a classroom setting. Overall, a majority of the professors that I
                                             take classes with have done a great job at keeping face to face interaction, specifically
                                             through Zoom. Professors are giving lectures that maintain our class schedules and
                                             also holding open office hours for anyone who needs extra help with the material,
                                             which has been very effective in my understanding of each subject area.”
                                       “An effective teacher consists of the professor understanding we are all under a lot
                                             of pressure and doing what they can to make the work flexible. In my remote classroom
                                             the professors record the lectures, and we discuss the work/readings, and we get sorted
                                             into breakout rooms to discuss the work in a smaller setting.”
                                       “Since I am taking a lot of natural science classes, I’ve found remote learning extremely
                                             challenging. Though the lecture appears to go smoothly via pre-recorded video, slideshow
                                             and zoom, the laboratories experience is far from what is normally expected if we
                                             weren’t in a pandemic. The instructors are trying their best to continue the experiment
                                             by providing us with data that was previously recorded. So that even if the students
                                             are not able to perform the experiments, they can still evaluate the results.”
                                       “I think for me, it's still doing the live interactions. One of my classes does recorded
                                             lectures, and I have no motivation to sit through them, versus my other class. She
                                             does the class as we normally would, and then she sends us to break out rooms and
                                             that helps us learn together and understand the material.”
                                       “A lot of my classes had under twelve students to begin with, so we are still doing
                                             our regular discussions, which is really nice and has a sense of normalcy. For the
                                             first ten minutes of class, my teacher changes her virtual background and we have
                                             to guess the pop culture references…This is great as it brings light in this scary
                                             time.”
                                       “I think that effective online learning is usually - at least for me - I prefer pre-recorded
                                             lectures when the professors are really concise and clear. I think that helps a lot.
                                             I know I have a couple of professors who write on a white board and show that to students,
                                             which is nice. I love when teachers let us ask questions... I know that's really helpful,
                                             and for one of my professors, she has a Q and A every week and that's the most beneficial
                                             thing for me.”
                                       “I mean normally our classes look a little bit like lectures and then the discussion
                                             component for most of my classes. Honestly, a lot of them are still like normal classes
                                             because teachers make sure to still involve everyone in the class, and they are usually
                                             some type of pre-recorded lecture or the teacher lectures live and then some discussion
                                             aspect.”
                                       “Being lenient with meetings - not having to meet on a regular basis but more like
                                             meeting and asking for student feedback. When we were at school we would meet like
                                             twice a week, but I think being lenient and letting students do what they want to
                                             do makes sense to me. I think also being open to extensions and maybe cutting out
                                             assignments that don’t really make sense for the Zoom format. If you have a presentation,
                                             that won’t really be effective anymore because it’s so challenging to schedule meetings
                                             with people when they live all over the globe and you don’t know what they’re going
                                             through.”
                                       “Teachers are checking in on us, and it feels more about our safety and our comfort
                                             right now than having a particular discussion for an hour and thirty minutes. It feels
                                             more human, and my professors were always like that, but it feels like they are trying
                                             to make sure we’re ok.”
                                       
What do you want faculty to know about teaching in an inclusive classroom during the pandemic? What advice do you have?
"I think faculty should know that students suddenly have very different abilities
                                             as before, because circumstances have just changed drastically. I think they should
                                             be much more lenient with grades and due dates because there are so many uncontrollable
                                             factors that are now playing a part. Students also didn't sign up for online classes,
                                             so there is a huge adjustment that people are going through and it's really hard to
                                             keep doing just as well in school when your whole world is turned upside down in the
                                             span of a week."
                                       "I want faculty to know that we understand the hardships they are going through to
                                             provide us with the best instruction possible during this time. We still want to learn
                                             and hear what they have to say. Students who have become disengaged have done so mostly
                                             as a coping mechanism and it is not a reflection on their teaching. We miss them and
                                             want to hear more about how they are doing this time."
                                       "I want faculty to know that some students really struggle without one-on-one or face-to-face
                                             interaction. I advise professors to urge students to reach out without feeling shame
                                             or embarrassment if they need extra support."
                                       “I would like the faculty to know that everyone is dealing with this in different
                                             ways so just allow students to cope how they choose to cope and do not penalize students
                                             for not being able to complete work at the same level they would be able to if we
                                             were living in normal times. Advice I have is to be attentive to the students needs
                                             and be available for their students—I understand that professors are also dealing
                                             with this crisis and may find themselves under stress and unavailable, but the students
                                             are looking to their professors for guidance through this and are relying on the support
                                             of professors to help them continue their studies in this hard time.”
                                       “Be understanding, this situation sucks for all of us and what is best for us is if
                                             you can help in a calm and nonjudgmental way. We all hate this and being understanding
                                             if we miss a deadline or two goes a long way.”
                                       “I appreciate that attendance is not taken in most cases because every day is touch
                                             and go.  However, the work load is a lot more since everyone thinks we have so much
                                             time and we don’t and motivation is really hard right now.”
                                       “I think it's important to check in with students, both emotionally: “how are you
                                             doing,” “how has the transition been”, but also asking, “what technology do you have
                                             at home,” “what are your home circumstances like?” Two of my classes sent out a survey
                                             during spring break, and it was all anonymous. 
                                       “Not to freak out. It’s been interesting to watch all of my professors work their
                                             tech stuff and just to know that realistically their students are also having tech
                                             issues at home, and we are all trying our best.”
                                       “One, I hope they know that I am very grateful for the fact that they are teaching
                                             during this hard time. I know that it's their job and it's amazing how much effort
                                             they are putting in. Two, just knowing how important it is to be graceful with students
                                             during this time and be willing to compromise some. Some of my professors who are
                                             the most understanding are the most effective in their teaching styles… modifying
                                             some of the work because people are going through a lot of life circumstances at this
                                             time and just knowing students have a lot of stressors aside from school.”
                                       “I guess just keep doing the amazing job that my professors are doing. The biggest
                                             advice I can offer is being willing to make yourself available to your students because
                                             the hardest part about online learning is not having direct access to your professors
                                             with office hours. And, good wifi helps too, but I know that they can’t always control
                                             that.”
                                       “I have really good Internet, and it’s usually really reliable - but sometimes it
                                             cuts out during classrooms and sometimes I don’t hear everything when it glitches.
                                             Also, and not that it’s different for teachers, but it’s a lot harder to read emotions
                                             and listen actively to people when the professors are giving lectures.”
                                       “Structure is good but also understanding people’s unique circumstances, and even
                                             if a student doesn't have a specific thing going on in their lives, just remember
                                             and understand that living at home during a pandemic is a lot to go through already.
                                             So, being lenient to people and the circumstances but also offering some sort of structure
                                             for students." 
                                       "To be patient with the students & understand that everyone is new to this just as
                                             they are."
                                       "I would want faculty to know how difficult it is to focus on academics while a pandemic
                                             is occurring. Professors/teachers should be extremely mindful of not overwhelming
                                             the student but trying to display that they care for the overall student more than
                                             the assignments. Every student’s situation is different and very few can actually
                                             excel in a remote class setting."
                                       "I think it’s important for professors to change their grading policy. For one of
                                             my classes, participation is 20% of our grade (greater percentage than any paper or
                                             final we will take), and sometimes it’s extremely hard for me to immerse myself in
                                             class discussions because I’m surrounded by family, don’t have a space to actually
                                             work, or mentally/emotionally drained. Second, I believe it’s important to change
                                             the amount of work given for online classes. An example of this is in one of my other
                                             classes, my professor has given us several projects throughout the semester, and it
                                             has been extremely difficult trying to get these projects done at home when I don’t
                                             have a space to work."
                                       “I want the faculty to know that we don’t know what is happening beyond a screen in
                                             a person’s life and to just be understanding towards students and welcoming to students
                                             when they need help.”
                                       “In terms of an inclusive classroom, I think it is important for faculty to understand
                                             that the Âé¶ąĆĆ˝â°ć student body is comprised of students from many different backgrounds.
                                             This transition to remote learning and taking classes from home may be difficult for
                                             some students, depending on their family situation, role in the household, or the
                                             types of resources they have available. I think professors and faculty members have
                                             been extremely understanding during this transition to remote learning, but I think
                                             this is an important point to keep in mind.”
                                       “I am fortunate to currently be in the same time zone and have been able to participate
                                             in live Q&A sessions and meetings. And I found them to be very useful. At the same
                                             time, I am also aware of my classmates’ situations where they have messed up the daily
                                             structure and struggle to keep up with the materials. In these kinds of circumstances,
                                             I wish the workload would have been divided into smaller pieces so that the routine
                                             starts to build up again slowly and the last-minute panic is prevented.