A Post-COVID Review of Classroom Practices

“People resist new ideas until external shocks force them to change.”1

The COVID-19 pandemic undoubtedly presented a shock to higher education. It shocked students, who in the spring of 2020 were suddenly sent home to take class remotely. For many students, that was not an easy transition,2 due to fears of illness or death, isolation, financial concerns, difficult working-from-home situations, among other challenges.3 And of course the pandemic impacted professors as well.

My family largely escaped illness and other serious problems. For me, the biggest shock was moving from in-person teaching to online teaching. Notre Dame announced on March 11, 2020, that students, then on spring break, should not return to campus and would finish the semester online.4 Online classes would commence March 23, to give professors time to adjust to online teaching. Thus began Emergency Remote Teaching.5

Cengage Learning, Inc. kindly gave all students free online access to the textbook. In the space of ten days, fearing I would become ill myself, I recorded six weeks of Business Law lectures on Zoom, to be accessed by students asynchronously. The university recommended asynchronous delivery to accommodate students now spread across the globe, operating in different time zones. The back-and-forth of Socratic method became me, pausing, and then answering my own questions. I jettisoned an in-class group exercise on sales contracts, not knowing how to conduct it remotely under the circumstances. Toward fostering some student interaction, I created a chat room on Sakai and invited questions and discussion, but not a single student posted there. I held virtual office hours and live review sessions via Zoom. Students continued to submit homework on Sakai, as they had done previously. Exams were administered on Sakai. Because students would not be taking the exam simultaneously, as a security measure, questions were randomized and the exam was linear,6 which many students found frustrating.

All in all, the disrupted spring 2020 semester went well. Students were kind in course evaluations. They mentioned particularly my frequent emails, setting clear expectations, offering help, inviting questions, and expressing concern for their well-being. I was surprised to hear how much students appreciated campus photos I sent with some emails. My most popular attachment was a video of a herd of deer grazing on the main quad next to our Main Building. “They made me feel less homesick,” said one student, and others conveyed similar sentiments.

The ensuing 2020–2021 academic year was in many ways more difficult than the disrupted spring 2020 semester. Notre Dame students returned to campus. Most students attended class in-person, distanced and masked, but those in quarantine or isolation or with health problems or who could not obtain a visa to travel to campus attended via Zoom.7 We called it “dual mode.”8 Inevitably, several students in each section attended virtually. There were tech glitches. More troublesome, I found it difficult to look after Zoom students while delivering a good class to those in the room. Those on Zoom were reluctant to speak up with questions or otherwise to participate in discussion. Even the students in the room seemed reluctant to engage. I had trouble learning their names when they were masked and sitting far away in a dark auditorium. We all did the best we could under the circumstances.

That brings us to the 2021–2022 academic year. The fall semester is winding down. The pandemic continues, but most classroom restrictions here have ended, largely due to the requirement that all students be vaccinated.9 Masks are optional. We are back in our normal classrooms with no distancing. No more dual mode. All students attend in person. Quarantines have been rare.10

It is a relief to be back to relatively “normal” operations.11 But the pandemic teaching experience has reinforced certain lessons and brought lasting changes to my course.

Most notably, I have learned to embrace technology. Sakai, Google Forms, Calendly, and Zoom are useful tools now. No more paper handouts—all extra readings and resources are linked or posted on Sakai. Students submit written assignments there. Group signups and mid-semester surveys are handled efficiently via Google Forms. Students schedule office visits via Calendly. Students not able to attend evening review sessions in person can watch a recording on Zoom. While classes are normally in-person, Zoom came in handy when I found myself ill the first week of class (not COVID). To stay on schedule, I provided an asynchronous Zoom lecture.

I employ technology partly because it is good for the environment and efficient. Partly, however, I use it to signal to students that I am not a “dinosaur.” I am open to the technology they find so useful and familiar. This is in my self-interest. In a recent study of undergraduate experiences with Emergency Remote Teaching, a respondent stated, “Even if professors were not tech savvy, they had to be willing to learn.”12 That is a reasonable point.

For several years prior to the pandemic, a portion of my students’ grades came from attendance. Much pedagogical literature addresses the benefits of attendance13 and assesses the wisdom of mandatory attendance policies.14 Credé et al. observe “encouraging evidence that mandatory policies are not necessary for dramatically improving class attendance or class performance.”15 Allowing students to determine attendance themselves shows respect for them as young adults.16 Further, it allows them “to vote with their feet” on the quality of teaching.17 If they view class as not worth their time, I should reassess my methods and content.

These strike me as compelling reasons to give students autonomy, and postpandemic, we can add another: mandatory attendance policies may provide perverse incentives to attend class when ill and possibly contagious. As a result, I no longer take attendance. To incentivize preparation and attendance, students earn points by submitting homework for each class and participating in class discussion. Students have assigned seats, and if I notice repeated absences, I reach out to that student. Happily, attendance and participation in the fall 2021 semester remain excellent.

Pedagogy experts stress the importance of “teaching presence,” manifest when “students and [professor] interact successfully with each other and with the course materials in a way that create[s] a cognitively meaningful learning environment.”18 The professor has “cognitive presence,” through effective design of course materials and assignments and skillful moderation of classroom discussion.19 The professor also develops “social presence” by building “interpersonal connections” with students.20 Social presence comes when the professor shows some personality and evidences care and respect for students.21

This call for care and respect brings to mind Pattison, Hale, and Gowens’ advice on connecting with students.22 These authors describe behaviors that evidence care and respect.23 They cite the importance of “valuing student opinions,” “knowing student names,” “taking a personal interest” in students’ lives, treating them as colleagues, and showing “empathy, encouragement, and fairness.”24

A proficient instructor can build teaching presence in an online class25 but it is so much easier face to face. The pandemic experience has caused me especially to appreciate in-person instruction. Judging by their classroom demeanor and willing participation in class discussion, students prefer it as well.26 I serve students better when able to see understanding or questioning in their (unmasked) faces. I value chatting with them informally before or after class, getting to know them and hearing what they care about. It feels like we are a community of learners. I feel newly invigorated at this opportunity to be back in the classroom.

This short essay records some history of a remarkable time. The pandemic jolted normal operations throughout academia and, as I experienced, in my business law classroom. The pandemic years were difficult but also brought benefits. For me, the pandemic prompted, indeed forced, reexamination of methods and practices in the classroom. I have become more tech savvy and will avoid attendance policies that may compel sick students to attend class. The pandemic also led me newly to appreciate the joy of being in the classroom—which comes mostly from the personal interactions with bright young students. I will be a better teacher for having experienced the pandemic years.