How professors at Endicott College are navigating teaching in a pandemic

First feature story

Endicott College faculty and students must challenge the switch from in person classes to remote.  

COVID-19 has impacted the classroom in more ways than just distance between students and wearing masks. Teaching practices and learning abilities have been greatly affected during this time.  Endicott College was able to follow Massachusetts State Regulations in order to house students at their campus with some hybrid classes but mostly in person classes.  After cases began spiking and the inability to perform COVID testing before having students on campus after Thanksgiving break, Endicott instead decided to remove students from campus until potentially next semester.  

This called for a switch to remote learning.  This has been done before when the first outbreak of COVID-19 occured.  The creation of ‘Zoom’, a video teaching platform, has made it possible for students and professors to continue with classes in the easiest way.  With required faculty training over the summer, Endicott professors were prepared for remote teaching and to try to give students the best experience they could in an uncertain time like this.  

Teaching in person is important for creating relationships among students and between students and professors.  At Endicott students were able to capture a glimpse of what college would be like if not in a pandemic through its in person classes and some students’ ability to form relationships in a short amount of time.  The learning environment is proven much more influential and positive with physical interaction among the students and professors.  

“Getting to know students on an individual basis is important; every class is different, every student is different.  Really getting to know students over the course of the classes and course is really special,” said Endicott College professor, Robert Spurrier.

Professors teaching over the years have developed their teaching styles through witnessing efforts made by students.  Switching to remote has not only had an impact on the efforts of students but the professors style of teaching.  

“The learning process is much more fluid in the classroom,” said Endicott College English professor, Pasquale DiBenedetto.

Being in a classroom is essential to get the full potential of both the teacher and the student.  Transitioning from a full classroom to a screen is hard for most professors to comprehend because they do not teach remote courses by choice.  Among the teachers, attention and work ethic of students is found to decline when switching to classes on ‘Zoom.’

“I would say my biggest concern is ensuring students are engaged during remote lessons,” said Professor DiBenedetto.

The professors stressed that students have accustomed themselves to working in a campus setting with access to a dorm, library or any quiet studying places they can focus in.  But moving back home to a completely different environment can be detrimental to their learning abilities.

“I think it doesn't matter what situation you are in, even if it's a perfect set up, the biggest challenge is going to a home space where you are not used to doing college work in.  I want students to not lose their momentum of their work because of the break.  They are separate from you and they are not together at the same time in the same way, they aren't having the same experience of living in a dorm then coming to a classroom,” said Professor Wemmer.

Professors are aware of the stress students face and will focus on overcommunicating with students to keep their motivation up. But it is a prominent issue that students are finding difficulties keeping up with work and focusing during ‘Zoom’ calls.  

“Learning remotely has been difficult because I feel as though it has impacted my attention span and motivation. I find it harder to focus in zoom classes compared to in person classes. I also have struggled with finding the motivation to complete my assignments.   But my professors have been very understanding and helpful with keeping all of the students up to date. I feel as though they have been very considerate on the workload this semester and have been connecting with students and making themselves available for extra help after class,” said Endicott College Freshman Erin O'neill.  

While the retention and attention aspect of remote learning declines, mental health of students has also decreased during these times.  While mental health has been an issue outside of school during this pandemic, the added stress of school, deadlines, and changing environments has also had a great influence on it.  

“It has negatively impacted my mental health. Not being on campus around my friends and around people in my classes every day puts a damper on each day,” O'neill says.

However professors have been putting priority on mental health and pushing students to be open about how they are feeling.  Professors include wellness checks into curriculum and encourage students to reach out to any support systems they have back home or at school, and if not they encourage talking to professors, advisors, or counselors on campus.  

“That's why I encourage students to share their feelings but also just to share those feelings with other students and to reach out to family, friends, counselors, anyone to talk to go through this.  To make everyone students, faculty, and family all realize we are not alone, there are other people who can help us in this journey,” said Professor Spurrier.  

As the world moves forward through these hard times, keeping motivation and learning from these experiences is an important life lesson professors and students are grasping.  Professor Wemmer would like to grow his teaching career by potentially teaching more online courses in order to get a better understanding of how online courses conduct a successful semester.  Professor Spurrier would like to enjoy his usual cup of black coffee during each morning class and cheers with his students.  He looks forward to breathing freely and enjoying time with students in person.  Professor DiBenedetto wants to never take his profession he loves and the time he spends with students for granted.