Some online learning persists after fall Back to campus | New

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While fall 2021 marked a return to the in-person classroom for a majority of students and faculty, some classes in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences continued to operate partially or fully online this semester.

Professors cited a variety of factors that aided their decision making in offering online course components, ranging from providing a smoother transition to the in-person classroom to welcoming people with immunosuppression.

Patrick Mair, senior lecturer in psychology, said Psychology 1900: “Introduction to Statistics for Behavioral Sciences” attempted to combine the “best of both worlds” by merging in-person and distance learning when teaching staff observed an increase in cases at the start of the semester.

“After the first unit, we had four cases of Covid with students who were immediately in my class, and several others [students] had to quarantine then those who were in contact with them or in the same dorm, â€Mair said.

“So we decided right away to take the exams remotely,” added Mair.

To better accommodate students, Mair said he offers the option of taking exams in the physical classroom if students do not have a quiet space in their dormitories.

Johanna D. Liander ’78, Principal Preceptor of Romance Languages ​​and Literatures, who directs both Spanish 30: “Four Countries and Their Cultures†and Spanish 40: “Advanced Spanish Language I: Viewing the Hispanic Worldâ€, shared in an email that she has also moved. online assessments, including oral exams on Zoom.

“During their oral exam, neither the student nor the instructor need to wear a mask, which makes it possible to speak more naturally, to observe the formation of language and other facial expressions, to collect non-verbal nuances, in fact of the two interlocutors, “wrote Liander.

Joseph K. Blitzstein, professor of statistics and director of undergraduate studies in the department, wrote in an email that he “had given a lot of thought to the format of the exam this year” for Stat 110: “Introduction to Probability “, finally deciding on an online format.

“First, as a safety measure: the news on classroom protocols is encouraging but some students may not yet be comfortable in a very crowded room, some are immunocompromised, some may feel a little under the weather on the day of an exam, etc. He wrote, referring to announcements from the University that it has yet to identify a positive case caused by the transmission in the classroom.

“Second, Sanders is a beautiful theater and a fun place to teach, but a strange place to take an exam, with no desks,†he added.

Linda DM Chavers, Lecturer in African and African American Studies, who teaches GenEd 1041: “How did we get here? From slavery to #MeToo, â€explained that while she recognizes the limitations of distance education, she chose to teach the course entirely online for personal medical reasons.

“I love teaching and I’m pretty good at it, but I just had to accept that the quality of my class wouldn’t be as impressive this term and I’m okay with that because I love being even more. healthy â€Chavers wrote in an email.

—Editor-in-chief Andy Z. Wang contributed reporting.

– Editor Meera S. Nair can be contacted at [email protected].

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