Even
under normal conditions, writing a syllabus is like
solving a complicated logic puzzle requiring fitting the material into a
certain number
of weeks while avoiding certain obstacles--I need some space between the
exam and the submission of the essay and I can't assign these two
readings back-to-back, so let's put a library tour in the middle. And
then I have to look at all my syllabi together to make sure that I don't
set myself up to respond to drafts from all my students on the same
day. It's a challenge, but I enjoy puzzles so it's one I don't mind
tackling.
This time, though, the obstacles are different. Our fall academic calendar has
changed to streamline the semester: we’ll start early, run straight through
without breaks, and finish by Thanksgiving, and we’ve been advised to make our
classes flexible enough so that we can go online at a moment’s notice if the
pandemic warrants. The new calendar is not a problem, but I’m
encountering some unexpected obstacles.
For
instance: I always enjoy taking my honors students on
a tour of the library. It's fun to watch them discover the joys of
making huge shelves move or finding treasures in Special Collections,
and I always make them check out a book just so I know they know how to
do it. But under social distancing guidelines, how do I take my students
on a library tour? I can't squeeze a dozen students into a confined
space to show them the kinds of resources they'll find in the reference
section, and Special Collections doesn't have space to allow social
distancing for all my students at the same time. If they spread six feet
apart during our tour, I'll have to talk so loudly that we'll disturb
other patrons. Do I break the class into smaller groups and take them on
separate tours? Construct a self-guided scavenger hunt? Cancel the
library tour altogether on the assumption that students will do most of
their research online this fall? Which priorities take precedence:
pedagogy or pandemic prevention?
And that's just one of the many unexpected questions I'm struggling with as I think about fall syllabi. Here are a few others:
If
my film class can't watch face-to-face on the big screen, I can make
them available online through our course management system--but how do I
discourage students from watching films on their tiny smartphone
screens?
I
can commit to doing online writing workshops to minimize time spent
passing papers back and forth in the classroom, but how do I monitor the
quality of the feedback they offer each other without vastly
multiplying my workload? I don't want to read every comment a student
writes on another student's draft!
I
understand that plexiglass dividers are being installed in classrooms
to allow faculty to teach without wearing a mask, but what if I have
trouble staying behind the divider? How do I curtail my tendency to
wander around waving my arms while teaching? Will small-group work be
possible in socially distanced classes and, if so, how do I visit those
small groups without violating social distance?
What
about class presentations? Do I assume that students will be able to
present material face-to-face or schedule all presentations for online
class meetings? Or just ask them to be prepared to do either? If some
students present online while others present in person, how will my
expectations differ? Is it better to require them all to present in the
same way?
This
is just the beginning--I've got two months to mull over these issues
before classes start, and who knows what may happen in that time? It's
like trying to solve a puzzle while the parameters keep
changing--suddenly the borders change or all responses must be written
in Swahili, and then oops! Back to English. At some point I'll get this
all figured out, but meanwhile, you know what's keeping me awake nights.
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