Saturday, February 27, 2021 Making the Grade 2021 BerkshireEagle.com | BenningtonBanner.com | ManchesterJournal.com | BrattleboroReformer.com 4
Lessons learned Hybrid, remote teaching likely to stay at most local colleges BY DANNY JIN The Berkshire Eagle
BERKSHIRE EAGLE FILE PHOTO
At Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts In North Adams, Mass., a student receives a temperature check during move-in day in August 2020.
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During a four-week workshop over the summer, faculty members at Berkshire Community College became students — at least when it came to learning strategies for remote and hybrid teaching. Seventy-three of BCC’s 142 fulltime faculty participated in the training. “We wanted faculty to have the student experience, and I think faculty learned a lot from doing that,” said Lauren Foss Goodman, dean of the Pittsfield, Mass., college’s teaching and learning innovation division, which BCC established in 2019. “And every time we got frustration, we pointed out, ‘If you didn’t like how we presented this or what we did, don’t do this to your students.’” Last spring, the novel coronavirus pandemic forced higher education institutions to shift to remote and hybrid teaching. For some, this was an almost entirely new experiment. Others had already planned to expand online offerings, but the pandemic sped up the rollout. “The foundation and all the support structures were there,” Goodman said of the college’s online courses, which have been offered in some capacity since 2001. “We just really, really had to ramp it up.” Five local colleges shared what they learned in the last year, what worked and what didn’t and what they hope to improve on going forward.
Challenges faced When designing online courses, many institutions realized it couldn’t be a one-size fits all virtual learning experience for its student population. It’s important to remember that
students may have a disability, whether they’ve disclosed it or not, said Gerol Petruzella, director of academic technology at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams, Mass.. Landmark College’s online courses, like all of its courses, are “engineered” for students with diverse learning needs. The private college in Putney, Vt., is designed for students with learning disabilities, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder. “Some people are wired differently, and they have some different challenges,” said Landmark President Peter Eden. “Landmark’s model is replete with support systems.” Disparities in access to the internet and technology also present a barrier for some students. At Williams College, in Williamstown, Mass., that meant providing hotspots and other solutions for students working remotely, Dean of the College Marlene Sandstrom wrote in an email.
Measuring success Although grades in the spring and fall were “pretty consistent” with most BCC semesters, there was a slight increase in the number of students who failed courses. That development was “not dramatic, but also not unexpected,” Goodman said. Students — like all of us — faced increased struggles during the pandemic with health, finances, child care and more. To account for this, BCC encouraged faculty to rely less on highstakes, “summative” exams and papers in favor of shorter, “formative” assessments, Goodman said. When faculty give feedback on smaller assignments, students can adjust accordingly. While some private colleges, including Williams College, allowed students to take courses pass/fail, it’s tougher for community colleges to provide those options, Goodman said. Many pass/fail credits cannot be transferred, which is something many community col-
