BU Today Feature: BU Faculty on How They’re Faring with Learn from Anywhere
This article originally appeared in BU Today on October 13, 2020.
In March, when the spread of coronavirus forced BU to cancel in-person classes, in a matter of days faculty were told to start teaching remotely. It was a trial by fire, and it worked, sometimes well, sometimes not so well, but always with the full determination of a faculty that put teaching and learning first.
Three weeks later, when some faculty members were still grappling with how to display documents in Zoom, the University’s Undergraduate and Graduate Working Groups began to formulate a clear longer term plan, one that could carry BU through the fall semester, if that were necessary, and even longer, if that also proved necessary. Their solution was Learn from Anywhere (LfA) a hybrid format that gives students the choice of taking classes in person or remotely. To the distress of many faculty members, LfA required most of them to teach in-person classes, although the number of students in those classes would be greatly reduced to comply with social distancing protocols. Similar hybrid formats have been adopted by more than 600 of the 2,958 colleges and universities tracked by Davidson College’s College Crisis Initiative (C2i) dashboard.
Now, with five weeks of LfA under their belts, how are faculty faring? The answer depends on who you ask, and opinions appear to be dominated by three concerns: the technology can be challenging, the emotional connection with students is hampered, and despite BU’s extremely low rates of positive test results for COVID-19, there is some anxiety about the transmission of the virus. There are also some bright spots: many faculty members are glad to be back in the classroom with students, the technology offers some welcome conveniences, and there is a sense of progress as faculty become more familiar with the technology.
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But how does someone teach a hands-on course like painting to both in-person and remote students? Jill Grimes is finding out. A College of Fine Arts senior lecturer in art and painting, she is teaching two undergraduate painting courses—both hybrid—with roughly a third of the class remote. Grimes has adapted her teaching method to present projects and video demonstrations remotely, while students upload photos of their works in progress, to be reviewed both individually and in group discussions on Zoom.
For remote students, she says, working from models or still life setups can be difficult, so she has integrated projects based on contemporary and historical models into the curriculum. While acknowledging that it’s hard to fully appreciate a painting by looking at a digital image, it does work, she says. “Teaching painting really requires students to gain experience with…paint. And painting requires a place to work, ideally with ventilation, no roommates or family to complain. Figuring out how to be flexible enough to challenge and educate the students that have paint and a place to work,” she says, “along with students that are in isolation, with little or no materials, requires adjusting assignments to fit individual circumstances for some students.”
Logistics are a challenge because of the protocols, Grimes says, “but as everything is right now, we just have to work with it.” The most encouraging thing, she says, has been the response of her students. “Students are natural problem solvers. Their attitude toward this shift to remote and hybrid models reflects their resilience and determination to continue their educational path. Their energy inspires me to make these courses work.”