How Working Remotely has Transformed My Teaching

by Jen Bradley, Associate Professor, Psychology / Applied Psychology

2020 was a rollercoaster of a year. Watching COVID chart its course across the globe from the vantage point of my home office was an experience I will never forget. The virus was frightening, something we could have anticipated only in the most general sense. It left us uncertain how to proceed, acutely aware of our vulnerability. As time passed, we viscerally experienced our species’ superpower: the ability to adapt! In 2021, living with COVID is our “new normal.” Part of that new normal is working remotely, a change that has transformed my job in the best possible ways. Here are the top 5 reasons that working remotely has elevated my teaching, college service, and professional development:

1. There is no wasted time. So much of my day used to include moving from place to place: commuting to and from work, going between my office and different classrooms, walking long distances to different buildings for various meetings… this added up to a lot of time each day! All of those minutes now go to actual work. Freeing up this significant chunk of time has enabled me to explore new teaching strategies, develop new learning content, revise my approach to supporting students, and just generally get more done each week.

2. A coherent approach to work is now possible. In the “before times,” when some of my classes were taught face-to-face and some blended/online, each class had its own rhythms and demands on my time that didn’t mesh together in an ideal way. I was working in different spaces at varying times, which required constant vigilance for having materials where and when I needed them. Office hours fit in where they fit practically in the day, not necessarily at the best time to be most accessible to students. Grading got done last, tucked in around all of the other responsibilities. Now that my courses are all blended/online, every class is on a Monday - Sunday schedule, and the various teaching tasks fall naturally on days of the week. Each week has a rhythm and work is accomplished seamlessly. Most importantly, I can now schedule work tasks according to my priorities, best meeting students’ needs.

3. All of my teaching is equally valued and supported by my institution. There is no question that all faculty and administrators in higher education across the country now recognize the level of skill and talent that it takes to teach well remotely. There is nothing like experience to generate appreciation for the time and effort instructors must invest to master remote course design, develop awareness and working knowledge of technology to support remote instruction, and heighten awareness of best teaching practices in the online environment. Great remote instructors have the same degree of expertise as great face-to-face instructors, and their contributions to higher education are equally valuable. Seeing and hearing all NCC administrators supporting the work instructors do to teach remotely motivates me to continuously “up my game.”

4. Every student gets the support they need. Equity in education! Working remotely has enable me to be available to my students to a degree that was never possible before. It has changed both my office hours and my overall availability. In the “before times,” office hours only “counted” when they were in the office—leaving online students in a secondary status. Now that my office hours are held on zoom, every student has equal access. Even more importantly, because I’m in one place and focused, students now have my undivided attention all day long. Every student receives an individual text greeting from me when they join the course. This sets the stage: it’s safe to talk to me! Then throughout the semester, students message me the moment they have a question or concern and receive a near-instant response. They know I’m always there to help.

5. Students get truly timely feedback that improves their learning (and their grades). Time is precious in a semester. Students who need help need it immediately, or their grades (and their motivation) suffer. While I have always strived to grade assignments quickly and provide meaningful feedback to students in time to make a difference, the grading approaches that are possible when juggling on-campus and remote work are necessarily different than those that are possible with all-remote work. Now I see students’ work minutes to hours after it has been submitted, and I can provide feedback with time for them to revise before grading the final product. This impact on our goals of student retention and completion can’t be overstated.