Whether in person, virtual or a mixture of the two, instruction at the University of Georgia will look a little different in the fall due to the continued impact of the global pandemic, but much work is underway to ensure that high-quality teaching and learning continues. Faculty members and administrators have spent the summer getting ready for students to return to classrooms—both in buildings and online.
In-person instruction will conclude at Thanksgiving break, with all remaining coursework and final exams moving online following Thanksgiving. The calendar for online final exams will remain as previously set, Dec. 11–17.
“We know that the semester will be impacted significantly by the pandemic and will require flexibility from the entire campus community. However, I know that our faculty and staff are putting every effort possible to make this coming fall as safe and productive as possible while providing the best learning environment for our students,” said Rahul Shrivastav, vice president for instruction.
That starts with a safe and healthy place to learn.
To continue building faculty members’ skills with virtual classes, the Office of Online Learning offered a series of workshops for faculty to learn how to share their expertise more effectively to provide better experiences for their students. Workshop topics covered all aspects of online teaching and learning, including creating content and using video, managing productive online discussions and assessments. Since mid-March, more than 780 faculty members have enrolled in one or more workshops.
The Center for Teaching and Learning also is helping faculty members prepare for the coming semester with “Preparing to Pivot,” a two-week course to help them create an instructional plan for the upcoming semester.
“Through ‘Preparing to Pivot’ we are encouraging faculty to pursue one of several possible models of hybrid instruction: face-to-face online, face-to-face remote and hybrid flexible (or ‘hyflex’),” said Ruth Poproski, associate director for teaching and learning. “In the first two, students rotate between socially distanced face-to-face meetings with their instructor and either online or remote engagement in a course. In the hyflex model, faculty provide face-to-face, online and remote options, and students choose their path through the course based on which engagement method they prefer.”