A Professor’s Pandemic

How one UMN professor has navigated teaching during a pandemic

By Matthew Voigt

The last year has shaken higher education like no other in recent years. Nothing was left untouched, from the rapid switch to virtual learning to adapting policies and calendars to the virtual world. 

In this last year, many things have been discovered and tested in higher education. Since the announcement that the University of Minnesota wasn't going to return to in-person instruction last spring, the vast majority of UMN classes have been taught in some form of online learning. Many UMN professors had to adapt courses to suit online in a brief timeframe in constant flux.

Unlike many UMN professors, Kathryn Pearson wasn't teaching a course last March. Instead, Pearson, a professor in the political science department, was conducting course-related research and advising undergraduate and graduate students. Pearson said that the last time she was in her UMN office was March 16, 2020, at which time she grabbed what she thought she might "need for a couple of weeks." Pearson hasn't been back since. 

Many professionals, like Pearson, haven't stepped foot into physical offices for almost a year. Pearson acknowledged that many people couldn't work from home, and the opportunity to work from home is a privilege. 

"I want to be very clear that I recognize that I am privileged. A lot of people did not have that option, that safety," Pearson said. "A lot of people did not have that option– the ability to safely work from home during a pandemic."

Pearson said that professors at UMN were all given the option to work from home; that will be the case until at least the beginning of August, according to UMN COVID-19 update newsletters sent to faculty and students. Additionally, the way that instructional method and structure of a course is determined is between the college, department, and professor, according to Pearson's experience.

When planning for the fall semester, which for many students was completely virtual, Pearson decided to teach U.S. Campaigns and Elections (POL 3325) as an asynchronous course. Pearson said that she structured the class the way she did so as many students who wanted to take the class could, regardless of schedule constraints, so that the course would be more accessible to a "wide range of students." Pearson said that through her completely asynchronous class, she learned to appreciate one-on-one discussions with students before and after class. 

"I always knew that I value both in-class discussions with students and one-on-one discussions before and after class and during office hours, but teaching class asynchronously made it very clear how much I value these interactions and how beneficial they are to students," said Pearson.

When preparing for the spring semester, Pearson decided to teach her class, Gender, Politics, and Policy in the U.S  (POL 3733), synchronously, but notes her instructional methodology preference isn't valid for all faculty. 

"I– and this is not going to be true for all faculty– but for me, I have a strong preference for synchronous rather than asynchronous because of the student interaction," Pearson said. 

Pearson said that her synchronous class left her "energized" and that she hoped that her students felt the same way. While she thought unsure at first at how it would go, Pearson has felt like the class has been "terrific" despite the circumstances. She also said that attendance for office hours has improved from the baseline pre-pandemic. Although Pearson said she had learned a lot, she said that she wishes she could do more for students. 

“I know students are having a very hard time this year and I am trying to be very accommodating; I wish I could do more to support my students during this pandemic,” Pearson said. “Students are struggling, students have mental health challenges exacerbated by COVID, students are stressed out, students are isolated, this is really hard for students, and I wish that there was more that professors and the University could do to help students during this time.”

While Pearson has had the privilege of teaching remotely, Pearson misses in-person instruction and hopes to return to it in Fall 2021. She also said that she'd be "savvier" with her use of technology and sees it being a helpful tool for future instruction.