×

Jackie Ham hiking in Lassen Volcanic National Park, California. Facemask required.

Provenance: Jackie Ham
Reuse: This item is offered under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ You may reuse this item for non-commercial purposes as long as you provide attribution and offer any derivative works under a similar license.

From the President by Jackie Hams, Los Angeles Valley Community College, CA

Life During the Pandemic
What a difference a year makes!  My last column was written in pre-pandemic fall 2019 and focused on looking forward to the changes the next decade will bring to education. We are now in a new decade and in the middle of a pandemic that has not only altered education at the primary, secondary, and higher education levels, but everything in our society.

After meeting classes in the traditional way for five weeks during the spring 2020 semester most schools were abruptly closed mid-March and conducted in a remote format for the remainder of the semester. This trend has continued through fall 2020 and may be expected to continue through spring 2021 at some institutions.

The pandemic revealed some important challenges students face regarding technology.  The most surprising to me was that all students do not have access to a reliable internet source.  In addition, many students do not have laptops and relied on campus computer labs to complete work. To address the internet challenge, I give students a much longer time frame to complete assignments in case the inevitable internet outages occur.
There have been some positive outcomes of teaching during the pandemic.  My teaching style has become much more interactive since I began using zoom to conduct lectures last March.  I find that I am learning more creative ways to interact with students using polls, breakout rooms, whiteboards, and a variety of free tools to engage students.  Some of these tools can easily be incorporated with face-to-face teaching when I return to the classroom.

This decade will undoubtedly be defined by the pandemic, but the pandemic will end. Society will reopen with changes, some of which will be for the better.

As we look forward, the 2YC Division welcomes our new officers:

Sean Tvelia, President
Karen Layou, Vice President
Dave Mrofka, Archivist

×

Sean Tvelia shows a giant millipede to some little hikers at North Lake, NY

Provenance: Sean Tvelia
Reuse: This item is offered under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ You may reuse this item for non-commercial purposes as long as you provide attribution and offer any derivative works under a similar license.

From the President by Sean Tvelia, Suffolk County Community College, NY

2020. Along with the devastating impacts on our families, economy, and healthcare system, COVID-19 has affected all aspects of the education system—and community colleges have been hit particularly hard. Along with the challenges of reaching students with limited internet connectivity, balancing course requirements with family and work responsibility (both student and faculty), community colleges serve populations hit particularly hard by the virus itself. Despite the negative, however, we should not lose sight of some positive impacts. Quite honestly, these few positives have kept me and many others going during some of the darkest times of the past two semesters.

Over the last decade, the Geo2YC division has strengthened the network of 2YC faculty across the nation. Without this network, this pandemic's impact on community college teaching would have been far worse. 2YC faculty who are experienced in online and remote education were able to share pedagogical advice and online resources that allowed others to quickly adapt to remote modalities in ways that took into account the unique circumstances of each institution and student population.

Since the pandemic started, this network has shared innovations that not only provide a platform for learning but utilize best practices in accessibility and active learning. Although we long for the day when we can put the pandemic behind us and return to our classrooms and field camps, innovations born from our pandemic response will continue to enrich our field.

Although remote or virtual teaching may not be the best way to learn or experience the geosciences, for many it is the only option—and for too long that population has been underserved. The pandemic has shown us that we can do better. The same technology that allowed us to continue our courses from quarantine also allowed students to virtually tour field sites hundreds or even thousands of miles away. It allowed students to meet and speak with renown researchers and to learn about careers they may not have known even existed. It also allowed community college students to meet and work with peers at four-year institutions and take part in virtual internships—all without departments worrying about the expense or logistic of guest speakers or student travel.

The pandemic has caused higher ed to reflect on our programs and courses in meaningful ways, not just for the sake of delivery but to ensure the content is high quality, relevant, and accessible. The Geo2YC division is no different and over the past year we have missed the one component that better allows us to do all those things: this newsletter. Although events of the last year hindered our ability to provide the newsletter, it also allowed us the opportunity to reimagine what the newsletter can be for all Geo2YC members.

This January we welcomed our newest newsletter editor, Andrea Bair, Associate Professor of Geology at Delta College, Michigan. We also developed a new newsletter template with regular columns that will highlight innovative programs focused on increasing student success, broadening participation, and 2YC-4YC collaborations. In addition, the new template will also include a column dedicated to the concerns of and programs developed by adjunct faculty. It will also enable us to provide you timely notice of upcoming professional development opportunities, potential funding opportunities, and updates from our membership.

Although 2020 was a hard year for many of us, I am excited for what 2021 will bring. I look forward to helping this division grow with the help of current and former officers in the months to come.