Crisis – What Crisis?

Experiencing the shift: How postsecondary contract and continuing faculty moved to online course delivery

“…The pandemic brought an intensive period of work for contract as well as continuing faculty (Goedegebuure & Meek, 2021). The results of this study make it clear that the perceived advantages to online teaching were experienced by both contract faculty and continuing faculty in a similar way, although contract faculty added more frequent student interaction to their courses.…”

“…It is also likely that classic contract faculty experiences with communities of learning and online teaching in schools prior to teaching at the university may have led them to expect more frequent student interaction. In light of our growing awareness of the experiences of isolation and loneliness experienced by faculty and students during the pandemic (Goedegebuure & Meek, 2021), increased online engagement may be a welcome antidote for some and an additional burden for others. Interestingly, two contract faculty described adding individual synchronous sessions as a way of supporting struggling students or students experiencing learning difficulties.…”

“…Contributing to the complexity of the shift to online learning was a growing awareness that additional attention needed to be placed on student wellness during this period (Burns et al, 2020;Hill et al, 2020). The isolation resulting from the shift to online learning impacted productivity, creativity, and mental well-being of students and faculty members alike (Goedegebuure & Meek, 2021). Working, learning, and caregiving from home made finding quiet, uninterrupted space a rarity, further enhancing the inequities experienced amongst faculty members (Metcalfe, 2021).…”

Foreword

“…All these phenomena are taking place in the context of rapidly changing information and communication technologies which have the possibilities of enhancing teaching and learning in higher education. Especially the last year with its abrupt demand for online or virtual forms of education in times of social distancing regulations and closed campuses around the world has highlighted both the potential and the pitfalls in the interaction between learning and information technology (Goedegebuure and Meek 2021).…”

From Elite to Expendable

“…Instead, the only firm prediction this paper can offer is that professors, like personnel in sectors all across Canada, will face future crises, both unexpected and expected. Since the latter category allows for some anticipation of these future events, this paper concludes by outlining current tensions in public discourse that have become and will likely continue to be the focus of professors' self-reflective academic pursuits in coming days (Goedegebuure & Meek, 2021;Norris, 2020).…”