What do we do when an undergraduate student lacks a reliable internet connection or laptop? How can we adapt course policies for today’s remote learning environment? What are ways we can redefine course participation when students are experiencing “Zoom fatigue”?
These are just a sample of questions explored in a in a recent virtual workshop at the Global Health Education and Learning Incubator at Harvard University. Facilitated by Undergraduate Pedagogy Fellows from the Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, the workshop explored how Harvard undergraduate students identify, and how their identities intersect with power dynamics in the classroom—with a special focus on virtual teaching and learning. Both through small groups and community dialogue, the workshop participants examined various levels of oppression, with a focus on instructors' interactions with students on the interpersonal level.
The workshop culminated with open discussion, so that participants walked away with a nuanced framework and lens into the Harvard undergraduate experience. Many of the participants, first-time Teaching Fellows at Harvard college, remarked how helpful it was to unpack strategies for supporting their students through these unprecedented times. This workshop builds on GHELI’s ongoing experiments with a variety of instructional approaches in the virtual environment—exploring choices about content and pedagogy design that promote accessibility, inclusion, and connection without physical presence.