{"id":65023,"date":"2020-03-23T12:08:26","date_gmt":"2020-03-23T16:08:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.carleton.ca\/?post_type=cu_story&p=65023"},"modified":"2025-09-30T09:21:59","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T13:21:59","slug":"learning-transitions-flexibility-compassion","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/story\/learning-transitions-flexibility-compassion\/","title":{"rendered":"Out of the Classroom: Carleton Transitions With Flexibility and Compassion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Out of the Classroom: Carleton Transitions With Flexibility and Compassion\n <\/h1>\n \n <\/header>\n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/path>\n <\/path>\n <\/svg>\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n

Sarita Cuadros Sanchez, a third-year Biology student at Carleton University, was scheduled for a major end-of-term presentation last week in her advanced microbiology class. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She was nervous. It\u2019s worth 40 per cent of her final mark. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So when Carleton announced a shift to online course delivery and other alternative modes of teaching and learning \u2014 as part of a national effort to slow the spread of COVID-19<\/a> \u2014 Cuadros Sanchez and Prof. Ashkan Golshani came up with a plan. She would do the presentation from home using an online video and screen-sharing platform, with her classmates invited to watch and ask questions remotely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Prof.
Prof. Ashkan Golshani (right) presents an award to a student in 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEverything went really smoothly,\u201d says Cuadros Sanchez, whose presentation happened to focus on protein-to-protein interactions and COVID-19, a topic she choose two months ago when Golshani asked students to propose relevant research projects in understudied areas. \u201cIt lasted for almost an hour and there were lots of questions and a really good discussion at the end. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m amazed by how fast and how well my transition to online is going,\u201d she continues, explaining that two of her other courses now revolve around uploaded digital lectures, and that she\u2019ll be making a poster instead of doing a presentation as the final project in a lab-based course for which the hands-on experiments were already completed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt feels good that our professors are here to support us no matter what,\u201d says Cuadros Sanchez. \u201cThat\u2019s really important at a time like this. <\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cEverything is changing quickly, but we\u2019re all learning and adjusting. We are one community and we all want to make the situation better. And it\u2019s important to have something to focus on, instead of just sitting at home and worrying.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Cuadros Sanchez\u2019s experience is by no means unique. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the past week, as Carleton responded to an unprecedented global health crisis, faculty and staff have demonstrated a commitment to being compassionate and flexible with students \u2014\u202fand to keeping the university\u2019s core academic mission on track. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe past week has seen absolutely unprecedented change come to our campus,\u201d Carleton President Benoit-Antoine Bacon told the community last Friday, \u201cand the way that our entire community has reacted to this rapidly evolving, stressful situation has been nothing short of phenomenal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Out<\/figure>\n\n\n

Reassurance for Students is Key<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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For Prof. Stephanie Carvin<\/a>, an international relations scholar at Carleton\u2019s Norman Paterson School of International Affairs<\/a>, one of the top priorities when corresponding and talking with students is reassurance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey take their grades seriously and worry about normal things such as getting assignments finished on time,\u201d she says. \u201cThat can be stressful at the best of times. Then something like COVID-19 emerges.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Prof.
Prof. Stephanie Carvin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The first thing that Carvin emphasizes in emails to students is that they won\u2019t be penalized amid all this uncertainty. She also promises to take their individual circumstances into consideration when she\u2019s grading, consults them before deciding how to redistribute marks when quizzes are cancelled, and shares links to counselling services and other wellness supports. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a graduate seminar she\u2019s teaching this semester, Carvin gave students three options for their final presentations: they could record and upload video\/PowerPoint presentations; they could do presentations live to her using the Zoom platform; or they could do it live for the whole class using Zoom. Moreover, if any student had limited access to high-speed Internet, they could reach out to her privately with their concerns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carvin concedes she has an advantage over some faculty \u2014\u202fsince 2017, she has produced and hosted a podcast on Canadian national security law and policy<\/a> with a collaborator at the University of Ottawa, and she\u2019s already adept at using platforms such as a Zoom, Kaltura and BigBlueButton. She has also held online office hours before. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur students live online and are used to being connected all the time,\u201d she says, \u201cso this is probably more of an adjustment for some professors.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Prof.
Prof. Craig Forcese<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To ease the transition, Carvin and Prof. Craig Forcese\u2019s Intrepid podcast recently released an episode dedicated to helping their academic colleagues<\/a> convert their courses to online delivery on very short notice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among their tips are to not simply record an hour-long lecture but to structure the material into a series of shorter segments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe can all learn from this,\u201d says Carvin, \u201cand there could be opportunities to figure out how to incorporate new technologies into our classes going forward.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n

\"Out<\/figure>\n\n\n

Profs Are Learning New Technologies Quickly<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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Neuroscience Prof. Alfonso Abizaid<\/a> is one of the older-school faculty members who has had to learn new technologies on the fly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s been easy to adapt the PhD-level seminar he\u2019s teaching since it involves just a few people. Meetings and presentations can continue on platforms such as Zoom. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For his third-year Neuroscience class on hormones and how they influence the brain to modify behaviour, Abizaid has been recording video lectures for the 100 or so students. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m not a technology expert, but even I can use these tools fairly easily,\u201d he says, adding that he\u2019s test driving material with his teaching assistants and asking for feedback from students so he can refine his approach in the days, weeks, and possibly months ahead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abizaid is also trying to be as flexible and compassionate as possible with students. <\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cYour year is not in jeopardy, your graduation is not in jeopardy,\u201d he tells them. \u201cWe\u2019ll work through this together. Whatever it takes. Even if I have to learn how to code.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Thanks to Carleton\u2019s Teaching and Learning Services<\/a> (TLS) unit \u2014\u202fwhom Abizaid calls \u201cthe real heroes\u201d \u2014\u202fand portals such as cuLearn<\/a>, professors and students have a wide spectrum of digital options and support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"David
Professor of International Affairs and the Associate Vice-President (Teaching and Learning) David J. Hornsby<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

David Hornsby<\/a>, the university\u2019s associate vice-president (Teaching and Learning), who oversees about five dozen staff in areas such as the Educational Development Centre and Instructional Media Services, is quick to praise his colleagues and Carleton\u2019s proactive approach. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With around 80 per cent of classes already incorporating cuLearn for some of their material before the crisis, TLS was able to quickly develop and share resources to support the pivot to everything going online. That entailed providing tools to help people upload or access content, ensuring there was enough bandwidth, replying rapidly to phone and email questions, and sharing advice in areas such as how to study effectively online<\/a> and how to keep on teaching<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cThis is a not a complete rethink of our courses but a triage moment,\u201d says Hornsby, who shared his expertise as a guest on the Intrepid podcast.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m incredibly proud of my colleagues. I\u2019ve always felt confident in their professionalism. But this shows that Carleton is a leader in teaching and learning across Canada. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur faculty and staff are really committed to our students and our academic mission,\u201d he continues, \u201cand this was clearly apparent throughout the past week. Their commitment to knowledge and to student success will carry classes through to the successful completion of the term.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n

New Ways of Assessing Students<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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For some faculty at Carleton, such as Political Science Prof. Jonathan Malloy<\/a>, navigating the change to online teaching has led to valuable reflection and revision. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m still figuring out how to teach what still needs to be learned and how to do it,\u201d he said on Twitter. \u201cBut it\u2019s allowing me to focus even more on the objectives, not \u2018I guess you guys need to know this\u2019 content. And to experiment with new ways of delivery, which is (almost) fun.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For others, such as Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Prof. Jeremy Lalibert\u00e9<\/a>, who is juggling an undergraduate course with 120 students, a graduate course, students doing their major fourth-year capstone projects and the thesis graduate students he\u2019s supervising, the focus has been on shifting to online teaching and figuring out alternatives to in-person final exams and other assessments, with research projects on the backburner for now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Jeremy
Jeremy Lalibert\u00e9 (right), director of Carleton Aerospace and associate professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When Lalibert\u00e9 records lectures, which he\u2019s doing in 20-minute segments using slides and virtual whiteboards in addition to video, he can pause and edit content \u2014 something you can\u2019t do live in front of a class. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thankfully, it\u2019s near the end of the term, says Lalibert\u00e9, so most of the hands-on work has been completed and most of the data students need for presentations and projects has been collected. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a big test for all of us,\u201d he says, \u201cand the key for me has been flexibility.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Food Science instructor Martha Healey reports that the first class she taught last week using BigBlueButton passed the test with flying colours. <\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cEvery student showed up (at 8:35 a.m. no less) and was fully engaged,\u201d she wrote in an email.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cThe class ran right to full time. The students muted\/unmuted themselves and we kept an eye on the public chat for the one person who didn\u2019t have a microphone.\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe students all participated throughout the class. When we took our usual break (it is a three-hour lecture), a number of my students turned on their webcams, introduced their pets and just talked to each other. It was fantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond these examples of individual effort and success, Carleton is constantly offering support, including a series of online training workshops on digital tools<\/a>, and planning ahead to offer all summer courses online or through distance learning<\/a>, with registration delayed to mid-April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a sense of normalcy that remains because of all the work of staff and professors,\u201d says fourth-year Linguistics student Talia Tahtadjian. \u201cI\u2019ve been really impressed. I\u2019m getting frequent and clear communication from everybody and so far the transition has been seamless.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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—
\nMore Stories<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sarita Cuadros Sanchez, a third-year Biology student at Carleton University, was scheduled for a major end-of-term presentation last week in her advanced microbiology class. She was nervous. It\u2019s worth 40 per cent of her final mark. So when Carleton announced a shift to online course delivery and other alternative modes of teaching and learning \u2014 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":410,"featured_media":65033,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"cu_story_type":[25,1592,19],"cu_story_tag":[],"class_list":["post-65023","cu_story","type-cu_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","cu_story_type-student-experience","cu_story_type-teaching-learning","cu_story_type-technology-innovation"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":"blueprint"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/65023","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/cu_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/410"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/65023\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":97210,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/65023\/revisions\/97210"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65023"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"cu_story_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_type?post=65023"},{"taxonomy":"cu_story_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_tag?post=65023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}