(Courtesy of Touro College) Mid-March saw colleges everywhere moving classes online. Marian Stoltz-Loike, dean of Touro’s Lander College for Women and VP for online learning at Touro, discusses how students and faculty fared this semester and the lessons learned moving forward.
What was the online experience like for students at Touro’s Lander College for Women this semester?
Getting to know your professors is an important part of the Lander experience. All of our classes are small—20 or fewer—whether they are delivered online or in a classroom. That means that professors are able to get to know each student individually, even when classes are online. In addition to using Zoom for classes, our professors held office hours online to meet with students one on one. They were available to answer student questions about coursework or to offer career advice. Many professors also used breakout rooms in Zoom to enable students to work in small groups.
How would you grade the spring semester?
It was surprisingly effective. I have received several emails from students telling me how satisfied they were with online education at the college. They told me that they learned what they hoped to in their courses and felt that their teachers and administrators really cared about their health and well-being during this turbulent time. Of course, we look forward to continuous improvement!
How did Touro prepare faculty to teach online?
We already had a top-notch online education team in place, and that was an invaluable asset. They held weekly webinars and drop-in sessions for faculty throughout the spring semester. They hosted peer-to-peer training and one-on-one training. All of this culminated in an Online Education Summit attended by 300 faculty members, designed to provide skills training and peer-to-peer learning. The team is now developing several sites to enable faculty to build greater depth and breadth in online education.
How did you deliver career services?
Our career services staff continued to meet with students via Zoom. They also pivoted to help students prepare for virtual interviews—helping them to think through how to engage with the interviewer and how to dress for an online interview. They had to prepare students for this new experience. In a face-to-face interview, people typically use nonverbal cues to get the attention of an interviewer. We taught students how to do that online. Additionally, being prepared is even more important in online interviews. While interviewers may understand that sometimes family situations can be complicated, even during an interview, students need to stay calm amidst unexpected interruptions, or even be prepared to make a joke about it. Going forward, we will continue to help students prepare for both online and face-to-face interviews.
What will the coming semesters be like at Touro’s Lander College for Women?
We have learned that our students appreciate flexibility. Once the pandemic ends, we will provide our students with more choices in how they would like to take classes—Zoom or online. I’m looking forward to helping faculty build more skills in remote teaching so that they can deliver greater value to our students.
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