WASHINGTON, PA (April 16, 2020) – As she did at the beginning of every semester, English Professor 琳达·特罗斯特博士.D. photographed her students in their seats this past January to help her match names to faces in her small class. She didn’t know then that the resulting photograph itself would, in a way, become her audience.
So it goes for the teaching life amidst the Covid-19 pandemic as colleges and universities across the country adjust to a new normal outside the traditional classroom. These days, Troost, who has been teaching at 华盛顿 & det365app in for 35 years, now records a weekly series of short class lectures—like podcasts, she says—from her living room, 独自一人. In front of her: a computer screen, notes, and the picture of her students.
“It gives me a sense of who my audience is,” said Troost of her now-cherished 8 and a half-inch by 11-inch reminder of whom she is educating. Asked if she realized when she took the photo how important it would become during these self-quarantined circumstances, 她很快就回答了, “Oh, 我的天啊, no.”
Having that virtual audience in front of her, Troost说, also helps her to remember to keep her lectures compelling in front of the camera. That can prove challenging in her higher-level Survey of British Literature, and History of Literary Theory and Criticism courses, which include her recorded lectures, reading and blogging assignments, 电子邮件讨论链, 定期的小测验.
“I’ve always thought of teaching as sort of stand-up comedy,” she says. “我的父亲, 路德教牧师, 我总是说, 教育和告知, you have to think about how to move people. So I work more these days on trying to do that.”
No stranger to advanced computer technology, Troost nonetheless said her secret to success so far has been to keep things simple for her students. That’s why she has managed her class from a single digital platform, Sakai Learning 管理 System, 在校园内广泛使用.
“I keep the platform simple, and I do everything in small units,” she said. “It’s very easy to adapt to my course. I understand how fragile Internet connections can be and what it’s like to not have a good connection.”
And the photograph of her students, she said, just makes that connection better.
This article is part of 共同繁荣的, a series of articles and videos showcasing the ways in which W&J community members are here for each other during this unprecedented time. Read other articles in the series in the W&J新闻板块.
对华盛顿 & det365app
华盛顿 & det365app, located in 华盛顿, Pa., is a selective liberal arts college founded in 1781. Committed to providing each of its students with the highest-quality undergraduate education available, W&J offers a traditional arts and sciences curriculum emphasizing interdisciplinary study and independent study work. For more information about W&J,访问 epm.lookforstudies.com，或致电888 - w -和-杰.