Photo collage of instructors at WCC who are motivated and happy to continue their in-person sessions. Collage by Lauren Brutger | Washtenaw Voice
A look into how things are going for WCC instructors
by ETHAN BERMAN
Staff Writer
Since the WCC campus’ fall reopening, a few faculty members have wanted to express how they feel about being back:
David Wooten
Image courtesy of David Wooten
Some faculty may have difficulties adjusting after returning to campus; however, David Wooten, a field biology teacher, eagerly waited to return to campus life for over a year.
“Being back on campus with students feels like a return back to normality; it feels like coming back home after being away and trying to maintain a long-distance connection,” said Wooten. “The ability for science classes, especially those with labs, to have hands-on learning opportunities is irreplaceable.”
Wooten understands that some students and teachers cannot safely attend in-person classes and says safety must come first. In this regard, he thinks the virtual aspect is a good substitute.
“Beyond that, I’m old school and don’t think you can ever replace quality education with Zoom meetings and computer-based learning.
“I look forward to the day when we’re all back in the classroom and teaching again,” Wooten said.
Wooten believes that the world has discovered, by necessity, a new type of teaching modality that may work well for some courses and some students. Additionally, he added that synchronous virtual learning has a niche and can work in certain circumstances.
“For example, a web-design course may work online more effectively than a welding or biology course. I’m sure that virtual learning will be with us to some extent from now on,” said Wooten.
Dena Blair
Courtesy of Dena Blair
Of course, not all teachers benefited from online learning. Dena Blair, a communications teacher at WCC, taught in-person classes last fall amidst the pandemic. She has since missed the previous classroom interactions with her students.
“Given the fact that the class is radio, and the radio station is on campus, we have to be able to use the station,” said Blair. “So now that I’ve been back here for two days a week with two full classes, it’s been fantastic. I missed my students, and I enjoy the interactions and my job—I love working with the students.”
Since on-campus classes require masks, and most virtual courses don’t require cameras to be on, Blaire’s dilemma has been deciphering students’ facial expressions. Blair has had to adjust to watching cues more closely—making it more difficult to confirm if students understand the content.
“The only thing I would say is that, because I am a communication instructor, it is difficult to read the non-verbals of my students,” Blair said. “It can be difficult because I can’t see that the understanding is happening. But again, we want everyone to be safe, so I’m fine with this.”
Overall, Blair expressed her love of being back in the classroom with the students. She finds it more engaging and interactive, adding that she dearly missed it.
“For me, from a communications perspective, there’s nothing quite like being with the students and watching and interacting with their learning as we go about our class times. I’m happy I’m back.”
Jill Jepsen
Courtesy of Jill Jepsen
Jill Jepsen, an art teacher at WCC, taught in person during the 2020 fall semester and again this fall. She expressed her absolute delight in being back on campus and having the communication and personability aspect again.
“It’s a joy to see my colleagues; it feels like I’m back with my family,” said Jepsen. “One thing I particularly liked this fall is whenever I’d walk over to the IT building, I’d see students hammocking, playing Frisbee, and I’d just think, ‘this is what it used to be.’ It’s so nice to see that again.”
Jepsen is content with how things are going so far. She remains hopeful that we won’t have to experience more shutdowns and social isolation, further explaining that she wants her students to have the whole experience of her classes.
“I don’t want to go through the whole back-and-forth thing with the shutdowns again, and so I hope we can return to a nice consistency because I enjoy being here again,” said Jepsen.” I get recharged as an instructor when I walk through the halls and see students studying and interacting with each other.”
Jepsen understands that it will likely be a long time before everything goes back to complete normalcy, as in how it was before the pandemic.
“At this time, this is as close as it’s going to get to how it used to be. I appreciate being back on campus and feeling the students’ energy, and seeing them work hard once more. It’s nice to have communication with my students in real-time,” said Jepsen.
What’s the vibe?
Courtesy of Kimberly Hurns
Kimberly Hurns, the executive VP of instruction and academic affairs, said a majority of the teachers are elated to be teaching on campus again. According to Hurns, approximately 30% of the lecture (general education) classes have been on campus since last winter semester.
However, the occupational (technical) classes have had to power through—since most of them require hands-on learning. About 75% or more of the teachers in occupational courses have been on campus since the beginning of the pandemic.
“A lot of work has gone into the development of our virtual classes,” said Hurns. “Many of them didn’t exist before COVID-19 started. We see a lot of success in those classes. Students are thriving in them, and it’s provided a certain level of flexibility they didn’t have before COVID-19 started.”
Hurns believes that, overall, faculty have been outstanding with adapting to the change in modality and that this change created an opportunity for growth. “We’re really proud of that,” she said.
