Faculty question #3 What stood out to you about the nature of face-to-face learning in contrast to online learning and teaching?

Bill Machold, MM,
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF MUSIC, DIRECTOR OF BANDS
For me, it reaffirmed the positive effect of face-to-face learning in the community environment that college campuses provide. Though they adapted, I know that students missed learning in a classroom setting and having the opportunity to share and collaborate with their peers. We also greatly missed making music together in our ensembles such as band, jazz band, and choir. That can’t be effectively recreated online and is a huge part of a student’s musical education. I hope that this experience will help people realize that our higher learning institutions are important and need support.
Brian D. Royer,
MS, LMHC, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE		 During face-to-face learning, you have the ability to gauge whether the students are grasping specific concepts, by their body language and type of questions they ask.
Anna Shajirat, PhD,
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH		 Because I did not do synchronous video chats, writing was the only medium that my students and I used to interact with one another after we went online. While this provided flexibility and accessibility for students, it meant that we could no longer engage in person or in real-time. Not having these interpersonal interactions made me realize how crucial they are to any classroom experience. Chatting informally with students before class, joking, starting spontaneous digressions are all lost online and, for me, are some of the most enjoyable moments in face-to-face learning. While teaching my students content is the priority in the classroom, interpersonal engagement is enjoyable for students and myself and facilitates and supplements learning in a way that cannot be replicated online.
Minerva Cruz,
PhD, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
OF HEALTH CARE ADMINISTRATION		 In a face-to-face learning environment, there is interaction in the classroom. We can tell if students are learning or if they have any questions about the material. We can see their faces; we can ‘read’ their body languages. Also, other students in the classroom can answer questions they may have about the material, either when they work in groups or when they interact with each other in the classroom. Although we can create forums in Moodle when teaching online courses, the ‘real’ interaction between students and professors and students with students may be lost if everyone does not put that extra effort. In the classroom, everyone can respond to situations much quicker and simultaneously. However, when students understand their role and responsibilities as students, I do not think it would matter that much if a class is online or in the classroom. Students will equally succeed in either environment. I do think our students understand we professors are there to guide them all the way through and that we feel passion for what we do.
Kimberly Hale, PhD, CHAIR,
DIVISION OF SCIENCES AND
TECHNOLOGY; PROFESSOR
OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES		 I actually found that the students who were most engaged in face-to-face classes were also the most engaged in virtual classes. Virtual classes – doing the lectures, recording them, and posting them- took much more time than expected.
Eylsia Mahoney, MS,
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF SPORT MANAGEMENT		 Email and text instruction and interaction cannot take the place of face-to-face interaction and instruction. We all need to see someone’s face and body language to truly understand the meaning of their words. The human interaction component of learning is essential.