Teaching During COVID-19 Times: A Community College Perspective

Abstract

In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic altered instructional and learning strategies at institutions across the globe. This emergency transition to remote instruction (ETRI) resulted in ambiguity regarding what to teach, how to teach, and instructor and student workload. We report on a survey-based study of 44 community college (CC) faculty at 16 institutions, with the aim of documenting how our CC faculty colleagues perceived the ETRI, the challenges they faced, and the resources that were—or would have been—most helpful. We conclude with recommendations, in the words of participating faculty, to address prevailing concerns voiced by these instructors: namely, the lack of student–faculty interactions in the online space, concerns about student access to resources, and the demand for authentic research or lab experiences.