Shifting to online instruction in the epicenter of a U.S. pandemic

New York City became the epicenter of the coronavirus within the United States. Over the span of just a few weeks, we went from zero cases, to one case, to having our intensive care units overrun with thousands of people in need of life support, to the military setting up makeshift hospitals in our main convention center, tents set up in the middle of Central Park, and a naval hospital on the Hudson River.It was early March 2020 when news of a novel coronavirus began to dominate news stories across the United States. We had heard about a virus spreading rapidly across China and Europe. In past years, fears of other viruses such as SARS, swine flu, and Ebola had caused false alarm that led to my own belief that the United States would have safeguards in place to ensure that the coronavirus would not reach our country. However, when news of the virus causing extreme loss of life in Italy began to surface, I became concerned.I am an adjunct professor at a university in Queens, New York, and a group of my students from the semester prior had shared their planning and excitement anticipating their once in a lifetime opportunity to study abroad during the spring 2020 semester in Italy. Before class we would discuss their hopes and fears as well as the financial burden placed on their families. Once I realized my former students may have been at risk of contracting the virus, I emailed the group to check in and confirm they were safe and well. The students responded immediately to inform me that the university had decided it was best that they return to the states, complete the rest of the semester online, and choose to quarantine in their homes for at least 14 days. I was relieved to learn that my students were at home reunited with their families, until just before the end of our initial communication they shared that although the media had been reporting a series of screening procedures at American airports, they were not screened either leaving Italy or returning to the United States. They explained that there was a very low risk any students could be infected because the region they were living in had no reported cases. Even though these students assured me that they were well, a feeling of panic began to set in.A first report of a woman who had recently traveled outside the United States and resided in New York City emerged. Soon after, a lawyer working in Midtown Manhattan who had not left his hometown or the city, was reported as infected with the possibility of having spread the virus to hundreds of others. At first, my understanding of this virus led me to believe that only the elderly or immune-compromised could be infected, but within 1 day, I learned that no one was safe. This vicious virus could be contracted by the young and old, as well as the sick or healthy.On March 6, the university sent out an email to faculty notifying them of a “contingency plan,” which included a trial run of online classes on March 10 and 11. Faculty were asked to test their ability to navigate online teaching resources and conduct either synchronous or asynchronous instruction. At this time, I was confident that the test run was strictly precautionary, and I believed face-to-face classes would resume the following week. Students and faculty were told to expect either short-term (14 days) or long-term disruption (14+ days). However, March 9 ended up being our last face-to-face class, even though that was not completely certain at the time. The entire class was present that day, and they appeared to be concerned. The conversations kept coming back to “do you really think this is going to happen?” I felt as if my role as a professor shifted to the role of a parent, trying to comfort them by saying “everything is going to be okay” and making all these promises while knowing inside that I had no experience with online teaching. I was trying to comfort them, but I had no idea what was really going to happen.Once the news that my state could potentially be the epicenter of the pandemic began to spread, the panic of creating an emergency response plan for online instruction set in. The university sent emails saying they would support the faculty, but it was clear they shared the same uncertainty. Department heads asked all faculty to navigate online resources as a way to troubleshoot any issues that could arise while our information technology department was still available. I was confident that I would be able to provide instruction remotely after I had learned how to locate and utilize online teaching and feedback tools available on Blackboard and during a few over-the-phone coaching sessions with a member of our information technology department. The university made swift decisions to fully transition to online learning the week of March 16, 2020. To my surprise, within days, most U.S. universities including my own chose to transition to fully online instruction for the remainder of the semester.In what follows, I share the story of teaching in the U.S. epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic. First, I share my initial plan to successfully provide online instruction and avoid anticipated barriers that may have occurred. Next, I detail student reactions to my intervention strategies and my observations related to student performance during extended online instruction. I also describe barriers to student success such as developing feelings of anxiety and contracting the illness as well as working through my own COVID-19 infection. Finally, I explain how I determined the end of term grades while staying true to my personal vow to maintain a fair stance toward grading during this unprecedented time. Within each of these sections, I describe my journey: my initial plan and what actually happened, including roadblocks, my internal struggles, and what the outcome was. I conclude by reflecting on key themes from this unexpected journey and offer questions for readers to ponder as we move forward in a year where institutions of higher education will continue to grapple with COVID-19.The first day of our switch to online classes was the day student midterm presentations were scheduled to take place. 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