The Influence of Public Health Faculty on College and University Plans During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The purpose of this study was to explore whether the institutional presence of public health expertise within colleges and universities was associated with operational plans for the fall semester of 2020. Using cross-sectional data collected by the College Crisis Initiative of Davidson College, six levels of instructional modalities (ranked from least to most restrictive) were compared between Council on Education of Public Health (CEPH)-accredited and non-CEPH-accredited 4-year institutions. Institutions with CEPH-accredited schools and programs were more likely to select some restrictive teaching modalities: 63.8% more likely to use hybrid/hyflex or more restrictive and 66.9% more likely to be primarily online (with some in person) or more restrictive. However, having CEPH-accredited programs did not push institutions to the most restrictive modalities. COVID-19 cases in county, enrollment, and political affiliation of the state governor were also found to be associated with instructional modality selection. While any ecological study has certain limitations, this study suggests that college and university fall plans may have been influenced by the presence of CEPH-accredited schools and programs of public health, and/or the input of their faculty. The influence of relevant faculty expertise on institutional decision-making can help inform college and university responses to future crises.

Navigating Performance-Based Assessments in Unprecedented Times

This chapter focuses on the implementation of performance-based assessments (PBAs) at the Auburn University Harrison School of Pharmacy (AUHSOP) during the COVID-19 pandemic, when shifts were made to a fully remote delivery of the pharmacy curriculum in March 2020 and then altered to a hybrid delivery in the fall semester in which students returned to campus in a limited capacity. In addition to describing adaptations made due to curriculum delivery changes for each professional year, the chapter will provide specific challenges encountered while planning and implementing PBAs with a focus on factors related to students, standardized persons (SPs), and logistics. Student and SP perceptions of remote PBA delivery will be presented as well as strategies for improvement of future PBA events.

New Approaches in Political Science Education

This study will assess the use of films as an assistive educational tool in the course of political science and the effects it will have. Firstly, the use of films as an assistive tool in the teaching process will be discussed, and this subject will be analyzed in terms of political science education. Secondly, the effect of the use of films in the course will be discussed with the practice conducted in the “Introduction to Political Science” course by the researcher in the 2018-2019 fall semester. The researcher assigned the films in accordance with the syllabus of the course and gave as a homework for the students to watch, and after watching these films, the researcher asked the students to evaluate them in parallel with the subjects of political science and concepts which they have learned. As a result, the study revealed that films can have a positive effect as an assistive tool in political science education.

Teaching Soldiers French: How Motivation Affects Their Success

The paper deals with problematic of teaching adults a second foreign language. The article has focused on the groups of young soldiers who attended French courses for a period of two to four weeks during the fall semester of 2020 in the COVID pandemic situation. The main objective of the paper is to help teachers better plan teaching for specific groups of students.

La didattica dell’italiano a distanza: un case study

ABSTRACT: Questo saggio si propone il fine di misurare l’impatto della transizione dalla didattica in aula a quella a distanza nel contesto dei corsi di italiano per principianti offerti, nel semestre autunnale 2020, dal Programma di Italiano dell’università canadese Dalhousie. Prendendo simultaneamente in considerazione i risultati del feedback formale e informale fornito dagli allievi, i dati raccolti tramite la ricerca-azione e l’osservazione dei corsi da parte di specialisti esterni, e una molteplicità di parametri valutativi, il presente intervento mira a delineare alcuni vantaggi e svantaggi dell’insegnamento a distanza dell’italiano come lingua straniera.Parole-chiave: Didattica dell’italiano. Glottotecnologie. Ricerca-azione. RESUMO: Este artigo analisa o impacto da transição das aulas presenciais ao formato virtual, especificamente no contexto das três seções do curso “Italiano para Iniciantes” oferecido no segundo semestre de 2020 pelo Programa de Italiano da Universidade de Dalhousie, Canadá. Justapondo os feedbacks formais e informais dos alunos, os dados recebidos da observação de terceiros através de pesquisa-ação e as avaliações de diversos indicadores de sucesso, este artigo visa delinear algumas vantagens, bem como os principais desafios, do ensino a distância do italiano enquanto idioma estrangeiro.Palavras-chave: Didática do italiano. Glototecnologias. Pesquisa-ação. ABSTRACT: This paper scrutinizes the impact of the transition from face-to-face teaching to online instruction, in the context of the Italian for Beginners courses offered in the fall semester 2020 by the Italian Program at Dalhousie University, Canada. By juxtaposing the student’s formal and informal feedback, the input received from third-party observation via action-research, and the assessment of a variety of indicators of success, this paper aims at outlining some advantages, as well as the main challenges, inscribed into at-distance teaching of Italian as a foreign language.Key words: Teaching Italian as a foreign language. At-distance instruction. Action-research.

An investigation of occupational burnout levels of Turkish EFL teachers by various variables

This study aims to investigate the occupational burnout levels of Turkish EFL teachers by various variables. The general survey method was used in the study. The data were collected by creating a scale in the Google forms. The study group of the research consists of 365 EFL teachers working in the fall semester between January and March 2021. In this study, the Teacher Burnout Scale developed by Kaner, Şekercioğlu, and Yellice (2008) was used. According to the results of the research, no significant relationship was found between the burnout levels of Turkish EFL teachers and the variables of gender, marital status, and economic level. On the other hand, it was seen that the variables of professional seniority, getting support from colleagues and administrators affected the burnout levels of the teachers. The findings were discussed in relation to the literature and suggestions were made. Keywords: EFL teachers; Turkish EFL teachers; professional burnout

Notes From the Field (From the Desk): To Hold

The last seminar of my “Introduction to Literary Theories” course in the fall semester of 2020 involved really difficult material on gender and race; it was exposing; none of the students had their cameras on. I was nearly in tears. Kept composure. We had been navigating well through the semester, with this and the other first-year module on poetry—subjects adjacent to theatre as a result of my situation within a department of English literature. This semester, I've been more bold, gently asking students to turn cameras on; I remember, though, always, Owen Parry's articulation of audience participation at the start of a Zoom event for the Welsh National Theatre. Some people hang back; some people are highly present (front-row types—I was always one of those); but all of this is good.1 I've been relaxing my need to “see” everyone out there. As a committed lecturer—a relapsed performer who has found solace in lecture stages—I'm always keen to read the room, normally; to see body posture, faces, engagement or puzzlement, and to respond to this; everything nonverbal that goes on. I was devastated, unsurprised, at the end of a conversation with a colleague on the development of what may become a major “Creative Hub,” to hear that our lecture halls might be replaced with sort of multifunction rooms, as if movable chairs meant we could suddenly be free. I think not enough is understood of the theatre of a lecture hall—the theatricality, the performativity, of what goes on—ways this is live, deeply so; ways students are not “passive” at all listening. That we don't need to go to “participatory art” in order to find ourselves within an ethical, social, committed space together; everything of that sort is lost with screens, or nearly. The sentiment of speaking out into a void.

K-12 School Teaching Posture Correlates with COVID-19 Disease Outcomes in Ohio

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, most US K-12 schools shutdown and millions of students began remote learning. By September 2020, little guidance had been provided to school districts to inform fall teaching. This indecision led to a variety of teaching postures within a given state. In this report we examine Ohio school districts in-depth, to address whether on-premises teaching impacted COVID-19 disease outcomes in that community. We observed that counties with on-premises teaching had more cumulative deaths at the end of fall semester than counties with predominantly online teaching. To provide a measure of disease progression, we developed an observational disease model and examined multiple possible confounders, such as population size, mobility, and demographics. Examination of micropolitan counties revealed that the progression of COVID-19 disease was faster during the fall semester in counties with predominantly on-premises teaching. The relationship between increased disease prevalence in counties with on-premises teaching was not related to deaths at the start of the fall semester, population size, or the mobility within that county. This research addresses the critical question whether on-premises schooling can impact the spread of epidemic and pandemic viruses and will help inform future public policy decisions on school openings.

Informing University COVID-19 Decisions Using Simple Compartmental Models

Tracking the COVID-19 pandemic has been a major challenge for policy makers. Although, several efforts are ongoing for accurate forecasting of cases, deaths, and hospitalization at various resolutions, few have been attempted for college campuses despite their potential to become COVID-19 hot-spots. In this paper, we present a real-time effort towards weekly forecasting of campus-level cases during the fall semester for four universities in Virginia, United States. We discuss the challenges related to data curation. A causal model is employed for forecasting with one free time-varying parameter, calibrated against case data. The model is then run forward in time to obtain multiple forecasts. We retrospectively evaluate the performance and, while forecast quality suffers during the campus reopening phase, the model makes reasonable forecasts as the fall semester progresses. We provide sensitivity analysis for the several model parameters. In addition, the forecasts are provided weekly to various state and local agencies.

The Influence of Public Health Faculty on College and University Plans during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the institutional presence of public health faculty within colleges and universities influenced operational plans for the fall semester of 2020. Using cross-sectional data collected by the College Crisis Initiative of Davidson College, six levels of instructional modalities (ranked from least to most restrictive) were compared between Council on Education of Public Health (CEPH)-accredited and non-CEPH-accredited 4-year institutions. Institutions with CEPH-accredited schools and programs were more likely to select some restrictive teaching modalities: 63.8% more likely to use hybrid/hyflex or more restrictive and 66.9% more likely to be primarily online (with some in person) or more restrictive. However, having CEPH-accredited programs did not push institutions to the most restrictive modalities. COVID-19 cases in county, enrollment, and political affiliation of the state governor were also found to influence instructional modality selection. While any ecological study has certain limitations, this study demonstrates that college and university fall plans appear to have been influenced by the presence of CEPH-accredited schools and programs of public health, and/or the input of their faculty. The influence of relevant faculty expertise on institutional decision-making can help inform college and university responses to future crises.