I have never been an advocate of online education.
After retiring from the federal government over a span of 30 years, I taught at the college/university level for about 10 years as an Adjunct Professor in Criminal Justice.
Not anymore.
All of my previous classes were in-person, and given the subject matter (Criminal Justice) I was teaching, I could not imagine it being effectively taught and discussed with my class online.
I was right.
Let me explain. Logistically, none of my classes were less than 30 students, some were as large as 45 students. All of my classes were interactive. For example, I would typically start with a lecture, punctuated with intended questions and responses, some from other students, others by me. The other half of my class time would be spent breaking my students into groups, with a question posed by me, and responded by a rotating student to present their findings and recommendations.
At this point, I would typically ask the other students for their comments, followed by my own.
My classes were purposely once a week, about two and one-half hours, with a break in-between. Two, 5 to 7-page reports were generally assigned for my review with written feedback. Person-to-person if necessary. There were typically three exams as well.
I was available before and after every class and by appointment for any student.
An overwhelming majority of students approved of these scenarios, as evidenced by their year-end feedback.
Could this kind of human interaction be available online? Not in my opinion with a subject as diverse and complex as Criminal Justice. Perhaps in other fields, and when pursuing certain Ph.D. degrees, but all would still require some face-to-face interaction in order to get the fullest benefit of higher education.
With the coronavirus wreaking havoc with so many endeavors, I see the upcoming Spring 2022 calendar to be tenuous at best for students at any level to attend classes in person. I find that thought distressing on so many levels, especially since we are social animals and we learn best by doing and interacting – not by staring into a screen.
