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Learning from the COVID-19 Pandemic:

How Faculty Experiences Can Prepare

Us for Future System-Wide Disruption

Kathryn M. Bateman*, Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122, USA; Ellen Altermatt, Science Education Resource
Center, Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota 55057, USA; Anne Egger, Geological Sciences and Science and Mathematics Education,
Central Washington University, Ellensburg, Washington 98926, USA; Ellen Iverson, Cathryn Manduca, Science Education Resource Center,
Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota 55057, USA; Eric M. Riggs, College of Natural Resources and Sciences, Humboldt State University,
Arcata, California 95521, USA; Kristen St. John, Geology and Environmental Science, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia,
22807, USA; and Thomas F. Shipley, Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122, USA

The COVID-19 pandemic provided edu- survey to participants (n = 109) in October Levels of reported disruption did not dif-
cation researchers with a natural experi- 2020 to inquire about teaching practices in fer significantly by participants’ institution
ment: an opportunity to investigate the the fall semester (see supplemental material). type or by their experience: In fact, disrup-
impacts of a system-wide, involuntary move Survey questions asked about usefulness of tion to teaching was pervasive and experi-
to online teaching and to assess the charac- supports available to faculty (i.e., instruc- enced even by those with extensive online
teristics of individuals who adapted more tional designers, internal and external col- teaching experience. On the other hand,
readily. To capture the impacts in real time, leagues, online resources) using a Likert- non-tenure-track (NTT) faculty reported
our team recruited college-level geoscience scale (1–5, with 5 as very helpful). Participants increasingly more disruption over time than
instructors through the National Association also responded to short answer prompts tenure track (TT) faculty (increases over
of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT) and regarding what has been most helpful and the 15 days of 0.37 and 0.03, respectively,
American Geophysical Union (AGU) com- what they have learned and will continue to t = 1.69, p < 0.10).
munities to participate in our study in the do. From this group, we interviewed 22 par- We hypothesize that the greater disrup-
spring of 2020. Each weekday for three suc- ticipants in early 2021 to gain further insight tion experienced by NTT faculty results
cessive weeks, participants (n = 262) were into the challenges and triumphs they had from a sense of the precariousness of their
asked to rate their experienced disruption in experienced over the previous 10 months positions, a theme seen in open responses
four domains: teaching, research, ability to (see supplemental material). Data from both such as this one:
communicate with their professional com- surveys and the interviews were analyzed
munity, and work-life balance. The rating through a grounded theory approach, itera- “My career plans may have to drastically
change, even though I love teaching. I am on
system (a scale of 1–5, with 5 as severely tively coding the data and extracting themes. an 18-month contract, and I doubt the aca-
disrupted) was designed to assess (a) where Here, we address one question that emerged demic job market will look good in Jan/Feb
support needs were greatest, (b) how those from our work: How did disruption to teach- 2021 when I planned to look. … universities
needs evolved over time, and (c) respon- ing and capacity to adapt evolve over the around the world are losing money, imple-
dents’ capacity to adapt. In addition, partic- course of the pandemic? menting hiring freezes, and laying off
employees.” —Female Geology Faculty,
ipants were asked two open-response ques- NTT, Doctoral Granting Institution, Day 12
tions, designed to provide preliminary REAL-TIME DISRUPTION EARLY IN
insights into how individuals were adapt- THE PANDEMIC Data collected later showed that ~90%
ing—what was their most important task In the spring 2020 15-day survey, average of faculty members remained employed
that day and what was their greatest insight ratings of perceived teaching disruption (one throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, with
from the previous day. Participants also of the four domains about which we inquired) the highest rate of unemployment being
provided information on their institution were moderate (mean = 2.98, SD = 1.28). It is among students and post-doctoral fellows
type, position, discipline, gender, race, possible that the moderate disruption level is (Gonzalez and Keane, 2021). However, dur-
dependents, and online teaching experience biased, and that those faculty experiencing ing our spring 2020 survey, longterm out-
(see supplemental material ). the greatest disruption were less likely to comes were unknown and weighed on the
1
When it was evident that disruptions complete the daily survey. Regardless, we minds of respondents.
would continue through the 2020–2021 aca- found patterns that provide insight into indi- Though at least one study has shown the
demic year, we issued a one-time follow-up viduals’ capacity to adapt. negative long-term impacts of the pandemic

GSA Today, v. 32, https://doi.org/10.1130/GSATG520GW.1. CC-BY-NC.
*Email: kmb1182@gmail.com

1 Supplemental Material. Demographic information for participants in all phases of the study and the survey and interview questions for all phases of the study. Go to
https://doi.org/10.1130/GSAT.S.17209481 to access the supplemental material; contact editing@geosociety.org with any questions.

36 GSA TODAY | February 2022