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on female faculty (NASEM, 2021), using I spent the summer working with the adaptable. In addition, our data show that a
two-way ANOVA, we found no statistically instructional design people, they helped me variety of physical, social, and cognitive
redesign my Blackboard shells, so I have
significant interaction between the effects them organized. —Female, NTT Geology at resources aided faculty in adapting to their
of gender and dependents on level of dis- Doctoral Granting Institution evolving situation, including instructional
ruption reported by instructors, (F(1,96) = design professionals, digital learning com-
0.449, p = 0.504). Respondents mentioned For some, summer allowed time for pre- munities, quality learning management soft-
children and childcare often as the “most paring new materials, learning new tools, and ware—and that not everyone needed the
important thing” they needed to do that thinking deeply about instructional needs. same thing. Departments and institutions
day (as below), but the frequency of such However, some participants did not recall need to pay particular attention to NTT fac-
responses did not correlate with gender fall as more or less stressful, saying the two ulty, who may experience greater despair in
identity, nor did gender correlate with num- semesters were incomparable. When asked, the face of perceived uncertainty.
ber of dependents in disruption ratings: they described the two as “apples and Not surprisingly, a common theme in the
oranges” (Female Associate Professor, qualitative reports is time. When provided
“I needed to re-arrange my schedule to do Geology, Doctoral Granting Institution).
extra childcare this week because my wife the summer to prepare to teach their specific
(also an academic) has more commitments This was due to changes in course type, class geoscience course online, most participants
this week. Every week ends with a conversa- sizes, and level of students. When surveyed felt less disrupted, yet they still reported ded-
tion about how to balance both of our sched- in the fall, participants reported a higher icating more time to teaching. Departments
ules. My wife is pre-tenure and I’m tenured, level of disruption to teaching responsibili-
so every plan is run through that filter as ties when the delivery format for two or more and institutions can do some things to give
well because we need to maximize her faculty time, such as making decisions early
time more than mine.” —Male Professor, courses changed (mean = 3.80) rather than about course modality to allow faculty to
Doctoral Granting Institution, Day 2 for a single course (mean = 3.31) (F(1, 98) = prepare, but this is not always possible. Other
5.83, p < 0.001). However, neither the timing ways to provide time include extending the
This male participant’s family unit was of the decision to change the delivery format, tenure clock and hiring graduate students or
making decisions about childcare grounded in nor the level of involvement in making the post-docs to support teaching.
the tenure process rather than traditional gen- decision to change the delivery format, pre- We continue to analyze this data moving
der roles. A female participant described dicted disruption ratings, both p > 0.05. In forward to examine the ways in which fac-
another non-gendered approach: Her extended other words, advance notice did not help ulty have described the dilemmas to teach-
family moved closer so that four adults could those who were teaching different courses or ing (Windschitl, 2002) in their daily diary
rotate responsibility for the children, increas- multiple courses feel less disruption in their responses. We hope from this in-progress
ing each adult’s dedicated working time. teaching when format changed, despite the analysis to offer more detailed support
The survey specifically asked faculty to experience of the previous term.
report dependents under the age of 15, but In addition, participants reported mini- structures for geoscience faculty to navi-
participants also reported caregiving for mizing or even completely ignoring their gate future disruptions to teaching.
teenagers, adult children, and aging parents: research agendas to be able to adapt to teach-
ing and that greater amounts of time spent REFERENCES CITED
Our son is depressed and it’s getting harder grading was a common theme. These shifts Gonzalez, L., and Keane, C., 2021, COVID-19
and harder for him to find any joy with Impacts to Academic Department Operations,
online learning in high school. Being around in the amount of time dedicated to teaching January to August 2021: American Geophysical
him all day I can understand how isolating are not unexpected in a new course or setting Union: https://www.americangeosciences.org/
this type of education is. I don’t recommend but are not sustainable in the long term. geoscience-currents/covid-19-impacts-academic-
it for a single child. —Female Professor, department-operations-january-august-2021
Doctoral Granting Institution, Day 15 (accessed 13 Nov. 2021).
PREPARING FOR FUTURE National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and
Family caregiving therefore extended DISRUPTIONS Medicine (NASEM), 2021, The Impact of COV-
beyond the typical gender roles and age A better understanding of how partici- ID-19 on the Careers of Women in Academic
ranges normally examined. pants’ disruption and capacity to adapt Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine: Washing-
evolved over time can help departments and ton, D.C., The National Academies Press, https://
doi.org/10.17226/26061.
ONGOING DISRUPTION institutions better support their faculty in Windschitl, M., 2002, Framing constructivism in
College-level teaching comes with inherent future disruptions. Our data show that capac- practice as the negotiation of dilemmas: An anal-
variability as courses and students change ity to adapt to disruption was influenced by ysis of the conceptual, pedagogical, cultural, and
each term. In our interviews, participants the entire family unit’s capacity to adapt: political challenges facing teachers: Review of
reported that the advance notice and time over Individuals with strong family networks Educational Research, v. 72, no. 2, p. 131–175,
the summer to prepare for the fall influenced were able to establish new systems for child- https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543072002131.
their perception of the fall as less disruptive care, for example, but when caregiving Manuscript received 15 July 2020
than the preceding spring, particularly when responsibilities extended beyond childcare to revised Manuscript received 6 dec. 2021
re-teaching courses. One participant reflected: older children or parents, the system was less Manuscript accepted 9 dec. 2021

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