First block of new schedule ends; students, staff deem it a success

The first block of the new class schedule concluded on Sept. 24. The schedule is one of many efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19 on campus. Block scheduling debuted to mostly positive reviews among students, faculty and administration.

Administration’s main goal with the schedule was to limit viral spread. So far, no cases have been linked to classroom meetings. Along with the block schedule, CSB/SJU uses Hyflex technology, allowing classes to be held virtually and in person simultaneously. This semester’s success depends on technology.

“IT services has been fantastic,” Barb May, Academic Dean, said. When surveyed, 99% of students had access to a laptop computer. While technology was a learning curve at the beginning, it has been a surmountable challenge.

Connecting with students has been another major concern this semester, but when surveyed at the end of the first block, 88% of students and a similar percentage of faculty claimed to have easy access to their instructors and students, respectively.

Challenges:

Changing the schedule, length and form of courses has not been an easy task. In addition, adapting to new uses of technology has been a challenge for some instructors, especially those who have taught their courses the same way for decades on end.

“The challenge hasn’t been that it’s hard to understand, just that it’s a little clumsy,” Daniel Finn, a professor of Economics and Theology, said. Finn was not teaching in the spring, so this was his first experience with virtual teaching. Some parts of the technology were less intuitive than he would have hoped, but he still found that he was able to effectively cover the course material.

The sheer length of block classes is another challenge.

“The main downside is that it’s hard for anybody to keep up energy for three hours,” Finn said. Other professors concurred. Professor Emily Berg Paup, a Communications professor, noted that it was difficult to balance teaching for three straight hours, department meetings and grading.

“I think there was a big learning curve for all of us,” Berg Paup said. She chose to spend as little time as possible lecturing during class, instead recording lectures for homework assignments. Berg Paup adjusted class to include many different types of activities. “I hope students know that it’s also exhausting for their teachers,” Berg Paup said.

Students voiced concerns that there were too many assessments in too short of a timeframe. Some courses have been more challenging to adapt. STEM students now have labs and lectures on the same day, which can be overwhelming.

“I felt like I was always kind of playing catch-up,” Aaron Crema, SJU sophomore and Integrative Science major, said. He found himself studying to pass tests instead of studying to learn the material for retention. Despite this, he still enjoyed the course experience, even though it was crammed.

Successes:

While there’s been a steep learning curve and a lot of adaption to unusual circumstances, the community is taking things in stride. New technology in course delivery has presented unexpected benefits. Finn observed that students participating via Zoom tend to speak more freely in small group discussions than their peers in the classroom.

“It was good to see that small group conversations work pretty well,” Finn said.

One of the main advantages of the block schedule is that students and instructors only have one class to focus on.

“I think that it was really easy to just focus on one class, but three hours was a lot for me” CSB senior Maggie Blaney said. “In a normal semester, I feel like we hit ‘stride’ at about three weeks, so it was much quicker to hit that stride. Overall, it went well” Blaney said.

“I was kind of apprehensive” about the new schedule, Marina Martín, Hispanic Studies professor, said. “All those fears turned out to be in vain.” Although there was a lot of change coming into the semester, teaching students made it worth the challenges. “It’s such a joy that it really doesn’t matter” what form the class takes, Martín said.

Martín noted that she would see the semester as a success if she covered the most crucial material, and she was able to do this in the first block. “Be honest and committed and relax,” Martín said.

Berg Paup chose to view her course as a big picture of content to cover, instead of concerning herself with expected daily progress. This method seemed to work well. She also checked in with students daily during the first week and a half of the block.

“[Check-ins] gave a chance for students to not only check in with me but also check in with each other,” Berg Paup said, “I learned a lot about what students need.” She believes that students learned a lot by focusing intensely on just one class.

The block schedule, as planned, has reduced close contact between many students. With staggered classes, busses have run at lower capacity, classrooms have been less filled and dining halls have avoided reaching unsafe capacities.

Will it return?

With such a drastic change, many are wondering if the schedule is here to stay or if the traditional semester will ever return.

“The plan has always been to return to the traditional semester in the fall of 2021,” May said. However, the block schedule may be here to stay if COVID-19 remains a severe threat. The schedule has accomplished its goals so far.

“I think it’s the best decision we could’ve made,” May said. May attributed the schedule’s success to a general willingness to adjust and adapt among students and faculty