SUNY Maritime College Annual Report 2020-2021

SEPT. 2020 PERSPECTIVES: FUSING IN-PERSON AND VIRTUAL LEARNING

Maritime College is known for offering students a unique hands- on educational experience. The Training Ship Empire State VI has served as one of the primary instruments of experiential learning at the College. The abrupt change to online and hybrid learning impacted faculty, staff and students alike. How did faculty and staff pivot? How did students adapt? Here are a few perspectives on the ways in which teaching, learning and student services changed over the course of the academic year.

KATHY OLZEWSKI Professor of Chemistry and Science, Department Chair K athy Olzewski, collaborated with faculty in her department to determine how teaching would be implemented at the return of the school year. She was aware of the importance of keeping students safe while maintaining the quality of the courses. “I advised faculty in the department to incorporate as much synchronous learning as possible. Learning can take many different forms. In my classes, half of the students were in front of me and the other half were on Zoom simultaneously.” A method she believed would allow remote participation for any student who needed to quarantine. Other faculty adapted by taking different approaches, some conducting a portion of the class in person and another portion of the class online (asynchronous).

Science labs proved more challenging due to the hands-on component and the maximum number of students allowed in a class (nine). Olzewski, therefore, instituted virtual labs in her class by utilizing a combination of a chemistry platform and in-person experiments, which benefitted students. Another benefit of hybrid learning Olzewski identified was how students quickly adapted to the accessibility of information including grades and assignments. As test grades were posted online, students had access to information for an unlimited period of time. Olzewski admits they attained a level of success in managing the transition to a new way of student instruction. “I have always enjoyed in-class teaching, but I am ready to continue to teach in these various formats for as long as the pandemic is with us.”

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Annual Report 2020-2021