Teaching Interrupted: How COVID-19 Turned Thoughts into Practice

Area of Science:

• * Anatomy and Physiology Education
• * Online Learning Pedagogy
• * Educational Research

Background:

• * The Community College Anatomy and Physiology Education Research (CAPER) project offers professional development for community college instructors.
• * The study involves tracking instructors' adoption of new teaching methods through qualitative and quantitative research.
• * The COVID-19 pandemic unexpectedly impacted instructors during the project's second year.

Purpose of the Study:

• * To analyze community college instructors' adaptations to online learning environments.
• * To understand teacher beliefs, attitudes, and methods during the pandemic.
• * To examine the role of professional development in facilitating online teaching adaptations.

Main Methods:

• * Analysis of data from 12 in-depth interviews with instructors during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• * Application of conceptual change theory to understand instructors' adaptations.
• * Qualitative and quantitative research methods used within the CAPER project.

Main Results:

• * Instructors utilized professional development from the CAPER project to integrate active learning techniques online.
• * The pandemic provided opportunities for instructors to reconsider and adapt their teaching methods.
• * Rich insights were gained into instructor beliefs, attitudes, and adaptation strategies in response to online learning.

Conclusions:

• * Professional development programs like CAPER are crucial for supporting instructors in adapting to online education.
• * Conceptual change theory provides a useful framework for understanding pedagogical shifts in response to crises.
• * Community college instructors demonstrated resilience and innovation in transitioning to online anatomy and physiology education.