Below is a transcript of our conversation with Mary Senter: David Nicholas:
I'm David Nicholas and this is Central Focus, a weekly look at research activity and innovative work from Central Michigan University students and faculty. The pandemic sent everyone into isolation, and, for CMU, the campus emptied out. What did the sudden change mean for students’ learning; their interaction with faculty, and what impacts were there regarding mental health? Doctor Mary Senter is a Sociology Professor at CMU. She studied the effects on both students and faculty. I wanted to learn more, so I invited Doctor Center to join me in studio.
Mary Senter:
So, in fall 2020, which was the first semester when all classes were online in an expected way, I did a (a) survey asking students about their experiences during the pandemic. And it doesn't surprise anyone, but the students said that their mental health had declined. Students expressed concern about their learning; that their learning had declined. But what was especially interesting is that students who said that they felt supported by their faculty were less likely to experience these declines in in learning or mental health declines, or there was less of a decline. In fall 2022, I did a survey of faculty asking them, well, what kind of changes have you made to address student needs during the pandemic? And the results were, to my mind, very interesting. Faculty actually talked about doing more work to try to connect with students, to meet with (with) students. Faculty talked about being more sensitive to or more aware of the way in which students social background and personal circumstance affected their learning. They talked about spending more time trying to create community in the classroom, more time concerned with mental health and also tried to be more (more) flexible in terms of due dates and assignments with students.
DN:
Not saying that faculty ignored them or that it was just a (a) total revelation at this point, but to get an idea of these feelings coming from students going back however many years, maybe as you say brought more into focus because of the circumstances, the pandemic, but in in terms of how overall faculty are trying to interact with their students.
MS:
Well, I think there is certainly a good deal of literature pre pandemic talking about how important it is for student success to have positive relationships with faculty. They have mentoring relationships. And those relationships are important for retention, graduation, for student learning, so I think we know that these relationships are important and it may just be that the pandemic has brought the importance of caring and relationships into sharper focus.
DN:
Has there been a silver lining in in finding that some of those techniques and methods work to continue as you now have a return to normal and (and) yet obviously a very profound experience in the rearview mirror of what it what it's like in the day-to-day classroom?
MS:
Well, I think that really is (is) an open question. But one thing that I think is very clear: if you're a (a) classroom teacher today is the students who are sitting in your classrooms were pretty profoundly affected by the pandemic. So, if (if) you're paying attention to who the students are, I think you pretty soon realize that they expect a kind of openness. They expect a kind of flexibility, and they also need that. And when I say need that, students today across the United States, there's tremendous evidence at the college level, high school, middle school continue to experience mental (mental) health problems, so living by the syllabus; this is due. This is due Monday at noon. I mean, that just doesn't necessarily suit their life. But in addition to the mental health issues, you know I've taught at CMU for decades and when people ask me what's the big change over time in students, I say the students themselves hasn't changed. What's changed is in order for them to be able to pay the bills, whether it's tuition fees, food rent, students are just working at jobs for pay, so many more hours and they are juggling so much in in their life, that being very rigid just does not fit their life. And of course we're under stress too, as (as) faculty that there has to be a little flex somewhere. I think.
DN:
Mary, Senator, thank you very much for taking the time to talk with us.
MS:
Yeah. Thanks very much.
