Supporting Faculty through Crisis and Uncertainty: Guiding Principles and Lessons Learned from Spring 2020
Concurrent Session 6

Brief Abstract
The spring and summer of 2020 was not only a time of upheaval and uncertainty. It was also a time when higher education’s helpers rose to the occasion. Educational developers, administrative leaders, instructional designers and faculty all rallied around the common cause of bringing continuity, support, and even a dose of hope to students around the world. This lightning talk draws on the presenter’s experiences creating practically-focused guides to emergency remote teaching during the COVID-19 crisis, with an invitation to reflect, share our lessons learned, and go forward as a stronger and wiser profession.
Presenters

Extended Abstract
The spring and summer of 2020 was not only a time of upheaval and uncertainty. It was also a time when higher education’s helpers – the unsung heroes of teaching, technology, and student support - rose to the occasion. Educational developers, administrative leaders, instructional designers, and faculty all rallied around the common cause of bringing continuity, calm, and even a dose of hope to students around the world. This lightning talk draws on the presenter’s experiences publishing several practically-focused guides to emergency remote teaching during the COVID-19 crisis. Essential principles that emerged from the crisis include a powerful focus on the goals of instruction, backward design, and on the needs of students themselves. The time period also saw an explosion of interest in alternative models such as hyflex, synchronous online, and asynchronous online. These principles and concepts, plus other important take-aways from the emergency online pivot, can help us reflect and refocus on our roles as educators and educational developers in the post-COVID era to come.